Written by: Jerry R. Adams, Director of Residence Life, University Housing
Twenty-six years later, a nostalgic campus visit is still impacting students working as resident assistants.
In fall 2000, Mr. J.W. Brakebill decided that he wanted to attend his 60th anniversary celebration of his graduation from UT, which was organized by the university as part of that year’s Homecoming festivities. After discussing with his wife, Ruth, who also graduated from UT in 1942, he booked a flight to Knoxville from Memphis and informed his children of his plans.
At the time, Mr. Brakebill was no longer driving and had not yet secured a place to stay for the weekend. After learning of his plans, one of his children called the Tyson Alumni House at UT to inquire about the upcoming anniversary weekend. They were referred to University Housing, and I picked up the phone that day. I discussed the possibility of Mr. Brakebill staying in Hopecote Cottage, as it was available for his visit. From the cottage everything would be walkable throughout campus.
Once his lodging was secured, I worked with UT Alumni and other housing staff to plan Mr. Brakebill’s weekend, answering daily 2 p.m. calls from him to inform him of his itinerary. Mr. Brakebill, who was named a Torchbearer while at UT as a student, had two simple requests. First, he wanted to meet past UT president Joe Johnson. And second, he wanted to visit his fraternity chapter, Phi Gamma Delta, to “meet the fine young men in the chapter” and see the house constructed in Fraternity Park, a cause he had donated toward as a fraternity brother when the park was constructed in the 1960s.
Everything was in place for a wonderful weekend. Alumni staff picked up Mr. Brakebill at the airport and took him to what was then the Faculty Club for lunch. After lunch, I took Mr. Brakebill to check in at Hopecote Cottage. Then, a group of students met Mr. Brakebill and walked him to the Homecoming Parade and to Cumberland Avenue for dinner after the parade.
On Saturday, Mr. Brakebill attended a brunch on campus and then was driven to his fraternity house for Homecoming festivities. The fraternity welcomed him into their house, and he spent the afternoon talking with alumni brothers from many decades since leaving UT. Mr. Brakebill was driven to the stadium by a current fraternity member, and he had a seat in the UT Presidents box. At halftime, he represented the Class of 1940 on Shields-Watkins Field with members of other UT classes arranged by decade.
On Sunday morning after the football game, I gave Mr. Brakebill, a Knoxville native, a tour of campus and Knoxville. After the tour, Mr. Brakebill spent the rest of the day with family members, including a grandson who was studying at UT at the time. After flying back to Memphis, Mr. Brakebill stayed in touch with me and other UT staff members who hosted him during the weekend, thanking us with a catered lunch a few weeks after his trip.
Then, a year and a half after what Mr. Brakebill called “the best weekend of his life,” he made a donation to UT, setting up an endowment to create scholarships for resident assistants working on campus in University Housing. Mr. Brakebill would pass away within a year of making that gift.
Since then, the Brakebill family has continued to make annual donations to the scholarship fund in honor of their parents, J.W. and Ruth. In addition, University Housing also continues to work with former RAs to make annual gifts to the scholarship fund during UT’s Big Orange Give campaign, increasing the funds available.
And today, the J. W. Brakebill and Jerry R. Adams Resident Assistant Scholarship Quasi-Endowment awards four $1,000 scholarships each year to deserving resident assistants. Through this scholarship endowment, Mr. Brakebill’s legacy lives on almost a century after graduating from UT.
1940
J.W. Brakebill graduates from UT.
1966
UT breaks ground on Fraternity Park; Brakebill donates to support his chapter, Phi Gamma Delta.
2000
Brakebill is invited to UT to celebrate 60th anniversary of his graduation.
2003
Brakebill establishes J. W. Brakebill and Jerry R. Adams Resident Assistant Scholarship Quasi-Endowment.
A giving campaign is currently underway with the Phi Gamma Delta chapter at UT to renovate their campus house in Fraternity Park, which Brakebill originally helped fund in the 1960s. To date, current chapter members and alumni have raised a total of $800,000 in pledges with more than $360,000 in-hand to continue the FIJI legacy of friendship, scholarship, and community engagement.