Circle K, a student organization affiliated with Kiwanis International, was established at UT in 1959. In 1965 the organization began to sponsor, with the Volunteer, the Miss UT Pageant, the winner of which represented UT in the Miss America Pageant. In 1972 the organization teamed up with the student center to establish the Free Service … Continued

Circle Park is an on-campus park located off Volunteer Boulevard, behind the Volunteer Statue. Originally named Payne Circle, the central portion of the park was offered to the City of West Knoxville as a public park in 1888 and became the property of the City of West Knoxville on January 4, 1889. (West Knoxville was … Continued

The senior class of 1997 began the custom of offering commemorative bricks around the base of the Volunteer Statue as a means of raising money for the senior class gift. The bricks cost $50 up to $150. The Senior Class Gift Committees of 2003, 2004, and 2005 offered commemorative bricks in the sidewalk in Circle … Continued

Circle Park Drive was a city of Knoxville street until 1976. With the only buildings on the drive being UT ones, the university asked the city to close the street and turn it over to UT so that UT could make provisions for parking on the street for the handicapped. On February 24, 1976, the … Continued

Alex Haley’s efforts within the university and in the world are commemorated with a brass plaque and tree in Circle Park. A poplar tree was planted and a plaque placed by it by the African Student Association of Knoxville in 1992. Children actually planted the tree to symbolize new beginnings, and according to Idrissa Ouedraogo, … Continued

Two plaques honor brothers Bob and Ken Smith at the base of a Kwanzan flowering cherry tree. One plaque reads: Bob Smith / 1957-2005 / The best father, son, brother, friend, and / Vol fan. The other reads: In Memory of / Ken Smith / our number one / Vol. Bob and Ken Smith were … Continued

The plaque at the base of a memorial tree reads: In memory of / Donald L. Dyer / Presented by / The Huntsville, Alabama / United Way Staff  / March 14, 1992 / Tulip Poplar / Liriodendron tulipfera. Donald L. Dyer attended the University of Tennessee 1965–70, graduating with a major in Education. He worked … Continued

Mark Lee McCormack of Knoxville entered UT as a freshman in 1997 following graduation from Knoxville’s West High School. A computer whiz in grade school, he was considering a major in computer science or in a recently discovered passion for geology. Kind, well liked, and hardworking, he died by his own hand in 1998. A … Continued

On January 15, 1974, a plaque was placed in Circle Park to mark the spot where a dawn redwood was to be planted to commemorate the 45th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

At the base of a legacy sugar maple tree is the plaque reading: In loving memory of / Terry Lynn Smith / 1945–2003. Terry Lynn Smith was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Humphreys County, Tennessee. He graduated as salutatorian of his class at Waverly High School in Waverly, Tennessee. He attended UT … Continued