Formal dedication ceremonies were held prior to Â鶹ÊÓƵ's home football opener on Sept. 9 for the Alan J. White Bell Tower. Details...
White retired this year after leading Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s athletics programs for more than 35 years, and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Board of Trustees voted to name the tower in his honor. Trustee Zac Walker, chair of the athletic policy committee paid tribute to White on behalf of the board at the ceremony.
The tower stands at the center of facilities that were constructed during White’s tenure, including Rhodes Stadium and McKinnon Field; Latham Park; Rudd, Hunt and Tucker fields; Koury Field House; and Belk Track and Alan and Norma White Field.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ President Leo M. Lambert said naming the bell tower in White’s honor is an appropriate expression of gratitude for his years of dedication and service.
“We dedicate the bell tower this afternoon in honor of Dr. Alan White’s legacy of leadership in intercollegiate athletics,” Lambert said. “When you think about Alan, the qualities of leadership come immediately to mind:
- Integrity
- Doing the right thing
- Wisdom
- Intellect
- Staying the course
- Fairness
- Discipline
- Old-fashioned hard work
In every role that he played at Â鶹ÊÓƵ—professor, coach, director of athletics—he exhibited these qualities. Each time you approach this bell tower in the future, remember these qualities of leadership that our friend personifies.”
White and his wife Norma were joined at the dedication ceremony by their good friends Jeanne and Jerry Robertson, who made a generous gift to Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s athletics scholarship endowment to name the bell tower in White’s honor. Jeanne Robertson is an Â鶹ÊÓƵ trustee.
“I am also appreciative of Jerry and Jeanne Robertson’s leadership in making this tribute possible,” Lambert said. “Â鶹ÊÓƵ is a better place because of Jeanne’s leadership as a trustee. Jerry and Jeanne’s leadership and generosity, by the gift they have made, will provide access to a great Â鶹ÊÓƵ education to young people for generations to come. Long after we’re all gone, I can promise you two things: these beautiful bells will still toll, and student athletes will be at Â鶹ÊÓƵ because of Jeanne and Jerry Robertson’s foresight.”