The University’s College at Wise has received its largest single donation ever of $11.2 million from The Bill Gatton Foundation, which will be matched with an additional $4.5 million from the University’s Bicentennial Scholars initiative for a total of $15.7 million. Chancellor Donna Price Henry announced the donation Nov. 4, calling the gift “transformational.”
The contribution will fund several “key initiatives,” including new need-based scholarships and the construction of the new Bill Gatton Technology and Data Analytics Hall. Henry described the donation as multifaceted in its future utility.
“The gift will fund the college's greatest needs, which means it will make a difference in students being able to pay their tuition, continue their studies if they run into emergencies, succeed within their academic program and gain vital experience through hands-on learning,” Henry said in a special announcement.
The Foundation’s gift will initiate six endowed funds and will launch the construction of the Technology and Data Analytics Hall. It will additionally support the naming of the Bill Gatton Department of Nursing, the Bill Gatton Department of Technology Management and Data Analytics, and the Bill Gatton Softball field, which was recently expanded and reopened for the Spring 2024 season.
It will also provide for the development of the Bill Gatton Scholars program, a three-pronged scholarship fund via the Bill Gatton Academic Scholarship, the Bill Gatton Athletic Scholarship and the Bill Gatton Technology & Data Analytics Scholarship. These funds will be matched by the Strategic Investment Fund at $4.5 million through the Bicentennial Scholars initiative.
In addition to the Bill Gatton Scholars Program and the construction of the Technology and Data Analytics Hall, the donation will create financial support for “The Chancellor’s Greatest Needs Fund,” which includes the naming of the C.M. “Bill” Gatton Chancellor’s Seating Box and C.M. “Bill” Gatton Hospitality Suite in the David J. Prior Convocation Center, a venue for concerts and sporting events.
Also included is the establishment of the Rachel Clay-Keohane Mathematics Fund to honor Clay-Keohane — a former star basketball player, head coach of the U.Va. Wise women’s basketball team, U.VA. Wise Hall of Fame member and long-time faculty member in the Department of Mathematics.
The College at Wise’s previous largest gift was by the Hunter Smith Family Foundation, which totaled $10 million and established the competitive Carl W. Smith Bicentennial Scholars Program. In 2003 the Smith Family also provided a gift of $1.5 million to help create the Cavalier Marching Band at the University’s Charlottesville campus.
The $11.2 million gift to the College at Wise came from the Bristol-based Bill Gatton Foundation, which supports “organizations that foster meaningful educational opportunities, effective healthcare and medical treatments,” according to the Foundation’s website mission page. Beyond its donations to academic institutions within the tri-state area, the Foundation has donated to national hospitals like Mayo Clinic, as well as region-based charitable organizations such as United Way of Bristol TN/VA.
Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton, who died in 2022, was an entrepreneur in the banking, real estate and automobile industries who, interested in enabling the success of future generations, created The Bill Gatton Foundation and centralized his philanthropic efforts.
Gatton contributed more than $180 million to his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, making him the largest single donor in the institution’s history. In August, the Foundation gifted $14 million to King University in Bristol, Tennessee, which will similarly develop new scholarship opportunities. Gatton did not attend the College at Wise, but the Foundation’s gift follows a trend of contributing to smaller or public universities in the tri-state area.
Valerie Lawson, Vice Chancellor for Advancement and Alumni Engagement said the late Gatton’s relationship with the College at Wise began in 2010 when he established “The Bill Gatton Scholarship.” In 2019, he furthered his support by creating “The Bill Gatton Foundation Bicentennial Scholarship,” a need-based contribution which prioritizes undergraduate students from Washington County, Virginia, and is matched by the College at 50 percent as long as funds are available.
In a written statement to The Cavalier Daily, Lawson described how Gatton and his foundation gradually grew closer to the College at Wise, and how that connection resulted in a $15.7 million contribution to the institution.
“Over the years, Mr. Gatton became good friends with one of our now retired [College at Wise] Advancement team members, and they talked and visited often,” Lawson said. “The trustees [of the Gatton Foundation] who are now carrying out Mr. Gatton’s legacy have visited campus and they, too, are impressed with the mission of the institution and want to ensure its future success.”
Beyond the Bill Gatton Foundation’s recent gift, Lawson said the University’s Bicentennial Scholars initiative, which offers donors an option to have their contribution matched at either 50 percent or 100 percent by the University’s Strategic Investment Fund, has been a chief inspiration for millions of dollars in private support.
“The impact [of the Bicentennial Scholars initiative] has already been transformational to the students who are the beneficiaries, but will increasingly be impactful as the funds grow,” Lawson said in a written statement to The Cavalier Daily. “A scholarship is a lifeline for many of our students who wouldn’t be able to pursue higher education without this important support.”
Lawson said that in the future, she expects the Foundation and the College at Wise to work closely with one another. She said she is hopeful that the first Gatton Scholarships will be awarded in fall 2025, adding that they will support students both now and in the future.
“We will be the best stewards of the resources entrusted to us and will report back often about the impact of The Bill Gatton Foundation support,” Lawson said. “There is no better way to multiply the impact of support than to invest in the lives of the students who are our future.”
Read More
Previewing the December meeting of the Board of Visitors
By Thomas Baxter | YesterdayThe Board is the University’s governing body responsible for overseeing major projects and plans related to the University’s long-term future.
U.Va. Community Food Pantry continues to support student food access over breaks
By Lauren Seeliger | 2 days agoLocated in the Student Activities Center on the first floor of Newcomb Hall, the CFP is a student-run pantry that is open to all students and staff regardless of demonstrated need.
Virginia obliterated 37-17 in Commonwealth Clash
By Peter Kriebel | 3 days agoThe Cavaliers lose to Virginia Tech once again, and have not conquered their hated rival since 2019.
