KNOXVILLE — Herschel “Abe” Brand, a 1938 UT engineering alumnus, has been named the University of Tennessee College of Engineering’s 2003 Outstanding
Philanthropist.
Cathy Dodge, director of engineering development, said the honor recognizes Brand for his gifts
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Herschel “Abe” Brand (seated) received his University of Tennessee College
of Engineering 2003 Outstanding Philanthropist Award from UT Engineering Development Director Cathy Dodge (standing, left) and Walter Odom (standing, right), director of the college’s Cooperative Engineering Program, on June 13, 2003. |
totaling $1 million to the college.
A native of Newport, Tenn., Brand established the Herschel C. and Louise Runnion Brand Engineering Scholarship Endowment in 1996 with an initial gift of $500,000 during the university’s 21st Century Campaign.
Brand, a co-op student at UT and a starter for the 1936 Southeastern Conference Champion Volunteer basketball team, recently made a second commitment of $500,000 to the college, Dodge said.
He created the endowment in honor of his late wife, whom he met at UT, to assist students in UT’s cooperative engineering program, Dodge said.
“Mr. Brand’s gifts to the college are definitive proof of both his generous spirit and his dedication to the University of Tennessee,” Dodge said. “All of us are grateful for his unwavering support of the college’s mission to educate future engineers.”
A pioneer in the oil industry, Brand is listed as a “Who’s Who” in the U.S. Oil Directory and was asked to serve on President George H. Bush’s Oil Commission.
He also was selected as an Eminent Engineer in the Tau Beta Pi honorary engineering society.
Brand spent most of his career in Texas, returning with his wife to Tennessee in 1992 upon his retirement. He served as a community volunteer while living in Newport and is an avid HAM radio hobbyist.