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FROM THE MARCH 1, 1994 ISSUE OF CONTEXT
A bronze bust of the late author Alex Haley was unveiled
recently in the main concourse of Hodges Library.
Created by Knoxville artist Jim Gray, the bust is part of
the UTK class of 1993's senior gift to the University.
They also established an endowment fund for the Library.
David Kao, chairman of the 1993 Senior Gift Steering
Committee, and Gray unveiled the bust with Libraries
Dean Paula Kaufman; Haley's brother, Julius Haley; and
other family members.
"Alex Haley was a world-renowned author and a UTK
professor. When we were choosing a gift to go along
with our endowment fund for the Library, we decided
after Haley's death on a memorial to him" Kao said.
Haley, who won the Pulitzer Price for Roots
and left his papers to UT Special Collections,
died in February 1992 at the age of 70.
"One of the most pleasant memories I have about
Alex Haley is when he agreed to become an adjunct
professor at UTK," said Dr. Jack Reese, UTK chancellor
emeritus and university professor and one of the
speakers at the unveiling.
Haley became a faculty member in 1985 while Reese was
chancellor.
"I remember the specific evening very well. During
dinner at a local restaurant, he held a group of us
in thrall while telling of works he was completing,"
Reese said.
"He was remarkably accessible. He made himself available
to one group after another inside the University. He
enriched the whole educational process," Reese said.
Other speakers included Kao, Gray, Julius Haley, and
John Rice Irwin, founder of the Museum of Appalachia
and friend of Alex Haley.
Representing Black Alumni Associates at the event was
Anthony Hancock. Brad Camp, chairman of the 1994 Senior
Gift Committee, was the master of ceremonies.
The bronze bust portrays Haley between his youth and
later years with three tiny versions of characters from
Roots around his shoulders -- the father of Kunta
Kinte holding him aloft, Kinte's grandson Chicken George,
and Haley's grandmother, Queen.
The 1993 Senior Gift Steering Committee commissioned Gray
to do the sculpture. It will be permanently displayed in
the main concourse of Hodges Library.
The 1994 Senior Gift will be a bronzed University seal
placed in front of the University Center. The class also
plans to establish an environmental endowment fund for
recycling and campus beautification efforts.
The UTK 1991 class donation of the Westminster chimes
in Ayres Hall established the annual senior gift. The
1992 gift was the clock tower near the intersection of
Andy Holt Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard.
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