Dr. William “Bill” Snyder, former Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, has passed away at the age of 93, leaving an impressive legacy in music, education, advocacy for women in engineering, and student interaction.
Snyder began his career at the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma in the early 1960s as an engineering professor. He went on to serve as dean of the College of Engineering and was named Chancellor in 1993. He retired from the university in 1999.
In the 90s, he and then UT President Joe Johnson led the 21st Century Campaign, a massive fundraising effort originally aimed at $250 million that had raised $432 million when it closed in 1998. At the flagship Knoxville campus alone, donors gave more than $233 million. Snyder, who was rarely seen without a smile on his face, referred to fundraising as “friend-raising.” He and Johnson were among the best ever.
Snyder was known for his love of theater and was a lifelong music lover and keyboardist. From early piano lessons to years of playing the organ at Washington Presbyterian Church in Corryton, the same church where he married his wife, Margi.
Snyder routinely gave tours of the Tennessee Theatre after it was renovated, describing it as his “home away from home.” He knew it intimately — for he was a fixture at the “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ, playing before special movie screenings and at regular Monday lunchtime concerts.
East Tennesseans regularly heard him play “The Tennessee Waltz” on that organ as he was regarded as the “soul of the theater.”
UT System President Randy Boyd said the university was deeply saddened to learn of Snyder’s passing. “Chancellor Snyder’s vision left a lasting mark on our campuses, our state and the people who had the privilege of working with him. On behalf of the UT System, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and all who benefited from his life’s work. He will be remembered with great respect and gratitude,” Boyd said.
Known on campus as the “Students’ Chancellor,” Snyder prided himself on being accessible to those who needed him. A plaque in the Alumni Memorial Building honors that legacy. More importantly, students who attended the university of Tennessee in Knoxville while he was Chancellor remember him as an accessible friend rather than a distant administrator. He embodied being a VFL – Vol For Life – in the classroom, on campus, cheering on volunteer athletes before and after their graduation, and expanding the reach and impact of the university throughout Knoxville.
