U of M Lambuth officials discuss new Carl Perkins Scholarship

JACKSON, Tenn. — University of Memphis-Lambuth is helping honor Carl Perkins.

In the land of rockabilly, students will now have another way to live out their dream of making music thanks to the Carl Perkins Scholarship.

“His influence impacted the world in a tremendous way, and we want that to be the case with this scholarship,” said University of Memphis-Lambuth Dean Dr. Niles Reddick.

The scholarship is the result of work from multiple university officials and the Perkins family.

Dr. Jeremy Tubbs, with the Lambuth music and entertainment program, says the family was more than willing to help.

“When we reached out to them and started discussing this, they were fully on board. Like, no hesitation, like, yes,” Tubbs said

Lambuth has had a long history with the rockabilly greats, and Perkins’ funeral was even held on campus.

The music program is trying to continue the legacy of West Tennessee, which produced musical greats like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and others.

“He never graduated high school, so he never wore a cap and gown until he got his honorary doctorate here. So it was a very special for him, and he appreciated everything Lambuth did,” Tubbs said.

“Students get the opportunity to study, not only music performance and music history and music theory, but also the music business side of things and the music technology side of things,” said lecturer Jenna McLean.

“He would be thrilled with that actually, he would probably be the biggest champion of it,” Tubbs said.

When a scholarship is endowed, it means the money is invested and it will be around for decades to come.

“If a musician that was influenced by Carl Perkins wanted to give, they could give to this scholarship as well,” Reddick said.

“It’s been a special place for the Perkins family,” Tubbs said.

“I think it’s a good sign that our program is continuing to thrive and continuing to grow,” McLean said.

Recently, the Lambuth music and entertainment program was the recipient of a $250,000 gift from Wes Henley, who was Perkins’ guitar player.