Support the Department
Giving Options
Gifts to the Geography and Sustainability Department may be designed for a specific purpose or fund or given to the Department’s Enrichment Fund as discretionary funding. Be assured that it will make a difference! Common funds are shown below. Please contact Department Head Ron Kalafsky if you would like more information or if you would like to target your gift for a purpose not shown. The Development Offices of the College and University would be pleased to have you ask about other forms of giving, such as bequests, charitable lead trusts, and gifts of the remainder interest in a personal residence or farm, and they are set up to help you evaluate the tax benefits of different gift options. All contributors making gifts of a hundred dollars or more are eligible for University recognition via the Gift Club.
The Geography Enrichment Fund
The most general-purpose, flexible fund. This fund supports departmental activities that would not be possible within our operating budget. Examples include support for educational and cultural events on campus that benefit our students, support for student and faculty travel for research and professional development, and modernizing and updating facilities and equipment. The Geography Enrichment Fund is supported by direct donations as well as by interest payments generated by the Geography Endowment Fund.
Shelley Family Diversity Scholarship
One of the newest scholarships in the department. The Shelley Scholarship is to recruit and retain exceptional graduate students who contribute in significant ways to the diversity of the department. This scholarship is motivated by the belief that a socially, economically, and ethnically diverse student body helps all of us to better understand our world.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
Geography Endowment Fund
An investment fund that is managed by the university. Quarterly dividends from the endowment are placed in the Geography Department Enrichment Fund. Donations to the Geography Endowment support long-run, sustainable financial needs of the department.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
Bill & Donna Cobble Geography Enhancement Endowment
Proceeds from this fund, established in 1995 by Bill & Donna Cobble in support of undergraduate education in Geography at UT, are used to enhance the educational experiences of undergraduate students.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
Geography Scholarship Fund
This fund provides one or more scholarships to outstanding undergraduate geography majors.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
The Geography Technological Enrichment Fund
Established in 1995 by two anonymous donors, the funds are used to provide our computer research labs and classrooms with up-to-date equipment and software.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
Edwin H. & Elizabeth H. Hammond Endowment Fund in Geography
Edwin H. & Elizabeth H. Hammond Endowment Fund in Geography was established to honor Professor Hammond, who retired in 1987. Gifts to this fund help bring a distinguished geographer, the “Hammond Lecturer,” to the department each year.
*See Where to Send Your Gift below.
S. David Freeman Sustainability Scholarship Endowment
The S. David Freeman Sustainability Scholarship Endowment honors the legacy of an alumnus of the University of Tennessee and pioneering environmental champion. After transitioning from engineering to law, Freeman graduated first in his class from the UT College of Law in 1956 and embarked on a lifetime of public service. He served as a top energy official in Washington, D.C., chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, as the chief executive of multiple other major public utility systems, and as a thought leader who played a key role in the early development of the sustainability and renewable energy priorities and policies that are prevalent today throughout the world. This scholarship supports students committed to sustainability, reflecting Freeman’s lifelong contributions to energy conservation and renewable energy sources. His remarkable career serves as an inspiration for recipients who aspire to advance environmental protection and sustainable practices.
Send your gift to support this scholarship here
Where to Send Your Gift
Gifts to the Geography Enrichment Fund can be made immediately online. Other gift designations should be sent to: The Department of Geography and Sustainability, 304 Burchfiel Geography Building, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0925. Please make checks payable to: University of Tennessee, being careful to use the memo line on the check to indicate “Geography and Sustainability” and, if you wish, to indicate a specific fund. If you wish to discuss other gift opportunities, please contact Department Head Ron Kalafsky at (865) 974-6035 or by email.
