In 1926 UT asked Tennessee Attorney General L. D. Smith for a ruling on who should be considered an alumnus. This was important because in 1909 the legislature had passed an act making the board of trustees more representative, vesting appointment power in the governor, and requiring that at least one-third of the members of the board be alumni of the institution.
General Smith ruled that any former student or graduate, or a student or graduate of institutions that had merged with the university, could be considered an alumnus, and that “some definite period of time so as to be enrolled in the catalogue as a member of its institution, will constitute the definition of an alumnus.” Enrollment in the catalog at that time required completion of one term of study.