Arthur and Roswitha Haas were longtime donors to the University of Tennessee, primarily supporting the UT Libraries, the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, and the Department of History, where Arthur was a longtime faculty member. Arthur and Roswitha moved to Tennessee in 1962 following their wedding in Europe. Both Roswitha and Arthur taught at the university level and understood the importance of higher education and lifelong learning. Arthur was a professor of history at UT for 35 years. Roswitha taught chemistry at Knoxville College for over 20 years before joining the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Over the years, Arthur’s and Roswitha’s donations to the university included not only funds but many books and an extensive collection of Roman artifacts and coins now housed at the McClung Museum. After Arthur’s passing in 2016, Roswitha continued her generous support of the university. As a scientist and ORNL retiree, she was particularly interested in helping to support preservation of the many collections that reside at the university. In early 2020, Roswitha started the process to establish an endowment that would do just that, the Roswitha Haas Preservation and Acquisitions Endowment. Tragically, Roswitha passed away before the endowment was fully established.

In 2022, Roswitha’s and Arthur’s family made additional contributions to finish what Roswitha started during her lifetime, completing the establishment of the Roswitha Haas Preservation and Acquisitions Endowment in her memory. If you wish to make a contribution to the Roswitha Haas Preservation and Acquisitions Endowment in memory of Roswitha Haas, please visit giving.utk.edu/roswithahaas. Your gift will provide for the support of the Arthur and Roswitha Haas collections housed on the University of Tennessee campus, as well as allow us to acquire and care for additional collections that support the research and scholarship of our students and faculty.