Tennessee Tech alumnus Ronnie Erwin gifting the construction of a new office building to honor his late wife and a former professor.
The Dr. Ronnie E. and Lynn M. Erwin Tech Farm Office will be built at Tennessee Tech’s Shipley Farm. Latour said the facility will include a conference room named for the late Colonel Bobby T. Parham, a professor who influenced Erwin during his time as a student.
Erwin said the guidance of Parham and his wife, Lynn, shaped his career path from a Maury County dairy farm to the food industry. After graduating from Tennessee Tech in 1969 with a degree in dairy husbandry, Erwin said he initially planned to return to his family farm before his mentors encouraged him to pursue graduate studies.
“I didn’t even know what graduate school was at the time,” Erwin said.
Erwin said his wife supported him through his doctoral studies and his eventual role leading the Heath candy company. He said her devotion to education also inspired him to establish a Teacher of the Year award at Capshaw Elementary School, where she once taught fourth grade.
“She was so easy to love,” Erwin said. “She was a major encourager of students, both me and others.”
Erwin said Parham served as a mentor who encouraged him to join the university rodeo team and become involved in campus leadership. Parham served in the National Guard during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War era and envisioned a dairy complex where students could process milk and cheese.
“Dr. Parham wasn’t just a professor; he was a true mentor,” Erwin said. “Like my wife, he saw potential in his students and encouraged it to come out, but not in a demanding way.”