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    • Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy Dedicated

    Hillary Tune
    Alan Wilson, wearing a gray-brown suit coat and a UT orange and white tie with a blue button-up Oxford, stands with Wendy Wilson, wearing a red long-sleeve shirt, next to a plaque with their likenesses and a description of the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy on it.

    The Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy, which will kick-off its inaugural year this fall, was dedicated April 11, 2025, in Circle Park. Along with several notable University of Tennessee, Knoxville, administrators and faculty, the event was also attended by students from the inaugural cohort of the Wilson Academy and media outlets that reported on the dedication.

    The Daily Beacon wrote an article and WBIR Channel 10 News ran a segment about the dedication of this initiative, which was made possible through a $4.5 million gift from College of Communication and Information (CCI) alumnus Alan Wilson and his wife, Wendy Wilson. The Wilson Academy is a collaboration between CCI and the Haslam College of Business, with students from both colleges making up the inaugural cohort of 20 students.

    Eight people on a stage under a large white tent gather in front of a UT orange ribbon that Wendy Wilson is cutting with large scissors.
    From left, Haslam College of Business Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs Michael “Lane” Morris, CCI Dean Joe Mazer, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman, Alan Wilson, Wendy Wilson, UT System President Randy Boyd, Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy Director Guy Harrison, and Wilson Academy fellow Abby Kom.
    Two women wearing the exact same outfit of white shirt and pants and an orange sports caught stand on the right and left of two other people. On the middle left is a man wearing an orange plaid sports coat and on the middle right is a woman wearing a light pink long jacket.
    From left: Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Beth Foster, UT System President Randy Boyd, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Success Courtney Childers, and UT Chancellor Donde Plowman.
    Three students wearing Wilson Academy gray jackets stand together under an arch of yellow and white balloons in front of a white tent. Silver balloons spell out "Wilson Academy" on the top of the arch.
    From left, Wilson Academy students Katie Tolene, Sydney Eyerly, and Alexis Lamb.
    U-T System President Randy Boyd speaks and stands behind a clear podium by an easel with a grey blanket over it featuring a white power T on an orange square in the middle of it.
    UT System President Randy Boyd speaks at the Wilson Academy dedication.
    Guy Harrison speaks and stands behind a clear podium by an easel with a grey blanket over it featuring a white power T on an orange square in the middle of it.
    School of Journalism and Media Assistant Professor Guy Harrison, who is director of the Wilson Academy, speaks at the dedication.
    Joe Mazer, in a navy blue suit, is on a stage under a large white tent and bending over slightly to shake hands with Alan Wilson, who is coming up the stage's steps.
    CCI Dean Joe Mazer, left, shakes Alan Wilson’s hand from the stage at the Wilson Academy dedication.
    Four people stand under a large white tent and post for a photo in front of a plaque with Alan and Wendy Wilson's likeness on it.
    From left, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman, Wendy and Alan Wilson, and CCI Dean Joe Mazer.
    Student Abby Kom is wearing a gray Wilson Academy jacket while standing behind a clear podium underneath a large white tent, with an easel next to her that has a gray blanket on it featuring a white power T on an orange square; it is covering a plaque to be revealed later.
    Wilson Academy student and advertising major Abby Kom speaks at the dedication.