Imagine having Memphis business leaders and University ofMemphis alumni teaching one of your business courses on campus andsharing real life experiences.
This will actually happen Monday during the 11th annual AlumniDay.
Business executives from FedEx, AutoZone, Bank of Bartlett,Cannon Ivy, Morgan Stanley, First Tennessee Bank, MethodistHealthcare, Coastal Securities and WREG-TV will be on hand April 14to speak with students and teach morning classes during Alumni Dayactivities.
"This will be the biggest and best Alumni Day," said RichardMcMahon, director of College Development. "We are already soldout."
McMahon said few students purchased tickets to the event.
"Most of the tickets were purchased by businesses andinstitutions," McMahon said. "There will be a lot of people fromout of town attending."
William H. Watkins Jr., managing partner of Watkins UiberallPLLC, CPAs and financial advisors, will receive the OutstandingAlumnus Award, and Willard R. Sparks, CEO of Sparks Companies Inc.,will be named Distinguished Friend of the College for hiscontributions to the advancement of The University and FogelmanCenters.
Also The U of M's Bureau of Business and Economic Research willbe named in honor of Sparks.
Most of the guests featured are alumni of The University.
"About 12 of the 13 guest professors are U of M graduates,"McMahon said. "Willard Sparks isn't an alumnus, but he has done alot for The University."
There will also be a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the KemmonsWilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management.
The keynote speaker for the Alumni Day luncheon will be U of Mgraduate Vicki Palmer, senior vice president and treasurer ofCoca-Cola Enterprises in Atlanta.
"Palmer was chosen as the keynote speaker because of herreputation," McMahon said. "She's a influential, powerful woman andan outstanding speaker. We are delighted to have her."
Palmer is a former Memphian and earned her masters in businessadministration from the Fogelman College in 1980. She is a graduateof South Side High School and a member of the First Tennessee Bankboard.
The Fogelman College of Business and Economics chapter of The Uof M Alumni Association sponsors Alumni Day.
All proceeds will support the Fogelman scholarship program.
