When Robert “Bud” Grimes graduated from UTM in 1978 with a Communications degree and a dream for being on television, he never pictured himself coming back to his alma mater as the Chief Communications Officer responsible for telling UTM’s story.
Grimes, whose family roots run deep at UTM, always felt like Martin was his home.
“I don’t think I could do this anywhere else,” Grimes said.
Before earning the position at University Relations, Grimes and his family found themselves in Knoxville, where he earned his master’s degree in Communications and began working for Pellissippi Community College. He had previously applied for the job at UTM, but was passed over for another candidate.
A few years down the road, Grimes was given a second chance to come home to UTM as the Chief Communications Officer. While he enjoyed the work at PCC, the decision to move back to Martin was an easy one for the Grimes’s.
“I might be able to do the job itself, but I don’t think I’d have the same feeling working somewhere else because [Martin] is a part of me,” Grimes said. “I always felt like I should be here.”
During his education, Grimes prepared for a job in television news, but realized after graduation that his communication skills lied in writing and public relations. The broadcast skills he learned from UTM allowed him to succeed in many different roles at various radio stations, including WYN 106.9, before transferring into a general communications career.
“I think I changed quite a bit, but I never regretted the skills that I’ve gathered. And [I] put most of them to pretty good use,” Grimes said.
Through earning his degree and working at UTM, Grimes believes that the lessons he has learned have benefitted him in every aspect of his life, especially being flexible and learning to adapt to any situation. After 28 years of service to the university, Grimes’s experiences have seasoned the communications officer’s ability to respond to crises when they arise.
“I like days when I know what I’m going to do; it’s real specific and I know what I have to accomplish, but I’ve learned to come in everyday knowing that something is not going to be what I expected it to be.”
Now in his role as Chief Communications Officer in University Relations, Grimes is responsible for an entire team of communications specialists who are in charge of recording UTM’s history in multiple forms of media. This is where Grimes attributes a large portion of UTM’s success.
“I don’t believe I’ve made that much of an impact… I like to think that collectively we’ve done a good job communicating UTM’s story.”
Grimes had a first-hand experience in shaping UTM’s story during his time as a student as he was involved in many different organizations on campus, including being a brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
While recounting many of his favorite memories as a Pacer, which was UTM’s mascot until 1995, Grimes reminisced the way they used to celebrate Homecoming Week. In true Pacer style, they celebrated with the annual homecoming parade, packing out the stadium for the entire football game and the Greek community coming together to support the campus.
“It was just exciting and a different day in time,” Grimes said, while expanding on how Homecoming today has changed, specifically Quad City.
By understanding the deep and rich history UTM has through his personal experiences and that of his family, Grimes has been able to contribute to the continuous success and prosperity UTM has seen over the past decade.
“Coming to UTM isn’t just a job for me. My dad went here, my brother, my daughter graduated from here, a lot of family members- and now I’m seeing children of people I know coming here: probably grandchildren,” Grimes explained.
“Sometimes on my way home, I’ll walk by Brehm Hall and I just can’t help but think of my dad. That’s where he went to school- in Brehm Hall.”
For Bud Grimes, UTM is more than just a university or a job. It’s a way of life, a place to raise and influence his family, a vessel to inform and inspire generations to come, but most importantly, it’s a home.
“It’s not just a job.”
