The Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations is the first named school at the University of Tennessee, the first named school of advertising and public relations at a land grant university and the first of its kind in the SEC.
Director Beth Foster announced the renaming of the school to the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations after receiving a generous donation from the Tombras agency. The dedication of the school was held in Circle Park on Friday, March 25 and marked the beginning of a unique partnership between the university and Tombras.
A crowd gathers for the dedication of UT's first named school, the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations, on March 25, 2022.
Tombras is a top-level, full-service independent advertising agency located in the heart of downtown on Gay Street. Tombras is among the top 25 largest independent advertising agencies and is home to 300 employees. President of Tombras, Dooley Tombras, spoke at the dedication.
“Honestly, we wouldn’t exist without the University of Tennessee,” Tombras said.
The Tombras Agency was founded by Charles Tombras in 1946. Charles Tombras was a UT graduate and went on to work for KUB before starting the Tombras agency, which was the first of its kind in the state of Tennessee.
Dooley Tombras said his grandfather would be amazed to see the partnership between his company and the university.
“He never could have envisioned that the company he founded almost 80 years ago would be embarking on a partnership like this with the University of Tennessee to start the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations,” Tombras said. “And that we’d be doing it with the mission of literally changing the status quo in the industry.”
Foster elaborated on just exactly how the school intends to use this gift to transform the student experience and the industry as a whole.
“Together we will change representation in higher education and in the industry,” Foster said.
The Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations aims to establish itself as the premier school for advertising and public relations. The school will measure its success in three goals – to increase opportunity for underrepresented students, to grow in enrollment of advertising and public relations majors and to enrich student experiences.
A banner displays the name of the new Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations at the Communications Building in Circle Park on March 25, 2022.
The school announced the establishment of the Tombras Scholars Program and Tombras Graduate Fellowships to help support students during their education. In addition, the Charles Tombras Senior Professorship will support a professor as they champion the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. In addition to expanding the program, the school announced tentative renovations.
While this gift will undoubtedly grow the School of Advertising and Public Relations, it will further impact the university. Chancellor Donde Plowman elaborated on what the partnership means to the entire University of Tennessee system.
Chancellor Donde Plowman speaks at the dedication of the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations in Circle Park on March 25, 2022.
“That’s the beauty of these partnerships,” Plowman said. “That we all grow together and to be committed together to the mission of the university.”
Students of the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations are anxious to see how the partnership will play out. Solomon Trapp, a senior public relations major and project manager intern for Tombras, shared some of his hopes for the new school.
“I’m looking forward to our program enhancing its diversity and inclusions, as well as a lot of programs that will benefit us educationally and bring in new resources, such as new teachers, new faculty and grow us as a community,” Trapp said.
This historical gift is on track to provide the school with opportunities to grow and provide experiences that will set it apart from other programs. Students, faculty and industry leaders alike are excited for the school’s plans to go into effect.
As demonstrated by the standing-room-only dedication event in Circle Park on Friday afternoon, anticipation is high and all eyes are watching the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations, the first school of its kind at the university.
