Tennessee Wesleyan Alum Carl Colloms Donates $2 million To Proud Heritage, Strong Future Capital Campaign

  • Saturday, May 2, 2015
Carl E. Colloms always knew he wanted to go to law school. From his childhood on a farm in Charleston, Tn., throughout his life, he worked towards the goal of attending law school and becoming a lawyer. Judge Colloms graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College in 1964 and went on to finish his law degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He recently retired as the child support magistrate for the 10th Judicial District of Tennessee, and has also served as a county judge, a city judge, and a county attorney.

“I knew my path, and I appreciate Tennessee Wesleyan letting me travel that path,” he said.

A few years ago, Judge Colloms established the Carl E. Colloms Endowed Scholarship at TWC. Now, his $2 million donation to the Tennessee Wesleyan College Proud Heritage, Strong Future Capital Campaign will further enhance his legacy in Athens and the surrounding community. This gift will be used to help fund the construction of a new campus center on the TWC campus in Athens. To honor this generous donation, the new facility will be named the Colloms Campus Center.

“The board of trustees unanimously voted to name the future campus center the Colloms Campus Center in honor of one of the college’s most generous and faithful alums,” TWC President Dr. Harley Knowles said. “Judge Colloms’ lead gift commitment of $2 million is the single largest charitable commitment in the college’s history.”

Though Judge Colloms has provided TWC with a generous donation, he says the naming of the new campus center is a tribute to his whole family, not just to him.

“I do seriously feel that it’s a good way to honor my family name,” he said. “We are a family. The building is not going to say the ‘Carl Colloms Campus Center.’ It says ‘Colloms Campus Center,’ and that’s a tribute to my family.”

The Colloms Campus Center will provide much-needed gathering space for students. The center will feature a game lounge, a café and grill area, the academic success center, the career center, and the student life offices. The new space will allow students to more easily receive the resources they need to have a successful college experience. The center will also have several meeting rooms and a large banquet room that will be available for hosting community events.

“This will be a structure that will meet needs of all students,” Judge Colloms said. “It’ll have a significant impact and availability for commuting students, like I was, but the resident students will be able to make a lot of usage of it too. I would just hope four or five years from now, to be able to meet someone who has come through Tennessee Wesleyan College with good experiences at the campus center who has made a change in their lives and the lives of their family and those around them.”



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