Chattanooga Names Street After Illustrious Alumna Glynn Key

University of Virginia alumna and former Board of Visitors member Glynn Key received many honors during her lifetime, from being elected chair of the Honor Committee as an undergraduate to being revealed as a member of the Seven Society upon her death in 2014.

Now, the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee – Key’s hometown – has added another accolade to that list with a street named in her honor.

Several members of the UVA community reacted to the news on Monday, remembering the late Key’s decades of leadership at the University.

A street in Chattanooga TN has been named in honor of Glynn D. Key (1964-2014), ⁦@UVA⁩ College ‘86 ⁦@UVALaw⁩ ‘89 ⁦@UVABlkAlumni⁩, first African-American Chair of The Honor Committee, accomplished attorney and Member of The UVA Board of Visitors. pic.twitter.com/Y2ap44Cg6J

— Paulette Morant (@profesorapj) June 17, 2018

This is very nice to see. Glynn was a year ahead of me @UVALaw and was an exceptional individual throughout her all-too-brief life. Upon her passing, she was also revealed to have been a member of the Seven Society. https://t.co/S8mg4nB2J9

— Allen Groves (@UVADeanGroves) June 17, 2018

Double 'Hoo Glynn D. Key had many accomplishments, including 1st African -American woman to chair Honor Comm, helping create BAW, member of the Board of Visitors, @KappaRhoDST alum & General Counsel for General Electric. Now a street is named after her! https://t.co/RLWMzzoo5M

— UVA Black Alumni (@UVABlkAlumni) June 17, 2018

Key, who served on the Board of Visitors from 2004 to 2012, earned two degrees from the University: a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 and a law degree in 1989. She excelled as a student; she was a Jefferson Scholar, lived on the Lawn and chaired the Honor Committee, among other accomplishments.

After graduation, Key built an illustrious law career. She served in the Department of the Interior under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1996 as counselor to Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. Among other projects, she led negotiations for a $700 million Everglades restoration settlement between environmental activists, federal and state government entities, farmers and local Native American tribes.

Once she left government service, Key excelled in private practice, both as a partner at the law firm WilmerHale and later as general counsel for General Electric, a role she held at the time of her death.

Throughout, she remained involved with the University. In addition to her stint on the Board of Visitors, she was on the governing council of the Miller Center and served as president of UVA Alumni Association’s Board of Managers.

The City of Chattanooga officially adopted the new street name with a city council resolution May 1, authorizing the Department of Transportation to commission new signage naming a portion of Oak Street and Shallowford Road “Glynn D. Key Way.”