KNOXVILLE — Lindsay Young, attorney and civic leader, has been presented the University of Tennessee’s highest award, Volunteer of the Year.
Young, long-time UT benefactor, received the honor, which recognizes “untiring service and
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Lindsey Young
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devotion to the university,” at the annual University Associates banquet Tuesday evening. The associates are a community support group.
UT President John W. Shumaker said the 2002 Volunteer of the Year is a celebration of what a life of giving can achieve.
“To the countless individuals you have touched through your generosity and vision over the decades, you have brought hope, healing, opportunity and enjoyment,” Shumaker said. “We thank you, Mr. Young, for all that you have made possible through your acts of kindness and for allowing us to bestow on you this much deserved honor of Volunteer of the Year 2002.”
Young entered UT in 1930, finished his undergraduate work in two years and earned a law degree in 1935. Ten years later he became a director and general counsel of Garland Coal Co., which was headed by Knoxvillian B. Ray Thompson.
In the late 1950s when Thompson formed his own company, Young joined him as a director of chief counsel. The Thompson companies merged with Sun Oil in 1979.
In 1980 Young gave $1 million in securities to UT, the largest outright gift in the university’s history at the time, to establish faculty professorships.
Nine years later he gave another $1 million to the library for an endowment. Proceeds from the library gift are used to purchase special collections, such as the papers of James Agee and first editions of Charles Dickens’ novels.
Young also has made significant contributions to several community and civic organizations in East Tennessee.