$40 M to U. of Tenn. Chattanooga from Atlanta businessman

Gary Rollins, right,  CEO of  the corporation that operates pest control giant Orkin donated $40 million to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is pictured with Randall Rollins. chairman of the organization.

Gary Rollins, right, CEO of  the corporation that operates pest control giant Orkin donated $40 million to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is pictured with Randall Rollins. chairman of the organization.

Gary W. Rollins, the CEO of the corporation that runs the Orkin pest control empire, has donated $40 million to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, at its annual meeting in Knoxville Friday, voted unanimously to approve  naming the UTC College of Business the Gary W. Rollins College of Business.

A 1967 UTC graduate with a B.S. degree in business, Rollins is the vice chairman and CEO of Rollins, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange corporation.

“The UTC College of Business, under Dean Robert Dooley’s leadership and fully supported by Chancellor Steve Angle, has a history of success built around community involvement that offers students hands-on experience and, ultimately, a stronger opportunity to be job-ready upon graduation,” Rollins said.

Kathleen Rollins, executive director of the Gary W. Rollins Foundation, said the gift could be used to create and support applied research opportunities, scholarships, recruitment of faculty, capital improvements to renovate classrooms, computer labs, offices and common areas in Fletcher Hall, home of the College of Business at UTC.

Angle said the gift serves as a milestone in the history of the University and its ability to serve Chattanooga and the region.

“This gift is not only unprecedented in its generosity to our University, it will be transformational in its impact,” Angle said.

Dooley said: “Gary Rollins has a long history of business excellence based on hard work, employee development and an understanding that people and the relationships they build are a company’s most valuable assets.

“This gift will allow us to attain our vision of becoming a national model for excellence in business education.”