June 6, 2023 How One Wall Built the Foundation for Faculty Success and Much More

With a great-grandfather who established Southern icon White Lily Flour in Knoxville in the late 19th century, Libba Wall (’59) and her family are deeply invested in the Knoxville community. Family connections partly led her to establish the James Johnson Dudley Architecture Faculty Scholar Award Endowment for the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

“I named the award after my son, who studied architecture at UT and now practices in Charlotte [North Carolina],” said Wall. “I also have a stepson who works in the college, so I wanted to support the place that’s supported my family.” 

From refugee camps to your city park—the research enabled by the Dudley Faculty Award addresses the full gamut of human experience through the physical spaces we inhabit. 

“I supported faculty research because it not only enables innovations that benefit our world, but it also gives opportunity to students to assist and learn from their professors’ research,” said Wall. “As an endowment, the award will go on doing that in perpetuity.” 

Read the full article in spring edition of gratitude. This article was originally published on alumni.utk.edu and shared here with permission.