KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The University of Tennessee’s newest residence hall was officially dedicated on Saturday morning. Stokely Hall is a $100 million, state-of-the-art facility that houses 684 students in private and shared super-suite rooming options. It features a community kitchen, two lobbies, two study rooms and two laundry rooms on each floor.
The building, which was officially opened to students in January 2017, also boasts a full-service Fresh Food Company dining facility, Starbucks coffee shop, POD grocery location and a 1,020-space parking garage.
Apart from the countless amenities the hall has to offer, it also showcases the history and traditions of the university within its walls, featuring pieces on Smokey, the Hill, the Torchbearer and the Alma Mater. The intention of this hall is to provide students with not only a place to live, but also a place to learn.
The dedication ceremony included remarks from Vice Chancellor for Student Life Vincent Carilli, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Executive Director of University Housing Dr. Frank Cuevas, first-year Resident Assistant for Stokely Hall and second-year student Jayda Blackwell, Chancellor Beverly Davenport as well as William B. Stokely III.
The Stokely name has a long-standing history with the University of Tennessee in various facets of life on campus. The family has been integral in the food and hospitality industry on campus for decades while also serving the university for nearly 100 years. A member of the Stokely family has served on a leadership role of various capital campaigns for almost 50 years here at UT.
Stokely Hall goes an extra step to honor the family while also paying homage to a key facet in the history of Tennessee Athletics. In the patio of the new residence hall is a cornerstone from the Stokely Athletic Center that was housed in the same area from 1958 until its demolition in 2014. This small piece of UT athletics history is used to show the legacy that this family has built into this university for nearly a century.
Their family name has been honored over the years through the UT Foundation Board of Directors, the Chancellor’s Associates, advisory boards in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Haslam College of Business, as well as the UT Athletics Board.
-UT Athletics
