‘A Kentucky original.’ UK donor, influential businessman Bill Gatton dies at 89
Bill Gatton, an influential businessman and strong financial supporter of higher education in Kentucky and Tennessee, has died.
Gatton was 89, according to multiple media reports. He died at Bristol Regional Medical Center Monday.
Gatton was a longtime donor to the University of Kentucky, and the largest single donor to the university. He donated more than $70 million to UK in his lifetime.
In a note to UK Alumni Association officials sent Tuesday, UK President Eli Capilouto called Gatton “a Kentucky original.”
“He knew from his own life how important an education was and is to the future,” Capilouto wrote. “And he endeavored to make such an education possible for thousands and thousands of students, most of whom will never know him or understand the depth of his commitment to their success.”
He made several historic gifts to UK in his lifetime, including $14 million in 1995 for the College of Business and Economics and $20 million in 2014 for the expansion of the Student Center. Both buildings on campus are named after him.
Earlier this year, Gatton made the largest donation given at one time towards scholarships in UK’s history, $5 million to go toward scholarships for first-generation students and Kentucky students from medically under-served areas who want to attend medical school.
Mike Richey, the former vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement at UK, knew Gatton for about 20 years. Richey said Gatton didn’t care about recognition for his donations, but cared about making the lives of Kentuckians better.
Gatton’s mother died when he was 8 years old, and before she died, told others she hoped Gatton would go on to get a good education. Gatton never forgot that, Richey said, and that’s part of what inspired his donations toward education.
“Mr. Gatton was a very humble person, and he didn’t just do it for the notoriety,” Richey said. “His philanthropy was tied in strongly to his beliefs, and his hopes for people, and he never wavered from that.”
Gatton had “a heart of gold,” and was more focused on the impact his financial gifts could make, rather than people knowing he made a donation, Richey said. Beyond higher education, Gatton supported many charities in Kentucky, Richey said.
Capilouto applauded Gatton’s generosity in a statement, saying his gracious giving inspired other donors who wanted to follow his example.
“Mr. Gatton always saw his alma mater as a shining beacon – the place that could do the most to serve and make better his native state,” Capilouto said in a statement. “And he pushed us – every day and in so many ways – to live up to that responsibility and to make real that aspiration.
Capilouto also applauded Gatton for his actions and determination.
“Such influence underscores the idea that more than numbers and dollars was an unshakable commitment to the state that he loved, the institution that bears its name and that he believed was most important to its future,” Capilouto said.
His donations in higher education go beyond UK. At Western Kentucky University, his donation helped fund the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, where high school students complete the last two years of high school while taking college classes at WKU.
“The WKU family is saddened to learn of Bill Gatton’s passing,” WKU said in a statement. “His generosity will continue to benefit countless students across the Commonwealth as they make their way to the Gatton Academy on our campus. Few people possess the level of selflessness and vision that he had, and the entire WKU community has been enriched because of him.”
He was the primary donor to East Tennessee State University’s College of Pharmacy, which is also named for him.
According to Gatton’s biography on UK’s college of business website, Gatton also owned nine car dealerships in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. He was also engaged in various real estate projects in Kentucky.
Gatton is a member of the college’s Alumni Hall of Fame and the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He was also the founder of the Bill Gatton Foundation, which has contributed substantial sums to support various charitable and educational organizations.
Gatton was born and raised in Bremen on a farm. He was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Sacramento High School 1950 and enrolled at UK after high school, majoring in business administration, and graduated from the College of Commerce.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 9:39 AM.
