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Tennessee Tech Foundation Board honors charter member for decades of service
Tech President Phil Oldham (left) presents Allen McCampbell with a placard recognizing
his more than 20 years of service on the Tennessee Tech Foundation Board.
The Tennessee Tech University Foundation Board of Directors honored one of its charter
members for more than 20 years of continuous service at its recent meeting.
Allen McCampbell, a graduate of Tech’s class of 1965, was recognized and presented
with a placard for serving on the university’s foundation board since its establishment
in 2001. The meeting marked the conclusion of McCampbell’s board service.
“Tennessee Tech helped shape my life, there’s no question about it,” said McCampbell
in remarks to his fellow board members. “I have never been that far from Tech since
the day I graduated.”
McCampbell, a native of Erin, Tennessee who went on to find success as the former
senior vice president of American General Life & Accident Insurance, recounted initially
coming to Tech – then known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute – in 1959 only to disenroll
a short time later due to poor grades.
McCampbell described the experience as a wake-up call. He went on to enroll in a two-year
mortuary school program to learn the ways of the funeral home industry. His studies
involved manual labor, including digging burial plots. He graduated first in his class.
With the confidence of a two-year degree, McCampbell returned to Tech to apply for
readmission. He recalled the late Malcom Quillen, former dean of men at Tech, as being
instrumental in granting him acceptance back into the university.
Looking back, McCampbell says “flunking” out of the university, and then returning
with a fresh perspective and newfound motivation, was “the best thing that ever happened.”
His positive student experience, and the support of Tech faculty who helped him reengage
with campus after his rocky start, inspired his willingness to serve on the foundation
board when approached by then-President Bob Bell.
Tech Vice President for University Advancement Kevin Braswell pays tribute to Allen
McCampbell in remarks at the Nov. 3 foundation board meeting while McCampbell looks
on.
Kevin Braswell, vice president for university advancement at Tech, also paid tribute
to McCampbell in remarks at the meeting.
“From the time our honoree first arrived at Tech to the present day, Tech has had
no more effective or complete advocate – heart, mind, body, spirit – than Allen McCampbell,”
said Braswell.
Braswell called Tech “a family affair” for the McCampbells, noting that both of McCampbell’s
two children earned degrees from Tech. He also praised McCampbell for his work in
the 1970s helping Tech gain a stronger foothold in the Nashville business community.
“His light, his joy, his sense of purpose and this university are inextricably linked,”
added Braswell.
The Tennessee Tech University Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation helping to
secure and oversee gift support for the university and provide advice and assistance
to the university president on strategic issues impacting Tech’s future, among other
tasks. Board directors are some of Tech’s most distinguished alumni and supporters.
“It’s a privilege to be able to be recognized for it, but it’s more of a privilege
to have done it,” said McCampbell of the accolades for his years of service. “Tech
will never leave me. This is a very special institution.”
