The Legacy of Larry Wallace

Over the summer, the University revealed its newest outdoor campus venue, Wallace Square, in honor of Dr. Larry Wallace, Sr., for his monumental contributions to TWU and beyond.

As a sixth-generation native of McMinn County, Dr. Wallace grew up steps away from campus and began his career as a police officer in Athens. He moved to Nashville and spent most of his working life in law enforcement.

Notably, Dr. Wallace is the only person in the state’s history to serve as both Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and Colonel of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. After retiring from a 40-year law enforcement career, he came home and began a new chapter at Tennessee Wesleyan.

Dr. Wallace founded the University’s Criminal Justice program and was ultimately named Senior Vice President before retiring after a decade of service. Presently, he serves as a member of the TWU Board of Trustees. “I worked in law enforcement my entire adult life, and I’ve seen things that I don’t wish on anybody. I’ve seen evil and I’ve seen carnage,” Dr. Wallace said. “Being asked to come to work at Tennessee Wesleyan and start the Criminal Justice program was a major thing to me. Having the privilege of doing that and the opportunity to see so many young men and women who were trying to make a difference in their lives and the goodness still out there with people showed me a side of life that I hadn’t seen too much of in 40 years. It was a very meaningful and major transition for me. I loved every minute of it.”

In 2004, Dr. Wallace devised a fourpart plan to make campus safer, which included: closing Coach Farmer Drive’s connection to Green Street, adding fencing around the campus along Green Street, installing a cross walk across Green Street, and closing College Street from Trinity United Methodist Church to Long Street. All these recommendations ultimately came to fruition which has improved the safety and landscape of campus.

“The whole project, with the help of Dr. Knowles and many others, took 16 years, but we were able to get it done,” Dr. Wallace beamed. “The students need to be able to feel a certain degree of safety traversing the campus, and it just makes for a healthier, more genuinely pedestrian-friendly campus.”

The University credits Dr. Wallace with spearheading his vision, and thus, felt that erecting Wallace Square in his honor was a small token of appreciation. Although Dr. Wallace is thankful, he feels like he simply helped facilitate what needed to be done to make the campus safer.

“I guess the best way I could reference it would be that someone asks you how you’re doing, and you respond by saying better than I deserve. I would just transfer that to Wallace Square and say that frankly I don’t think I deserved it,” he said. “But, I’m very grateful for that and for all the people who donated to do that.”

Dr. Wallace has seen campus change throughout his lifetime. He associates the University’s major advancements as a product of its current administration.

“It is unbelievable the way that Tennessee Wesleyan has evolved, grown and flourished under Dr. Harley Knowles’ leadership – it is phenomenal,” he said. “He’s the very best we could find, and he is the very best. We’re delighted to have he and his wife, Cindy, and we hope they’ll be here forever.”

“I don’t think that I did anything individually that would have made a major difference, but I like to think that I worked in concert with faculty and staff, board of trustees members, and the President’s Office to make things better,” he explained. “Oftentimes, if you’re cognizant that issues exist, or that things can be done to help make where you are a better place – if you’re just cognizant and look for ways to do that – you’re ahead of the game.” He believes wholeheartedly that learning about ethical decision making and the public service mindset would benefit students of all disciplines. For this reason, he thinks that if some Criminal Justice courses were on everyone’s plate, students would be better positioned to be stronger, happier citizens of the world.

“We are in this profession to serve others and to help others grow,” said Dr. Wallace. “Anything we can do to help students learn that and begin to experience that - it’s what can we do for others rather than ourselves – because that’s where true joy and happiness come.”

A first-generation college student, Dr. Wallace has an Associate of Science degree from Cleveland State Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Middle Tennessee State University, and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Tennessee State University. He received an honorary Doctorate of Public Administration from Tennessee Wesleyan University for his efforts to elevate the quality and safety of the campus, community, and state. Dr. Wallace is also a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Executive Institute.

Dr. Wallace with (left to right) his granddaughter Ashley Copeland, his late son Larry “Dean” Wallace Jr., and his daughter, Deb Wallace.

A Distinguished Career

1964 – Started at the Athens Police Department

1967 – Appointed as a State Trooper

1973 – Promoted to Special Agent with the TBI

1976 – Took a leave of absence from the TBI to return home to Athens, after which he was twice elected Sheriff of McMinn County

1979 – Named “Sheriff of the Year” by the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association

1980 – Returned to the TBI

1984 – Promoted to Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Investigation Division

1987 – Appointed as Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Tennessee Highway Patrol

1988 – Named Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety

1992 – Governor Ned Ray McWherter appointed Dr. Wallace to a six-year term as Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, making him the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the state

1994 – Led the TBI to become the third state criminal investigative agency in the U.S. to receive international accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors

1998 – Governor Don Sundquist reappointed Dr. Wallace to a second six-year term as Director of the TBI

2003 – Retired as the TBI Director during Governor Phil Bredesen’s administration

2004 – Hired as a TWU faculty member to develop and teach the Criminal Justice program

2005 – Joined the University leadership team as the Vice President for External Affairs

2007 – Transitioned to the Vice President for Administration

2010 – Promoted to Senior Vice President for Administration

2014 - Present – Judicially appointed as the foreman of the McMinn County Grand Jury

2015 – Retired from TWU; hired as a special consultant to the Cleveland City Council

2016 – Became an independent law enforcement consultant; awarded his honorary doctorate from TWU

2017 - Present – Became a member of the TWU Board of Trustees; accepted a job as an agency staff member at Athens Insurance