Bill Bass, professor emeritus in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, anthropology department, continues to support the world-famous UT Forensic Anthropology Facility he founded and led for many years.
As part of UT’s Family Campaign, Bass, and his wife, Carol, have pledged $250,000 to meet an immediate need of the facility, also known as "The Body Farm." Since its creation in November 1971, the facility has slowly expanded, supported by the university at critical junctures in its development.
Their gift is part of the Campaign for Tennessee, a $1 billion fundraising effort that was officially launched on April 17 at the University of Tennessee.
Its current need is to construct a processing facility where activities such as the washing of bones can be carried out. In the Family Campaign, Bill and Carol have chosen to contribute a significant portion of the funds that will be needed to meet this need through the construction of a facility to combine the processing unit and a teaching lab.
In making the gift, Dr. Bass said he "was happy and pleased to support a university that gave so much support to its faculty members."
The Campaign for Tennessee — the most ambitious effort in the university’s 214-year history — places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this level of private support.
The campaign, which launched its silent phase in 2005, will secure private gifts that, in turn, will contribute substantially to the distinct, but linked, campuses comprised by the University of Tennessee system. Funds raised through the campaign will directly support the objectives of UT’s strategic plan, as outlined by UT President John Petersen. Among those objectives are improved student access and success, research and economic development, outreach and globalization.