College of Business Administration Donor Recognition Societies
The College of Business Administration is home to many of the country’s best and brightest students. As the college rapidly grows and changes, our students are challenged to learn in increasingly competitive educational and professional environments. As they pursue excellence in business disciplines, they continuously benefit from the resources and programs made possible by the college’s alumni and friends.
Members of the College of Business Administration’s giving societies are among the university’s most dedicated and loyal friends. These individuals, families, and businesses enable the college to continue on its path of growth and success by providing resources and funding projects that otherwise would not be feasible.
The four established gift societies denote four distinct levels and kinds of commitment. The college is fortunate to have many loyal alumni and friends who are members of one, two, or even all four of these esteemed groups.
Through annual giving, endowments, and planned gifts, they have made a difference for current as well as future students. In recognition of the commitment and loyalty these friends have shown to the UT College of Business Administration, we welcome them into an inner circle of the college family. The names of these members are proudly displayed on the "Donor Wall of Fame," which is appropriately located just outside the dean's suite in Haslam Business Building. We hope you will join your friends and colleagues in considering gifts to the college that will allow you to be a part of these prestigious groups: the Dean's Circle, Archway, Glocker, and 1914 Societies.
The Dean's Circle was created to recognize leadership-level annual donors who provide ongoing support to the college through gifts to the College Fund. Alumni and friends gifting $1,000 or more and young alumni (those who have graduated within the past ten years) gifting $500 or more during the current fiscal year to the College Fund will be members of this group of esteemed supporters for the remainder of the fiscal year. In an effort to continue the college's legacy of excellence, alumni and friends are encouraged to make a gift like this each and every year. Members of the Dean's Circle are recognized on the college's "Donor Wall of Fame," as well as in other ways such as special events. We hope everyone will consider making a yearly commitment to be part of this inner circle.
The University of Tennessee must have seemed an unlikely choice for Theodore Glocker when he arrived in 1913 because there was no business school or even a business program for him to lead. But by 1914, under Glocker’s visionary leadership, the School of Commerce had been formed to educate students on issues relating to banking and corporate finance. Glocker’s dynamic leadership carried the school from humble beginnings through countless transitions and growth in student enrollment, facilitating the school’s accreditation as the College of Business Administration in 1947. In 1952, the Glocker Business Administration Building was dedicated in honor of its first dean and loyal leader, Dr. Theodore Wesley Glocker Sr. Members of the Glocker Society share the vision, passion, and commitment to excellence in education that the college’s beloved dean demonstrated almost 100 years ago. Those who are part of this prestigious group stand out among their peers and are recognized for lifetime giving to the college of $1 million or more. Because of these great leaders, the College of Business Administration’s next 100 years will be even brighter than the first.
When the School of Commerce began in 1914, it had only 11 students and one faculty member. While their numbers were few, their shared passion for leadership in business practices and education was strong.
As the college has grown and changed, the passion shown by the original students and faculty in 1914 has remained strong. Each year hundreds of future business leaders graduate and join the ranks of our loyal alumni, reaffirming the importance of a continuing legacy to inspire future growth and success for the college. Fittingly, the name given to the college’s society for planned gift benefactors is the year of its founding. Members of the 1914 Society reflect the values of the founders of the college, and they understand the importance of continuing the legacy that began in 1914. These members demonstrate their commitment through bequests, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, life insurance gifts, or retirement beneficiary designations of $25,000 designated to an entity with the College of Business Administration. Members of the 1914 Society embody the foresight demonstrated by the college’s founders, and their gifts will enrich this precious legacy for future students who seek to excel in business education and practice.
Throughout the history of the College of Business Administration, the arches of Glocker have welcomed countless students eager to excel academically and become successful leaders in their chosen fields. The tradition continues with today’s students, who pass through the original stone arches of Glocker that have been preserved as well as through the new steel arches that connect the restored Glocker Wing to the newly built classrooms of the James A. Haslam II Business Building. The Archway Society recognizes private support and development of the college’s programs. Its members understand the importance of bridging the gap between the past and the future, just as the business building’s arches do. Archway Society members have established active
endowments benefitting the College of Business Administration’s students. Through their unwavering support, these generous alumni and friends of the college uphold the tradition and provide tomorrow’s graduate’s with the opportunity to pass through these regal arches and into a brighter future.