The University of Tennessee has received a gift of $10 million from Jimmy and Dee Haslam. This donation will create a scholarship, the Haslam Scholars, aid the Medieval and Renaissance studies and forensic anthropology programs, and create the Haslam Family Professorship and Chair Endowment, which will help bring the most elite faculty to UT.

Students and faculty are what make UT strong, inviting and viJimmy Haslam, president and chief executive officer of Pilot Travel Centersbrant.Jimmy Haslam is the president and chief executive officer of Pilot Travel Centers, a company that combines a restaurant, convenience store and gas station into one service called travel centers. Dee Haslam is the CEO of RIVR Media, a media company which produces documentaries and television series. She also chairs the UT Development Council. Jimmy and Dee Haslam are both chairs of the Campaign for Tennessee for the Knoxville Campus.

Of the $10 million, $2.5 million will be donated to the Haslam Scholars program. The scholarship recipients should display academic achievement, leadership experience, unique talents and skills, and ambition.

According to a UT press release, Jimmy Haslam hopes the Haslam Scholars program will enrich UT by bring the best and brightest students to the campus.

"Students and faculty are what make UT strong, inviting and vibrant. We are happy to create the Haslam Scholars program to bring some of the nation's best students to the UT campus. It our hope that the endowed professorships help the university leading scholars," Jimmy Haslam said.

All of the Haslam Scholars will receive the Chancellor's scholarship, the highest academic scholarship currently available, which includes free tuition, room and board, and any other expenses. In addition, winners of the scholarship will be given a $1,500 laptop, $4,000 to study abroad, and up to $5,000 towards a senior research thesis and travel expense to attend either a national or international meeting to present the research thesis.

Students must apply by Nov. 1, the early admission deadline for the Chancellor's scholarship, in order to be eligible for the Haslam Scholars.