KNOXVILLE – Board members of the Fred M. Roddy Foundation will visit the University of Tennessee this weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Fred M. Roddy Scholarships.
The foundation and an estate gift from the Blount County native and 1927 engineering graduate have provided more than $3.8 million for 4,795 UT scholarships over the past 30 years.
Fred M. Roddy, a mechanical engineer who invented a machine for handling plastics, founded Cumberland Engineering Co. in Kingsport in 1939 and later moved it to New England.
“Recruiting and retaining the best and brightest students is a top priority of UT,” said Jack Williams, UT vice president for Development. “We are indebted to the Roddy Foundation for this level of continuing support.”
Foundation members scheduled to meet with scholarship recipients and attend Saturday-s UT-Florida football game are: Lee A. Kintzel and her husband, Roger, of Atlanta; David McIntyre of Attleboro, Mass.; Peter Arnold and his wife, Sandy, of Charlestown, R.I.; Augusta Haydock of Boston; Paul Lenahan and his wife, Karen, of Providence, R.I.; and Bill Jennings and his wife, Audie, also of Providence.
When Roddy died in 1969, he left UT a $500,000 bequest to create a scholarship endowment. It now has a market value of $3.8 million. Since 1972, foundation directors have provided additional grants to build the original endowment.
Their gifts fund three scholarship programs: four-year Roddy Merit Scholarships for superior academic achievement and leadership; one-year scholarships; and Roddy Upper-class scholarships. The latter are one-year awards that can be renewed.
This year, 134 students received Roddy scholarships. Recipients- combined grade point average is 3.7 on a scale of 4.0.