Notable Alumni: Philander P. Claxton Sr. (1882)

Philander P. Claxton Sr. graduated from UT in 1882. He was U.S. commissioner of education from 1911 to 1921. In 1909, Claxton accepted membership on the national Hook Worm Commission, a body of leading scientists and educators formed to expend John D. Rockefeller’s gift of $1,000,000 for the purpose of eradicating Hook Worm disease. The Claxton Education Building at UT in Knoxville is named for him. His son, C. Porter Claxton, also a UT graduate, was the first administrator of the University of Tennessee Junior College, forerunner of UT Martin.