Michael Alston, EdD, associate vice chancellor for Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity, and Chandra Alston, EdD, vice chancellor of Human Resources, both at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, are examples of intentional donors to the institutions where they work. With a combined 57 years of service in the UT System, they have donated in the areas that are most important to them.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center will launch its inaugural Family Campaign Wednesday, February 1. The philanthropic campaign runs through the month of February and encourages members of the UTHSC family – faculty and staff – to also support their workplace with a financial gift of any size and in any area that is important to them.
During the campaign, donors can make one-time or recurring gifts via credit card or payroll deduction. All participants in the campaign, including donors who have already given this fiscal year, will receive a UTHSC tumbler. The goal is 500 donors across all six colleges.
According to Chandra Alston a gift to the university is a gift from the heart. “After graduating from UT Martin, we married and had a son, Joshua Michael Alston. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly six days before his first birthday,” she said. “Our friends from UT Martin started the Joshua Michael Alston scholarship, and our friends and family helped us endow it. Each year, a student from Tipton and Shelby County, who attends UT Martin, benefits from that scholarship.”
The Alstons created the Chancellor’s Staff Exempt Award at UTHSC in 2010, continue to fund it, and have presented the award each year since that time. Additionally, they created the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Awards at UTHSC in 2021.
The UTHSC Family Campaign, similar to those at other institutions, is an opportunity for the UTHSC community to show pride in the university, its accomplishments, and is contributions to improving health and health care in Tennessee. It also encourages others to contribute.
The UTHSC family can be proud that:
- UTHSC is the largest educator of health care professionals across the state.
- UTHSC has more than 3,100 students.
- UTHSC has more than 3,800 regular and temporary employees.
- UTHSC has more than 380 researchers working on the cures of tomorrow.
- UTHSC trains the largest number of medical residents in Tennessee.
- UTHSC trains 75% of Tennessee’s dentists.
- UTHSC has trained pharmacists for Tennessee for more than a century.
- UTHSC produces the largest number of doctorally-prepared nurses in Tennessee.
- UTHSC physicians, residents, and trainees staff major hospitals in Memphis and across Tennessee, ensuring quality care.
A celebration of the Family Campaign is set for 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., February 15, in the Mooney Library. The campus is invited to attend.
Additional information and giving links can be found at giving.uthsc.edu/familycampaign.