Gary and Kathleen Rollins, left, watch as UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle speaks during the unveiling of their portrait. College of Business Dean Robert Dooley looks on.
On Thursday, about 56 years after Gary W. Rollins graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the school unveiled a portrait of him and his wife Kathleen.
Hanging on the fourth floor of Fletcher Hall, home to the Gary W. Rollins College of Business, is a finishing touch on the physical and academic transformation of the College of Business, named in honor of Rollins after an historic donation to the University in 2018.
The Rollins’ $40-million gift—the largest in UTC history and the fourth-largest among all public universities in Tennessee—has funded the $12-million renovation of Fletcher Hall and cutting-edge new programs, equipment and faculty for the business college, the first—and only—of the University’s five colleges to be named.
“We are thrilled to unveil this beautiful portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Rollins and place it in its temporary home in Fletcher Hall,” said College of Business Dean Robert Dooley.
“In addition to funding scholarships and programming for our students, faculty research to enhance teaching and engagement, and the beautiful renovation of Fletcher Hall, their gift also provided funding to develop a plan for a new business building.
“We are excited with the results of that planning process and look forward to placing the Rollins portrait in a permanent home in the atrium of that new building in the future,” said Dooley, who escorted the Rollins around campus to meet with students, faculty and staff before the portrait unveiling.
Rollins took classes in Fletcher Hall as a UTC student before graduating in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He went on to become a titan of industry and continues to serve as chairman and CEO of Rollins, Inc., a publicly traded company with numerous holdings, including pest control giant Orkin.
“We thank the Rollins for taking a chance on us, that we would be good stewards of their gift and believing in all of us at UTC,” Chancellor Steven R. Angle said. “The gift is the opportunity to make a difference and to see people excel and go out and do great things in the world, and that’s what the Rollins have done for us.”
Investment choices for the SMILE Fund are made entirely by the students who run it.
The Rollins gift also established the Rollins Scholars program, which provides four-year, $4,000 per-year scholarships for 53 UTC business majors, with another 20 scholarships available for incoming freshmen in the fall.
“It’s energizing seeing and talking with the students,” said Rollins, 77, who ate lunch with his scholarship recipients Thursday.
“I wish I could clone that enthusiasm. Sometimes you want to turn back the clock, but then sometimes you think, no you don’t,” he said with a chuckle. “The impact I can have is very gratifying, but this has been mutually beneficial.”
He and Kathleen Rollins, who is executive director of the Gary W. Rollins Foundation, started the day at the University Center Raccoon Mountain Room for a meeting with students who run the stock market investment fund at UTC, known as the SMILE Fund (Student Managed Investment Learning Experience.) Former U.S. Sen. and Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, UT System President Randy Boyd and Angle also attended the meeting.
The students presented analyses and reports on the fund’s performance, starting with chief investment strategist Luke Johnson, a junior majoring in finance.
The students are accustomed to fielding tough questions from finance professionals on the SMILE Fund’s advisory board, and Johnson didn’t miss a beat when Kathleen Rollins asked what the group thought of Rollins, Inc.
“We love it,” Johnson said.
Student Logan W.E. Painter, the fund’s vice president of risk management, said Thursday’s meeting was a bit more nerve-wracking than usual with the dignitaries in the room, especially Gary W. Rollins.
“His name being on that building means a lot to us, and we’re very thankful for him being here,” Painter said. “We wanted to do the best that we could and I think we truly did that today.”
