LATIMER-SMITH ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE BUILDING DEDICATED

LATIMER-SMITH ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE BUILDING DEDICATED

MARTIN, Tenn. – Bill and Carol Latimer believe in the power of education to change

lives. Their commitment to education inspired the Union City couple’s $6.5 million gift that

made possible the new Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science Building at the University of

Tennessee at Martin. The $65 million, 120,000-square-foot, three-story building was dedicated

during a 3:30 p.m. ceremony Thursday, Oct. 27.

The dedication coincided with the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees fall

meeting held Oct. 27-28 in the Boling University Center. Earlier that afternoon, board members

approved a request by Bill Latimer to add Dr. Bob Smith’s name to the building in recognition of

the former UT Martin chancellor’s service during a critical period in the university’s history.

The Latimer gift provided the 10% match required by the state for construction of the

state-of-the-art facility. Ground was officially broken Sept. 18, 2020, and the building will open

for classes in spring 2023. The Latimer Building will house the departments of chemistry and

physics, computer science, engineering, mathematics and statistics, and the pre-professional

health sciences program. The building features classrooms, laboratories, offices, and a small

observatory.

UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver welcomed the crowd that gathered on the building’s

west side, which he noted is the university’s first new academic building in 40 years. “We’re

excited for our campus community, students, faculty, staff – especially those in our STEM

disciplines who are going to utilize this building,” Carver said. He introduced UT President

Randy Boyd who told the audience that the university won’t have to wait 40 years for its next

building. “We have over 1,200 buildings in the University of Tennessee System,” he said. “This

is one of the best anywhere across the system, so you have a lot to be proud of.”

Boyd thanked both Carver and Smith for the vision and leadership they provided that

made the building possible. Prior to Carver being named chancellor in 2016, Smith led the

university for 19 months beginning in June 2015 during which time the Latimers’ gift moved the

project forward. Boyd first met the couple during his campaign for Tennessee governor, and

since then he has seen the impact of the Latimers’ generosity in the state. “I think we’re going to

be thankful to them for their donations, but I know myself and many others that know them will

be thankful for their inspiration,” he said.

Smith followed Boyd on the program and recalled the challenges faced by the university

and the region at the time he was named interim chancellor. Those included high unemployment,

problems in school systems and UT Martin’s accreditation probation. Despite the obstacles, he

and others never lost the vision for a long-planned STEM building. “Among all the other projects

that we were working on, we had to keep this building very much, and its opportunity for this

campus, in front of us,” he said.

Smith recalled that the building came closer to reality during the 2016 legislative session,

thanks to a change in the university’s required match to fund the project. The match reduction

from 25 percent to 10 percent was led by State Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon) and was the

first of its kind in Tennessee government. The university was given a one-year opportunity to

match 10% or approximately $6.5 million of the cost to construct the building.

In April 2016, Latimer asked to meet with Smith, and during that meeting, he told Smith

to take care of the university, and Carol and he would cover the needed match so that the

building could be constructed. Smith said that some key lessons in philanthropy led to the

historic gift.

“The first one is it is really always about relationships,” he said. “… That sets the

foundation for where philanthropy can bear fruit.” Smith said that the second lesson is that

Latimer makes transformational gifts. “He does not want to make – and most of the successful

philanthropists – do not want to make gifts that are just gifts,” he said. “They want them to be

truly ones that make a difference.”

“And the third one was Bill and Carol are about making investments, not writing checks

and gifts, and that investment must produce a return,” he said. Smith noted larger gifts to the

university in recent years, likely inspired by the Latimers’ generosity. “So that investment has

multiplied well beyond the initial gift, but it would never have if Bill hadn’t, and Carol hadn’t

have stepped forward.”

Latimer used his time in the program to credit others for the building, which a few

minutes later, would be announced by Carver as the Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science

Building out of Latimer’s respect for Bob Smith and his service as chancellor. He began by

speaking of his personal faith.

“Carol and I believe that if God has blessed you, then you need to use his blessings to

bless others,” he said. “God has blessed us much more than we could ever deserve and much,

much more than we expected, and God’s blessings is the reason that Carol and I are here today.

“We believe in education, and we believe that is the best way to help get people out of

poverty.”

Latimer added his praise for State Sen. John Stevens and former State Rep. Andy Holt for

their legislative work in 2016 that changed the way buildings were financed for higher education.

He acknowledged UT President Emeritus Joe DiPietro for convincing Smith to return and lead

UT Martin during a pivotal time. But perhaps he saved is greatest compliment for his friend with

whom he shared the stage on this perfect October afternoon.

“In my opinion, for the amount of time Bob was chancellor … he did more for UTM than

any other chancellor that I’ve had the privilege of knowing,” Latimer said.

Early in his remarks, Latimer asked his cousin, the Rev. Jimmy Latimer, senior pastor of

Redeemer Evangelical Church in Germantown, to bless the new building and all who use the

facility in the future. Before praying, he recalled the family’s history and why the new building

fits the Latimer legacy.

“Bill’s ancestors and my ancestors came here from Middle Tennessee in 1853 to Obion

County, and they were brothers and they had joining lands and farms,” Jimmy Latimer said.

“And the first thing they did when they came to West Tennessee was, they put a plot of land

from each farm together and built the Beech Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Beech

School.

“Our family has been involved as farmers, educators, and churchmen all these years, and

today is a beautiful fruition of what God has done through Bill. It really says what our family has

tried to be all these years.”

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