KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — James A. “Jim” Haslam II, founder of truck stop chain Pilot, recently paid the U.S. government millions to settle fraud charges, according to Business Week.
In spite of the charges, the University of Tennessee named its business school after him, calling it the Haslam College of Business, said the article.
Haslam began Pilot in 1958 after graduating from the university in 1952, noted the article. His son owns the Cleveland Browns, and Bill Haslam is Tennessee’s governor.
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While Haslam’s son was running the company in 2013, Pilot “was investigated for cheating truckers out of millions of dollars in gas rebates,” stated the article.
The son, Jimmy Haslam, denied any wrongdoing. In July the company settled with the Department of Justice for $92 million to avoid criminal charges, reported the article.
The business school’s dean has said students need to be able to look up to the name that goes above the door of the school, but the news also calls into question how business schools weigh ethics with large gifts and donors’ actions, said the article.
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