Many donors choose to remember Cumberland in their estate plans. Gifts made through estate planning have a transformational impact on the university, preserve your legacy and minimize tax burdens for your heirs. At Cumberland University, we encourage two simple types of planned gifts: bequests and beneficiary designations.

These plans can be made by updating your Will or the beneficiary information on a retirement plan or life insurance policy.  

If Cumberland University is currently in your estate plans or if you want to add Cumberland to your planned giving, then you can become a member of our distinguished Phoenix Society.  This Society honors and celebrates supporters that have added CU to their estate plans.  As a society member, we will invite you to an annual lunch on campus, provide a tour of all the renovations on campus, as well as invite you and your family to other campus events as our guests.  

For further information, please contact us at advancement@cumberland.edu or call us at (615) 547-1269.

The McClain Circle serves as the primary access point to Cumberland University as of 2019. Consisting of additional parking, green space with landscaping and wider sidewalks. The McClain and Hatfield families were instrumental in the development and success of Cumberland since its founding in 1842. Josiah Scott McClain was an original university trustee for 34 years, followed by his descendant Joe Hatfield, whose wife, Carrie McClain Hatfield, endowed many scholarships for nursing students. 

The Hatfield and McClain families, the namesakes of Cumberland’s main entrance, left another remarkable footprint on our campus community with their gift of $1 million. This generous gift was presented to the university on September 15, and will directly support the McClain Sisters Scholarship for nursing students in the Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions. 

Dean of the Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions Dr. Mary Bess Griffith shared her immense gratitude for the gift and the impact it will have on Cumberland nursing students.

“This is an amazing gift that will help grow the nursing workforce and enhance care in Middle Tennessee and the surrounding region,” said Dean Griffith. “This gift will make a difference for students trying to decide if they are financially able to fulfill their dream of becoming a nurse. It is a wonderful way to honor Mrs. Hatfield’s legacy and example of philanthropy.”

The McClain Sisters Scholarship was established by 1947 Cumberland Alum, Carrie McClain Hatfield in memory of her sisters Katheryne Bowdon McClain Leathers and Betty Jo McClain Taylor. All three sisters were deeply committed to community service, as evidenced by their willingness to give back to students with the hope that their scholarship would inspire students to pay it forward one day when they are financially able. Carrie McClain Hatfield’s aunt, Ann Bowden McClain, was one of the first registered nurses in the state of Tennessee. This $1 million gift is given in memory of Carrie McClain Hatfield’s mother who also served as a nurse. 

Both the Hatfield and McClain families have been actively involved with Cumberland for generations. Josiah Scott McClain was an original board member for 34 years, before his descendant Joe Hatfield, husband of Carrie McClain Hatfield, followed in his footsteps. In 1892, fifty-five acres of the McClain Family Farm became the primary site for Cumberland’s current campus.