The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga received an $8-million gift from the Kennedy Foundation, Inc. to name the forthcoming home of the UTC School of Nursing the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building. This is the largest single gift in UTC School of Nursing history.
The UT Board of Trustees approved this naming gift at its fall meeting today (Friday, Oct. 13).
Named after the parents of the current Kennedy Foundation trustees—Jim Kennedy III, Elizabeth Kennedy Spratlin and Molly Kennedy (’82)—this will be the first building on campus to be named after an alumna. Dorothy (’82) received a bachelor’s degree from UTC in English while attending at the same time as her daughter, Molly.
“This new building will help us dramatically increase the number of students in our nursing program and help meet the critical need for nurses in our community,” said UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle. “We are thankful for the generosity of the Kennedy Foundation and appreciate the support of UT President Randy Boyd and the UT Board of Trustees.”
A press conference will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, in the UTC Metropolitan Building, located at the northeast corner of McCallie Avenue and Houston Street (511 McCallie Ave.). Representatives from the Kennedy Foundation and UTC will share information about the gift along with renderings and details of the building.
