John Fisher

John Fisher may not be famous in the celebrity sense, but the longtime civic leader and successful businessman is one of the most distinguished alumni to come through the University of Tennessee and reside in the cities of Knoxville and Maryville. I hold a special connection to Mr. Fisher as he was a member of my fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, in addition to holding roles within the Student Government Association. Mr. Fisher received his degree in 1938 and later went on to serve as the president and chief executive officer of the Ball Corporation. Mr. Fisher has given back considerably to the University; you know the student commons outside of Einseins in Haslam Business Building? Yeah, those are named after him! That building housing the best fraternity on campus (Delta Tau Delta)? Named after him too!

Not only was he a great leader on campus as a student at UT, he was a dedicated alumnus with the betterment of UT always in the forefront of his mind. He was the first student awarded the honor of "Torchbearer" and went on to be the ONLY person to receive the award twice as he received it again as an alumnus due to his considerable contributions to our institution.

He served as a national leader within the Delta Tau Delta national fraternity, and our headquarters in Indiana is named after him due to the contributions he made to our organization. He might not be the most famous individual to come through Knoxville, but this Knoxvillian sure has made a considerable impact across the nation, and in the business world, he has helped develop a strong reputation for UT grads that is still evident today through the distinguished alumni produced through our academy here.