Joe Cook (BS/ISE, ’65) was the first member of his family to graduate from high school. The Red Bank, Tennessee native wasn’t sure if he could afford to attend college until hearing about an alumni scholarship offered at the University of Tennessee.
Cook graduated from the Department of Industrial Systems and Engineering with high honors and was selected as a Torchbearer, which is the university’s highest undergraduate student honor. His UT education launched a successful professional career that has spanned more than 60 years in human medicine and technology development.
Once his family was in a position financially to give back, Cook started investing in a scholarship fund within the Tickle College of Engineering that helped aspiring college students who were once like him. In 2017, Cook and wife expanded their giving to launch the Joseph C. and Judith E. Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program.
Cook and his family are providing a new gift this year. They are increasing their commitment to $5.5 million in support of the Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program endowment. This increase will help the program by hiring an associate director to provide more assistance to the Honors students and upgrading instruction with advanced educational technology that exposes students to the latest modules related to artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
“The more we learned about the increased number of students who are committed to pursuing an engineering honors curriculum and who are willing to invest more of their time and take harder courses and deal with more challenging things, the more Judy and I felt like we ought to support those students and the faculty by giving them more resources,” Cook said. “We have seen how much our previous donations have supported students, and we want to continue impacting their lives and the ultimate beneficiaries of their work in a positive way.”
Fostering Student Growth
The Cook family’s expanded commitment comes at a pivotal moment for the Honors Program. As TCE undergraduate enrollment has grown by 41% since 2020, alongside historic gains in the academic profile of incoming students, the Honors Program has experienced unprecedented demand. Nearly 900 students applied to join the program in 2025, yet capacity constraints prevented hundreds of highly qualified applicants from participating.
The Cook’s increased investment will ensure more students are able to participate in one of TCE’s hallmark academic programs, giving them access to educational experiences that are immersive, interdisciplinary, and purpose driven. The students will have opportunities for close faculty mentorship, experiential learning, and meaningful engagement with society’s greatest challenges.
Cook’s experience as a student at UT helped lay the foundation for an accomplished professional career. After graduating, Cook joined Eli Lilly & Co., where he worked for 28 years, retiring in 1993 as group vice-president responsible for global operations, including engineering. In 1998, he became CEO and Chairman of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Under his leadership, the company developed the first GLP-1 based medicine to be approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
We have seen how much our previous donations have supported students, and we want to continue impacting their lives and the ultimate beneficiaries of their work in a positive way
Joe Cook
BS/IE, ’65
After retiring from Amylin, Cook co-founded Mountain Group Partners, a Nashville venture capital firm that establishes and helps healthcare and business technology companies grow. He currently serves as a founder and the executive chairman of Appello Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company that is focused on developing medicines for Parkinson’s Disease.
Lighting the Way
In April, Cook was inducted into the ISE Hall of Honor at the ISE Awards Banquet. Previously, he was awarded the Nathan W. Dougherty Award for Distinguished Service in the Engineering Profession and the University of Tennessee Distinguished Alumnus Award.
As the university has grown and evolved, Cook has been impressed with how TCE has embraced a more collaborative approach to its research and education mission.
“I think the University of Tennessee, and in particular the Tickle College of Engineering, is uniquely qualified to incorporate a larger view of problem solving,” said Cook, a former chair of the TCE Advisory Board. “Their ability to work together among the departments has really brought a sense of connectedness among the various engineering disciplines. That will better prepare students for the real world. Nobody wants to hire somebody that grew up in a silo mindset, because that’s not how business works.”
Cook and his wife have received many letters over the years from TCE students who have benefited from their generosity. He is grateful to have the means to help establish a path for their futures, much like someone did for him at UT nearly 65 years ago.
“I’m a person of faith, so I think we’re stewards of these resources. We don’t really own them,” Cook said. “There are no luggage racks on the casket. I believe God has called us to do things, and Judy and I have a sense that our purpose is to serve others. Giving back is a logical extension of being a good steward and responding to that call.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])