Tracy and Bill Frist to establish Center for Appalachian Wellness and the Outdoors at Maryville College’s Alexander Institute
April 30, 2026
With a significant commitment from former U.S. Sen. Dr. William “Bill” Frist and his wife, Tracy, the proposed Alexander Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Sciences at Maryville College continues to take shape as a preeminent educational and advocacy landmark — one that will now include the Tracy and Bill Frist Center for Appalachian Wellness and the Outdoors.
The mission of the Frist Center will focus on promoting the ways that planetary and human health are inherently interconnected in Southern Appalachia, one of the most biodiverse regions in the nation. It will house various academic departments, including the Maryville College Division of Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies, which will anchor the Frist Center. Academic majors such as Exercise Science, Health and Wellness Promotion, Nursing, Outdoor Studies and Tourism, and Physical Education/Health will serve as a launchpad for the next generation of enlightened healthcare leaders, promoting time spent in nature as essential to wellness and emphasizing movement, nutrition, and a sense of community.
Collectively, the Frist Center will advocate for conservation in advancing public health, recognizing nature-based solutions as preventative medicine and thereby addressing human and environmental wellness in Southern Appalachia.
“We couldn’t be more grateful for — and excited about — the Frists’ commitment to the Center for Appalachian Wellness and the Outdoors,” said Dr. Bryan Coker, president of Maryville College. “As a college rooted in the Great Smoky Mountains for over 200 years, we have long recognized and directly witnessed the environment’s undeniable influence on human health and wellness.”
The Frist Center’s physical spaces will include a human performance and exercise science laboratory; indoor and outdoor classrooms; and a large terrace overlooking the Institute’s exterior teaching gardens and landscape, but the Center’s impact will extend far beyond its physical footprint.
“As a female being raised and educated in the mountains, Appalachia shaped who I am, so now I am thrilled to share its legacy with generations to come,” Tracy Frist said. “It’s a true dream come true for me to see the resources of the region that I so love enrich the world.”
“As a physician, I spent years treating disease once it had already arrived,” added Bill Frist, who earned his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School and spent almost two decades in medicine before serving two terms from 1995 to 2007 as one of Tennessee’s United States senators. “What I have come to understand is that the environment and the world around us are shaping our health every day — through the air we breathe, the heat we feel, the food we eat, and the natural systems that sustain us. The outside world does not stay outside. It becomes part of us. And that is why protecting nature, biodiversity, and a stable climate is fundamental to human health and well-being.”
The Alexander Institute, projected at approximately 65,000 square feet and $80 million in total cost, will be built at the prominent intersection of Washington Street and Lamar Alexander Parkway on the Maryville College campus. Designed as a “public-facing, public-oriented and public-serving facility,” Coker said, the institute will link the College’s teaching, research and community engagement efforts to advance conservation, environmental education and interdisciplinary research in the Southern Appalachian region.
“It is about how a place-based institution in Southern Appalachia can help prepare the next generation of leaders in health, environmental science, education, and conservation, while also connecting younger students to the natural world and to future pathways in these fields,” Bill Frist said.
Named in honor of Lamar Alexander — former Tennessee governor, U.S. senator and U.S. education secretary — the institute reflects his lifelong commitment to protecting natural resources. Alexander authored the Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law in 2020, and previously chaired the Commission on the American Outdoors under President Ronald Reagan. A native of Maryville, Alexander’s parents met while students at Maryville College, and his sister, Jane Alexander Carl, currently serves on the College’s Board of Directors. The State of Tennessee provided a $12 million gift last year to support the institute’s development and to honor Alexander’s lifelong commitment to conservation.
“No couple has done more than Tracy and Bill Frist to encourage understanding of how the wellness of the people of Appalachia depends upon the health of the Appalachian outdoors,” Alexander said of the Frists’ commitment to the project. “Maryville College’s location in the heart of this region of enormous biodiversity is the perfect place to focus on the interconnection of planetary and human health, and the Frists are the perfect leaders for this enterprise.”
Jennifer Morris, Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Nature Conservancy who will serve as Maryville’s May 2026 Commencement speaker and receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service, lauded the Frist Center as an integral part of an institution that stands to transform regional commitment to wellness and conservation in Southern Appalachia.
“Being based in the Southern Appalachians positions the Center and Institute as laboratories for students to gain hands-on conservation experience and see the benefits of protecting nature in their own communities,” Morris said.
Tracy Frist, raised and educated in Central Appalachia, is a farmer, educator, businesswoman, conservationist and storyteller dedicated to advancing literacy, cultural awareness, historic preservation, and human-animal relationships. She is also the owner of the Farm at Sinking Creek in southwestern Virginia. Together, Tracy and Bill are committed to conservation efforts and nature-based solutions that lead to individual and public‑health gains, such as cutting air and water pollution, lowering heat exposure, curbing vector‑borne disease and improving mental health.
Sen. Bill Frist serves as chair of The Nature Conservancy’s Global Board of Directors and previously served as U.S. Senate majority leader. Before his Senate tenure, he also served as a nationally acclaimed heart and lung transplant surgeon. He is a founding partner of Frist Cressey Ventures and is actively engaged in the business as well as the medical, humanitarian, and philanthropic communities.
Those interested in learning more about — and contributing to — the Tracy and Bill Frist Center for Appalachian Wellness and the Outdoors should contact the Maryville College President’s Office at 865-981-8102.
