Save Money on Insurance
Now that’s a bargain! You can save as much as 15 to 20 percent on the price of home and automobile insurance coverage by purchasing through the UT Alumni Association. Lofton Stuart Jr., UTAA executive director, says this is a first for Tennessee alumni.
“We’re excited about offering this new service to alumni of all the UT campuses. Some of the largest alumni associations in the country offer these plans, and their clients rank discount insurance among the most valuable services the associations offer.” Liberty Mutual is the provider.
Next year, the UTAA will begin offering travel insurance. The association also is studying the feasibility of offering life insurance and a long-term care plan.
“We think low rates on home and auto insurance will be really helpful for young alumni who are getting established with homes, families, and careers,” Stuart said. “But a bargain like this is equally attractive to alumni of any age.”
Collegiate Insurance Resources, the company that won the competitive bidding process to serve UT alumni, will partner with the alumni association to sponsor such events as the Big Orange Tailgate Tour and young alumni functions. Collegiate Insurance Resources is one of the largest firms of its kind, serving about 400 colleges and universities, including the alumni associations of Ohio State, Penn State, and the University of North Carolina.
Get more information and sign up now at http://alumni.tennessee.edu/ or call 865-974-3011.
Increased Needs Drive Giving Changes
The one constant in our world is change, and the UT Annual Giving Program isn’t exempt. Since the 1960s, the Annual Giving Program has encouraged alumni and friends to make at least one gift annually to any UT-related program, regardless of size. You’ve responded generously through the years with gifts ranging from $1 to $15,000, supporting myriad scholarships, departmental funds, and special initiatives. In fact, last year, donors gave a record of almost $30 million.
Despite its successful history, the program is making some significant alterations to address the changing needs of the university. “This year you’ll notice a change in the way you’re asked to give,” says Lofton Stuart Jr., executive director of the UT Alumni Association, which has administered the Annual Giving Program for the past 46 years. “Needs have become much more acute in our academic colleges throughout the university. Repeated cutbacks have left many of the colleges short of dollars for student needs. So beginning this fall, the campuses themselves will be asking for gifts for their specific priorities.”
The UT campus from which you graduated will contact you this fall seeking support for its new college and campus fund programs.
“Each of our campuses has an increasing need for flexible resources that can be used to enhance the educational experience for its students,” Stuart says. “The dollars raised through this new effort will allow campus chancellors, as well as the deans of each college, to address immediate and critical needs unique to a particular campus or discipline. This could be scholarships, faculty support, technology enhancements, or even student travel to professional competitions.”
Another significant change alumni will notice is a new fundraising effort for the Alumni Association itself. Next spring, the Alumni Association will contact alumni and friends seeking support for such association programs as scholarships, teaching awards, and programming and services for alumni. “This ‘Fund for the Future’ will be the first-ever concentrated effort by the Alumni Association to raise private support for its programs that benefit students and faculty, as well as our 350,000 alumni,” Stuart says.
Historically, the Alumni Association has funded more than $l million’s worth of scholarships for students on all campuses of the university. Annual gifts also have funded outstanding teacher and distinguished professor awards that help all the UT campuses retain their best faculty.
“As more alumni have begun to designate their annual gifts to particular programs, it has become a challenge to fund the Alumni Association scholarships and faculty awards,” Stuart says. “The association leadership and the university agree these programs serve a valuable purpose, so we think it is worthwhile to ask alumni to support them specifically, as well as expanded programming of the Alumni Association.”
The new Leadership Annual Giving Society will recognize donors who make gifts of $1,000 to one of the new funds. The new annual giving model won’t affect benefits you already receive from ongoing pledges to endowments or projects such as fraternity house renovations.
Remember When
Relive all those good memories of your college days at Homecoming.
UT Chattanooga, September 15-21
UT Knoxville, November 7-8
UT Martin, September 29-October 5
“Moc ‘n Roll” will be the theme of the UT Chattanooga celebration. Activities will include the football game versus Jacksonville State, Founders Day celebration, and an alumni golf tournament. Call 800-728-4882 or 423-425-4785 for more information or visit the website at www.utc.edu/Administration/Homecoming/.
The football Vols take on the University of Wyoming Cowboys at UT Knoxville homecoming November 7-8. Theme is “Give Wyoming the BOOT” (Big Orange Outlaws of Tennessee). Events will include “Party in the Park” and the Homecoming parade. See the complete schedule of activities and the registration form at www.utalumni.utk.edu/hc.html or call 865-974-3011.
UT Martin alumni will celebrate to the theme “Come Together.” Activities will include the rope pull, the football game pitting the Pacers against Tennessee State University, and the annual alumni award presentations. You can make reservations online at www.utm.edu/departments/alumnirelations/index.php or call 731-881-3610.
