In March 2015 Chancellor Cheek initiated a memorial service remembering students, faculty, and staff who had died during the academic year. Held alongside the Volunteer Statue, the service also recognized—by placement of an arrangement of orange flowers—retirees and alumni who had died. Families of the sixteen persons (thirteen students and three faculty/staff) honored received a perennial, and similar plants were planted at the UT Gardens with a memorial plaque.