Dr. Lynn Alexander, who served as dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts from 2010 until her retirement in 2023, became the namesake of the Lynn Alexander Departmental Office Suite on Dec. 3.
The office suite, located in Room 131 of the Andy Holt Humanities Building, houses the English faculty of the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages. Alexander had also served as the chair of the Department of English.
Dr. Jeffrey R. Bibbee, dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, spoke at the unveiling of the name plaque to go over the office entrances. He spoke about a conversation he had with her as he was applying for the position.
“We were scheduled to talk for about 30 minutes (via Zoom),” he said. “We talked for two hours. In that conversation, she told me all about living in Martin, and she told me all about the college.”
Speaking directly to Alexander, he added, “But what came through in that conversation was the excitement you had every time you talked about students, the admiration you had for the faculty, the appreciation you had for people and their work and their effort and the things that they did, the love that you had for Martin and this community and this campus.”
Alexander taught at UT Martin for 34 years in a diverse range of classes, and Chancellor Yancy Freeman said it was her passion for literature and unwavering dedication to sharing knowledge that inspired the many students in her classes.
“Beyond her teaching role, she emerged as one of the (College of Humanities and Fine Arts’) most generous philanthropists, funding the Alexander Professorship Endowment and contributing to various student funds,” he said. “Dr. Alexander’s commitment extended to the Interdisciplinary Student Writing Conference, where she established the Alexander Prizes in honor of her uncle, James Alexander, and mother, Cleo Alexander, when university support for prizes was insufficient.”
Alexander represented UT Martin on the University of Tennessee Foundation Board, and in 2018, she was elected to chair the Humanities Tennessee Board of Directors, serving a two-year term in that position.
Alexander also served on the city of Martin’s Public Library Board and now serves on the West Tennessee Public Broadcasting System Board with Freeman.
As dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Alexander oversaw construction on the UT Martin Fine Arts Building that included renovations and expansion of that building, including the naming of the Bill and Roberta Blankenship Recital Hall in 2013.
A native of Tulsa still living in Martin, Alexander came to UT Martin in fall 1989, after serving as an assistant professor of English at Upper Iowa University. She earned her undergraduate degree from Phillips University and her doctorate from the University of Tulsa. She was succeeded as dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts by Bibbee in June 2023 following her retirement.
“One of the great things about teaching at UT Martin was that I really got to teach a wide variety of classes,” she said. “I was hired as a Victorianist; 19th century, British fiction is my field. But, I got to teach (classes about) women writers. I had training as a technical writer, so I taught technical writing as well as first-year composition and sophomore survey and all the regular classes that everybody taught.
“I was able to do extra things. I did a Travel Study with another professor to Ireland. I actually ‘stowed away’ on other Travel Study trips (including one) to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. There have been all kinds of opportunities for things like that.”
Alexander added that the small class sizes have enabled her to get to know her students better than larger universities may allow.
“You really get to know your students,” she said. “I’ve been able to make friends with students over the years; we’ve stayed in touch. We’ve moved from student/teacher to mentor/mentee to being friends as they’ve grown in their careers. I’m not too sure that happens at larger schools or schools where you have a student in one class and it’s a class of 50 people.”
PHOTO: Dr. Lynn Alexander (center), former dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts from 2010 to her retirement in 2023, was honored Dec. 3 as the namesake of the office suite in Room 131 of the Andy Holt Humanities Building. The suite houses English faculty from the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages. Shown with Alexander are Dr. Jeffrey Bibbee (left), dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and UTM Chancellor Yancy Freeman Sr.
