Announced at a press conference in front of the Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center, a new program was launched on March 30, 1989, and was designed to invite 20 graduating high school seniors to attend UT as Whittle Scholars. The first scholarships were to be awarded in fall 1990. Chris Whittle envisioned the program as providing four years of complete funding for the students plus an additional fifth year of study abroad. Alumnus (1969) Chris Whittle announced his plans to give $5.2 million to UT to fund the scholarships, making his the largest private financial commitment to date for academics. Whittle Scholars followed a special honors curriculum that included seminars on current issues and leadership.
Whittle’s gift was to be a principal funding component of the Whittle Scholars Program, which annually provided 10 scholars full funding for attendance at UT for four years and a semester of travel, study, or work abroad. In 1994, with the Whittle Communications business faltering and the first class of scholars scheduled to graduate in the spring, Whittle funded the scholarships by donating land to be sold and agreeing to cover the cost of the difference between the cost for the scholars and the proceeds from the land. Whittle’s promised endowment did not materialize, and UT subsidized the scholarships for several years, aided by gifts from Whittle. Funding from Whittle ended, and the last awards were made to freshmen in 2002. The Haslam Scholars Program is the premier scholarship program of the institution.