The UT Board of Trustees voted on Friday, October 14, 2016 to name the College of Engineering for distinguished alumnus John D. Tickle.
Courtesy of the University of Tennessee:
It marks the second time in the campus’s 222-year history that a college has been named for an alumnus and benefactor. Tickle, a 1965 industrial engineering graduate from Bristol, Tennessee, is chairman of the Strongwell Corporation.
“My goal is for the University of Tennessee to be known for their education and the product they put out,” said Tickle. “[My wife] Ann and I both believe that education is what fuels success—not just our own success, but the success of UT and the state as well.
“I’m deeply honored and will try to live up to the billing,” he said of the naming recognition.
The naming and the foundation of support it reflects better align the college with its aspirational top-ranked public university peers. The college joins the Haslam College of Business as the only named UT Knoxville colleges, with benefits that extend well beyond the new name.
John Tickle began supporting UT just a year after he graduated. A recent transformational gift will impact every aspect of the college—from students and faculty to research and facilities.
“This is a historic day for our university and our state,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “We want to thank John and the Tickle family. Their support will accelerate the college’s bold plans for growth and improvements and the university’s plans for becoming a top-ranked public research university.”
