Vol Impact: 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards
The 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards honor dedicated Vols whose support and service dedication help maintain the College of Arts and Sciences advantage.
The UT College of Arts and Sciences Alumni and Philanthropy Awards honor alumni who make a significant impact on our college community through their generosity and ongoing dedication to moving the college mission forward. The 2025 awards are focused on two key honors: Philanthropists of the Year and Volunteers of the Year.
Philanthropists of the Year
This award honors alumni whose generous engagement makes an impact over an extended period of time—those who truly believe in the power of giving and the potential of the college’s faculty and students. For 2025, this award spotlights gifts from alumni Dan Ricketts (BS, Business Administration ’85; JD, Law ’92) and spouse Steve Frankel, and Todd Metcalf (BA, Political Science ’93).
Dan Ricketts and Steve Frankel demonstrate their deep dedication to the college through transformative philanthropy and an intentional passion for advancing academic excellence, cross-cultural understanding, and global engagement—actively embodying the spirit of this award.
Ricketts, an entrepreneur and principal in an interior design firm, and husband Frankel, a successful and award-winning realtor, made a significant contribution to establish the Frankel-Ricketts Scholars in Israel Program, which supports travel scholarships for study in Israel, plus undergraduate scholarships, faculty awards for research on Israeli culture, and short-term teaching opportunities for visiting scholars.
Their gift represents one of the most significant philanthropic commitments in the history of the Department of Religious Studies, broadening educational opportunities for both students and faculty, with a particular focus on the Judaic Studies program. Their support greatly enhances the work of the Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies and reflects their deeply personal belief in the power of travel to combat prejudice and foster global understanding.
“As a student from Tennessee, I never studied abroad and have spent my work and post-work life traveling the world to make up for it,” said Ricketts. “Steve did have the opportunity to study abroad, and 40 years later still looks at it as the highlight of his college years. He and I both believe that seeing the world opens us up to the humanity in all of us. That’s especially critical in today’s world. And even more so in a country like Israel and a region like the Middle East. We are happy to play a small part in making that happen for Tennessee students.”
Todd Metcalf’s sustained generosity, deep engagement, and transformative impact likewise exemplify the key qualities honored by this award. He has made a selfless investment of time, money, and expertise across key programs, student support, and campus governance. His philanthropy has had a profound and multifaceted impact—transforming individual student experiences, strengthening academic and cultural programs, and ensuring a welcoming campus community for future generations.
“I am deeply honored to be named Philanthropist of the Year by my beloved College of Arts and Sciences,” said Metcalf, who is a principal at Price Waterhouse Coopers, a tax policy expert, and an attorney. “My time at Tennessee shaped both my personal and professional journey in immeasurably positive ways, and I remain profoundly grateful for the opportunities and community it provided me. To me, this recognition is much less about what I have tried to give back than a reflection of my deep and abiding gratitude for all the university has given to me. I remain committed to doing whatever I can to help ensure that future generations of Volunteers can thrive and carry forward the tradition of excellence that defines UT.”
Metcalf’s major gifts have supported the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts and numerous other campus-wide initiatives. In gratitude for an Andy Holt Scholarship that helped him as a student, Metcalf endowed scholarship support for clarinet students in the Pride of the Southland Band and for scholars from the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. He has also made the long-term investment of including the college in his estate planning.
Volunteers of the Year
This award recognizes arts and sciences alumni who go above and beyond in giving back to the college and honors their long-term, exceptional, and continuing service of Vol leadership. This year we spotlight Mike Dennis (PhD, Botany ’76) and Margie Nichols (BA, English ’75) for their outstanding representation of what it means to be a Vol for Life.
Mike Dennis is a highly skilled biologist with expertise in botany and environmental consulting who has served on the External Advisory Board for the former Department of Botany, the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences, and the UT Alumni Board. He is also an exemplary model of Vol philanthropy—highly generous with both his personal time and financial resources in support of the former botany department, the current Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the college as a whole through the Dean’s Circle and special gifts to the Department of English and the UT Band Program.
From 1979 to 2017, Dennis shared his time and expertise with students by teaching field courses that gave first-hand experiences in topics such as aquatic and wetland plants of Tennessee. His financial investment via the Breedlove Dennis Fund, established in 1992, has supported the research projects of numerous graduate and undergraduate students over the years. This fund provides support for student field research, which in turn helps students publish in scientific publications and peer-reviewed journals, deliver presentations at national conferences, and successfully complete their theses and dissertations.
Dennis has shared this multilayered support over the years in gratitude for his own educational experience at Rocky Top.
“I got an excellent education at UT,” said Dennis. “The botany department was one of the top botany departments in the country. We had a lot of excellent professors and a lot of good graduate students, and so I felt very, very privileged to be a part of that and to get my PhD from UT.”
Margie Nichols Gill, former vice chancellor for communications and marketing, exemplifies the leadership, passion, and collaborative spirit that defines this award. As vice chancellor she helped transform the university’s public image through bold branding initiatives that elevated UT’s profile across the state and region.
Since retiring, she has remained deeply involved in advancing UT’s mission, notably through her instrumental role in the Carousel Campaign and as chair of the Clarence Brown Theatre Advisory Board. Nichols Gill has demonstrated exceptional dedication, strategic insight, and a deep love for the arts and education at UT. Her volunteer service has helped preserve treasured traditions and shaped the future of theatre arts at UT, leaving a tangible legacy for students, faculty, and the broader Knoxville community.
“It is such a privilege to be able to remain engaged with the University of Tennessee,” said Nichols Gill. “The Clarence Brown Theatre gives our community Broadway quality productions and prepares our students to make it on the biggest stages. I am constantly inspired by the work and artistic mission of the faculty, staff and students at the CBT; I feel lucky to play a small part in its success.”
By Randall Brown