{"id":205966,"date":"2024-08-14T08:22:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T12:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/?p=205966"},"modified":"2024-08-14T08:22:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T12:22:21","slug":"cci-alum-gives-4-5-million-to-establish-the-alan-and-wendy-wilson-communication-and-leadership-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2024\/08\/14\/cci-alum-gives-4-5-million-to-establish-the-alan-and-wendy-wilson-communication-and-leadership-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"CCI Alum Gives $4.5 Million to Establish the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alan Wilson (\u201980) used communication skills he learned at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, every day of his storied business career, which culminated as Chairman and CEO of McCormick and Company.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important part of my job as CEO was communicating. I spent most of my time doing that, but leadership really is about communication\u2014it\u2019s about helping people understand what your strategies are and bringing them into alignment with those strategies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The importance of communication in business and leadership is why he and his wife, Wendy Wilson, are investing $4.5 million to establish the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy<\/a> at UT. A collaboration between the Haslam College of Business and the College of Communication and Information<\/a>, the Wilson Academy will pair industry-focused out-of-class leadership development opportunities with hands-on learning experiences, including internships, industry visits, guest speakers, and other initiatives, enabling students to understand the intersections between communication and business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about this new program,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cRaising awareness about the importance of communication is critical to me, as it helps people become more effective. I see this as a great opportunity and a key element in achieving success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alan and Wendy Wilson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wilson said the idea for an Academy was first inspired by an existing program between Haslam College of Business and the Tickle College of Engineering, which trains engineers to understand business better so they can be leaders in their profession. He believes both college\u2019s majors will strongly benefit from the Wilson Academy, as business majors can hone their communication skills and CCI majors can learn the ins-and-outs of business and apply that in their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong business skills are essential for communication professionals to succeed in their careers,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cUnderstanding business will help them excel and adapt to both changes in the industry and shifts in audience needs. The Wilson Academy will be instrumental in developing these skills for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wilson attended UT on a ROTC scholarship and graduated with a bachelor\u2019s in communications. He served almost five years in the U.S. Army, then worked at Procter & Gamble before moving to McCormick and Company, where he worked his way up to CEO. His academic and military experiences informed how he approaches business and instilled in him the importance of communication and leadership skills.<\/p>\n

The gift to establish the Wilson Academy is multi-faceted and includes a variety of initiatives intended to ensure a robust program that starts with introducing students to communication and leadership at the high school level and then continuing to support that throughout their undergraduate journey at UT.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Logo<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

CCI Dean Joseph Mazer said this is a significant move for the college and aligns well with the strategic vision to continue building strong programs and providing hands-on learning opportunities that foster student success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy reflects our commitment to developing future leaders who embody the Volunteer spirit of service and leadership,\u201d Mazer said. \u201cWe are grateful to Alan and Wendy Wilson for their generous support and commitment to creating a best-in-class leadership development experience for our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Academy will host alumni and leadership seminars, provide industry tours led by industry representatives, and pair students with industry leaders for personal mentoring. Stephen L. Mangum, dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair at Haslam College of Business, said the Academy brings two of the university\u2019s strengths together for the benefit of its students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus at the Haslam College of Business has always been on preparing well-rounded students who create a positive impact in the workplace and the world,\u201d Mangum said. \u201cThis partnership with the College of Communication and Information, made possible by the Wilsons, marries strong communication skills with cutting-edge leadership approaches, a combination that ensures students are ready to hit the ground running in their careers.<\/p>\n

Wilson attributes his impressive career to the communication and leadership skills he learned and honed during and after his time at UT, and he hopes students in the program will benefit from those skills as he did.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His career achievements did not go unnoticed by his alma mater, and Wilson has received several prestigious awards over the years, including the UT Accomplished Alumni Award in 2010, the Donald G. Hileman Distinguished Alumni Award\u2014the college\u2019s top alumni honor\u2014in 2011, and UT\u2019s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015.<\/p>\n

For his part, Wilson has stayed connected to UT and CCI, supporting both with financial gifts and volunteering his time. He served on the Advisory Council to the Dean at Haslam College of Business for several years, was the inaugural president of the UT Knoxville Alumni Board, and was a trustee for the UT System before serving on the UT Alumni Foundation board, of which he is now chairman. Throughout the years, he and his wife have regularly funded various UT scholarships and projects, including a gift to the Career Development Center in the UT Student Union, which bears their name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think being a Volunteer means a tremendous amount of pride, but also understanding that it is important to give back. We\u2019ve been very blessed to bring people along and ask them to pay it forward. It means setting an example to others. It\u2019s multi-generational,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alan Wilson (\u201980) used communication skills he learned at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, every day of his storied business career, which culminated as Chairman and CEO of McCormick and Company.\u00a0 \u201cThe most important part of my job as CEO was communicating. I spent most of my time doing that, but leadership really is about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":205967,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,56,208,196,200,198,201,199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-featured-story","category-impact-stories","category-news","category-school-of-communication-studies","category-school-of-information-sciences","category-school-of-journalism-media","category-student-experience-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nCCI Alum Gives $4.5 Million to Establish the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy - School of Information Sciences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2024\/08\/14\/cci-alum-gives-4-5-million-to-establish-the-alan-and-wendy-wilson-communication-and-leadership-academy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CCI Alum Gives $4.5 Million to Establish the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy - School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alan Wilson (\u201980) used communication skills he learned at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, every day of his storied business career, which culminated as Chairman and CEO of McCormick and Company.\u00a0 \u201cThe most important part of my job as CEO was communicating. 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