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On Friday, May 1, the UTC Office of Alumni Affairs will host the annual Legends & Leaders Dinner. The event will be held at the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club. Recognition will be given to the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus and the recipients of the Outstanding Service Award. The Distinguished Alumnus Award was established in 1969 by the UTC Alumni Council to recognize alumni who have made significant contributions to the community and society and whose accomplishments and career activities have reflected glory on our University. The Outstanding Service Award was initiated in 1985 to honor someone inside or outside the University family who has given outstanding service to the University and who is also involved in the community.
The 2009 Distinguished Alumnus is The Honorable Mercer Reynolds III. Dr. Clifton Cleaveland and his wife, Ruzha, are this year’s Outstanding Service Award recipients.
Mercer Reynolds
“> The Honorable Mercer Reynolds III is the Chairman & CEO of Linger Longer Companies and Reynolds Capital Group with offices in Greensboro & Atlanta, GA. Born in Chattanooga, TN, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.B.A. from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1968.
He began his career in the U.S. Army, and in 1969 joined the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Chattanooga. He then spent several years in investment banking, and in 1979, together with his friend and business partner, William O. DeWitt, Jr., founded Reynolds, DeWitt & Co., an investment firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served as co-chairman of the company from 1979-2001.
During the 2000 Presidential Campaign, Reynolds served as a member of the Bush-Cheney National Executive Committee and as Chairman of the campaign’s Ohio Finance Committee. After the 2000 election, President George W. Bush named him a Co-Chairman of the 2000 Presidential Inauguration Committee. In 2001 he accepted an appointment to become the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. He served as U.S. Ambassador until 2003.
In 2005, Mr. Reynolds returned to Georgia to serve as Chairman and CEO of Linger Longer Companies, a development company formed in 1985. Reynolds Plantation, an award winning development on Lake Oconee, GA, and Reynolds Landing, also on Lake Oconee have been two major projects of the Linger Longer Companies.
Mercer Reynolds is an active member of the community and belonged to many civic organizations including The Commonwealth Club, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, and the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families. He is the Founding Chairman of the Oconee Performing Arts Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Central Georgia. He also serves on the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board. He and his wife, Gabrielle, have five children and four grandchildren.
Ruzha Cleaveland
Dr. and Mrs. Clifton Cleaveland have both committed years of service to the community and to The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Ruzha Cleaveland received her Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and her MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Norwich University. She did post-baccalaureate work at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
On the UTC campus, she has served on the WUTC Advisory Council. Mrs. Cleaveland served as the Chairman of the UTC Chancellor’s Roundtable and was a staff assistant for the Meacham Writers’ Workshop. A strong advocate for education, she has given her time and talents to many organizations. She has been a PTA President, a member of the Signal Mtn. Public Library Building Committee & board, the Chamber of Commerce Education Task Force, the executive council of the Bi-Centennial Library Friends Executive Council, and the Lyndhurst Foundation Teacher Awards Selection Committee. In the community, her numerous activities have included the Board of Family and Children’s Services, chairman of the South Chattanooga Environmental Task Force, and Friends of Chattanooga Nature Center Board. From 1976-1978, Mrs. Cleaveland served as the local president for the League of Women Voters, and was the state president in 1982-83. This is just a small sample of her campus and community service.
Clifton Cleaveland
Dr. Cleaveland received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, his Masters from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his MD degree from Johns Hopkins University. He did his postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt. He also served with the US Army. From 1971-2004, he had appointments at Erlanger and Memorial Hospitals. Dr. Cleaveland served as a clinical assistant professor, clinical associate professor, and clinical professor at The University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga unit from 1971-1975. He has also served as a member of the adjunct faculty at UTC, and was awarded the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty award in 2006. Dr. Cleaveland is the Founder and President of the George Connor Memorial Society which funds a yearly lectureship at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in literature and religion. He has also participated in PERSPECTIVES: The Raymond B. Witt Lecture Series. In the community, the recipient has exhibited continued community service. At The McCallie School, he has served on the Board of Trust, was President of the Parents’ Council, and Chair of the Annual Fund. He has been a book review lecturer at the Chattanooga-Hamilton Co. Bicentennial Library and served on the board. Other boards that have benefited from Dr. Cleaveland’s service include the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association, the Internal Medicine Education Foundation of Chattanooga, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, and Vanderbilt University Medical Alumni Association. Currently, Dr. Cleaveland teaches UTC Honors students and has a bi-monthly column on health issues in the “Chattanooga Times Free Press”.
The person who nominated Dr. & Mrs. Cleaveland for this award said, “Clif & Ruzha exemplify a team on the sidelines encouraging the runner (the UTC community) to win the race.”
