On March 20, Cumberland University dedicated the campus Welcome Center to the Dr. Joe and Pat Bryant Family, unveiling new signage and a portrait of the couple for all guests of the university to admire. 

For many years, the Bryant family’s presence on Cumberland’s campus has been an inclusive one, prompting intentional conversations and meaningful interactions. It is because of this legacy of hospitality that the university’s Welcome Center was named in honor of Dr. Joe and Pat Bryant. Mrs. Bryant accepted the honor, along with her children, Laura Honeyman and Frank Bryant, joined by Leigh Gillig, and her grandchildren, Pattie Bryant Zimmerman and Kody Honeyman, on behalf of her family and husband who passed away in 2011.

Dr. Bryant served as the Chairman of the Board at Cumberland University for many years, and was known throughout the community as a skilled surgeon, businessman, broadcaster and more. The Bryant family has tirelessly advocated for students, specifically in the Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions, as well as music students in the Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts. The family’s legacy is anchored by the pivotal role they played in bringing the Phoenix Ball and Symphony on the Lawn with the Nashville Symphony to Cumberland University.

“Over 3,000 people, including prospective students and their families, pass through Cumberland’s Welcome Center each year during campus tours,” said President Paul C. Stumb. “One of their first experiences on campus will be a warm welcome extended by the Bryant family, as Dr. Bryant always offered to everyone he encountered on our campus.”

Visits to the Dr. Joe and Pat Bryant Family Welcome Center may be scheduled here.