KNOXVILLE — The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences has met the $1 million challenge issued about a year ago by an anonymous donor.
On Feb. 15, 2010, the anonymous donor offered to give $1 million in memory of the late J. Clayton Arnold if the college could bring in another $1 million in contributions by the end of 2010. The college met that goal on Dec. 31.
The college collected 270 individual gifts totaling $1,060,919.
The money will provide financial assistance to future educators by funding stipends that make it easier for UT students to forego outside employment and focus totally on their teacher internships.
UT has the only teacher preparation program in the state that requires its students to complete a full-year internship. Students say the internship program is important because it enables them to develop teaching and classroom management skills not possible within a shorter time frame.
The J. Clayton Arnold Challenge was named in honor of a rural mail carrier in Williamson County who began providing financial assistance to students studying to be teachers in 1965. Arnold earned only $60 per month and never attended college, but he invested wisely during his 95 years. Those investments allowed him to give UT Knoxville its first million-dollar gift.
Arnold also challenged UT alumni to contribute to his efforts, and, over the years, that has resulted in large gains to the university’s annual giving program. In 2010, 28 teacher education interns received a J. Clayton Arnold Scholarship.
“The recent J. Clayton Arnold Challenge invited others to build upon the groundwork laid by Mr. Arnold,” said Bob Rider, dean of the college. “Investing in future educators makes an impact that will last beyond a lifetime. Mr. Arnold believed this. Our donor believes it — and so do the many people who gave generously to help us meet this $1 million challenge.”
For more about the J. Clayton Arnold Challenge and the college, see http://cehhs.utk.edu/alumni/Donors.html.
C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely, (865-974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu)