Businessman and philanthropist James “Jim” Ayers is helping bring UT Martin to Decatur County. A longtime supporter of higher education, Ayers, through the Ayers Foundation, has recently committed $1 million to support the establishment of the UT Martin Center in Parsons.
The Parsons Center is the newest of UT Martin’s four extended-campus sites. The center is the result of a unique partnership among UT Martin administrators, Decatur County officials, the City of Parsons and Mr. Ayers. In addition to Ayers’ generous gift, the City of Parsons and Decatur County have committed an additional $500,000 each to support the initiative.
A fund-raising campaign has been launched to support and equip the facility, which will contain more than 19,000 square feet of academic and administrative support space. The center is scheduled to officially open spring 2009. Classes are currently being offered at Riverside High School in Parsons.
Ayers has an extensive track record of assisting high school students in West Tennessee. The Ayers Foundation Scholarship Program (AFSP) was established in 1999 through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee with the first scholarships being awarded in the fall of 2000. The program is open to all Decatur County students in good academic standing who apply to the Ayers Foundation Guidance Program.
Ayers got the idea for the program when he saw a news story about a man in Austin, Texas, who owned a manufacturing company and wanted to give back to local students for higher education. “Some of my schoolmates didn’t have the encouragement I had,” Ayers said. “Whether you call it blessed or lucky, I have been fortunate enough to have ‘good fortune.’ Today, the chance of that happening for someone without an education is markedly less. I have a great deal of concern for people who play by the rules and don’t get dealt a fair hand,” he said.
Students who want to attend the UT Martin Parsons Center will have additional incentives, thanks to the generosity of Jim Ayers and the Ayers Foundation, as they can take part in a new scholarship. These scholarships are designed to benefit students from two groups: traditional college students who are current high school graduates of the class of 2007 and non-traditional adult students who have been out of high school for at least three years and may or may not have completed college course work.
For any traditional-age student who wants to attend the UT Martin Parsons Center and take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester, a scholarship in the amount of $500 per semester will be provided, regardless of family income or academic standing. The traditional student scholarships will be given above and in addition to any assistance already provided to Decatur County students by the Ayers Foundation Scholarship Program.
Additionally, any current recipient of an Ayers Foundation Scholarship who graduated from high school in 2006 will be eligible for this new traditional-learner scholarship if they desire to begin classes at the Parsons Center. Likewise, students graduating in 2007 from a high school in any county adjacent to Decatur will be eligible for this traditional-learner scholarship to attend the Parsons Center. These counties include: Perry, Wayne, Hardin, Henderson, Carroll and Benton. Students graduating from high school in any of these counties will be eligible for $500 per semester, regardless of academic standing or family income, provided they take the minimum required course load.
Scholarship assistance will also be available for adult students who have been out of high school for at least three years and desire to take classes at the UT Martin Parsons Center. For these students, the Ayers Foundation will provide 50 percent of the tuition cost, UT Martin will provide 25 percent, and the student will provide 25 percent plus the costs of any textbook(s) needed for the classes. For this program, students will be required to take at least one class per semester and may take classes in the summer. Additionally, students participating in this program will have two opportunities for reimbursement of their initial 25 percent cost—once upon completion of 59.9 credit hours and again upon completion of a bachelor’s degree. These scholarships will be available for adult students in Decatur and the adjacent counties of Perry, Wayne, Hardin, Henderson, Carroll and Benton.
Ayers is passionate about investing in our communities, and his vision of extending education has made a positive difference in the lives of many young people in West Tennessee.
Jason Rushing, director of the UT Martin Parsons Center, knows first-hand of the impact of Ayers’ support of education. Rushing, a former Ayers Scholar and 2004 UT Martin graduate, said, “I was one of the first (students) to benefit from Jim Ayers’ dream of making postsecondary education a reality for those in Decatur County,” Rushing said. “Looking back, I can honestly say that, at that time, I had absolutely no idea how this program would affect my life and the lives of so many others.”
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