The University of Tennessee at Martin honored Bill and Rosann Nunnelly with the official naming of the Nunnelly Family Welcome Center on Nov. 2 as part of homecoming festivities. The center is located on the first floor of the Boling University Center near Watkins Auditorium and is where all university campus tours begin.

The Nunnellys bequeathed $22 million to the university earlier this year to fund scholarships for students from underserved rural counties, including Hickman County, where Bill Nunnelly was raised. Four of those scholarships have already been funded for the fall 2020 semester, and more than 90 Nunnelly Scholars will be able to attend UT Martin each year when the bequest is realized. Bill is a 1970 graduate of UT Martin and later established multiple businesses.

“(The Nunnellys) know that one of the most important things that you can do in life is to give back and invest in others. … So today we are here to honor them for this incredible gift,” said Dr. Keith Carver, UT Martin chancellor, during the homecoming dedication ceremony. Carver also announced the dedication of the two gateway columns along University Street, located outside the Hall-Moody Administration Building, as the Nunnelly Gateway Columns. This pathway is one of the most-traveled paths in and out of the university quadrangle, and the columns will now bear plaques in honor of the couple’s generosity.

For more information, contact the UT Martin Office of University Relations at 731-881-7615.

###