UofM Board of Trustees Honors Alan B. Graf Jr., R. Brad Martin & Dr. Shirley Raines
June 14, 2023 — The UofM Board of Trustees honored former inaugural Board members Alan B. Graf Jr. and R. Brad Martin as well as former President Shirley Raines at its meeting on Wednesday.
Graf and Martin were presented proclamations from Gov. Bill Lee by Chairman of the Board Doug Edwards. Gov. Lee declared June 14, 2023, both Alan B. Graf Jr. Day and R. Brad Martin Day in the State of Tennessee.
Graf was a member of the inaugural University of Memphis Board of Trustees for six years from March 2017 to March 2023 and served as both Board Chair and Chair of the Governance and Finance Committee for a two-year term from March 2017 to March 2019. He also served as a member of the Audit Committee and was awarded an honorary degree from the UofM.
Martin was a member of the inaugural University of Memphis Board of Trustees for five years from March 2017 to summer 2022. He served as the inaugural Board Vice-Chair for a two-year term from March 2017 to March 2019 and was a member of the Academic, Research and Student Success Committee and Governance and Finance Committee.
Martin served as the Interim President of the University of Memphis for the 2013-14 academic year, was the student body president of the UofM where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and served five terms as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from the UofM following his time as interim president.
Graf, Martin and the University of Memphis Board of Trustees were selected to receive the 2022 John W. Nason Award for Board Leadership by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, the premier organization representing higher education governing boards.
The Board created the Alan Graf Service Award to be presented to the UofM faculty representative on the Board of Trustees and the R. Brad Martin Service Award to be presented to the UofM student representative on the Board of Trustees.
Centennial Place has been renamed as Shirley C. Raines Centennial Place. Raines served as the 11thpresident of the University of Memphis from July 1, 2001, until her retirement on June 30, 2013. She was the first and only woman to hold the position at the UofM. Under her leadership, the University acquired the Lambuth Campus, established the UofM Research Foundation and accelerated the growth of the Honors program to become the Helen Hardin Honors College.
She was inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and was the first woman to chair the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.
The UofM opened the $53 million Shirley C. Raines Centennial Place residence hall in 2016. The facility features 24 student apartments and 300 double occupancy rooms with plenty of green spaces, private study areas and rooms for collaborative projects.
In other matters discussed at the meeting, there will be a tuition and mandatory fee increase up to 2.86% for undergraduate students for the 2023-24 academic year. The UofM has the lowest statewide average tuition increase of 1.5% over the last eight years.
Marissa J. Clark was approved as a Student Trustee through May 31, 2024.