Jan Williams, dean of the UT Knoxville College of Business Administration, has been awarded the inaugural Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair. This is the first endowed dean’s chair on campus.
The chair was endowed through the William B. Stokely Jr. Foundation, which has built an extensive history of support for the college and UT. It honors the leadership of one of the university’s internationally ranked colleges and ensures the college’s ability to attract outstanding leadership far into the future.
"I have tremendous respect and gratitude for what the Stokelys have done for our college, and I am honored to be the first recipient of the chair," Williams said. "The building in which the college’s faculty and staff currently are housed, Stokely Management Center, was made possible through the generosity of the Stokelys. The family’s rich tradition of philanthropy has helped us to become the pre-eminent college that we are today."
Bill Stokely said the gift underscores his family’s support of UT.
"As a family, there never has been a time that we were not engaged in the life of the university in one way or another," he said. "This is a way for us to show our belief in the leadership of UT and the importance of the university to the state of Tennessee."
Stokely is former chair of the university’s Investment Advisory Committee and served as a UT trustee from 2001 to 2007. He and several family members have been active supporters of UT through a number of key development campaigns.