KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville has received a gift of nearly $1 million, largest in the museum’s history.
UT officials said the gift was a bequest by the late Aletha Brodine of Knoxville to establish the Aletha and Clayton Brodine Endowment.
Dr. Jeff Chapman, museum director, said Mrs. Brodine asked that the endowment be used to support exhibits and programs about the cultural history of Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean.
Mrs. Brodine graduated from UT in 1945 with a degree in sociology and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. She was the widow of Dr. Clayton M. Brodine, a Knoxville anesthesiologist, who died in 1982.
Dr. Brodine earned his medical degree from UT-Memphis in 1948.
UT President Joe Johnson said the gift reflected Mrs. Bodine’s confidence in the museum’s programs.
“We are always grateful when our alumni demonstrate in such a generous way the high regard they have for our programs,” Johnson said. “Future generations will benefit from this gift because it enhances the wonderful McClung Museum.”
UT-Knoxville Chancellor Bill Snyder said the university community appreciated Mrs. Brodine’s gift, which will count toward UT’s 21st Century Campaign.
“McClung Museum is a valuable resource,” Snyder said. “Mrs. Brodine’s gift enriches all our lives.”
Chapman said the Brodines traveled extensively as they followed their interests in archaeology, historical architecture, and art. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Brodine continued her travels, making more than 60 overseas trips prior to her own death last year.
“Mrs. Brodine was a wonderful person and I enjoyed working with her to establish a permanent fund that will perpetuate her interests here at the museum,” Chapman said.
An earlier gift from the Brodine Museum Fund provided partial support for the museum’s current exhibit of Chinese Tang pottery from the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Chapman said.
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Contact: Dr. Jeff Chapman (423-974-2144)