Author: khintz

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee confirms that there is an NCAA review under way. University Administration and Athletics are cooperating fully.

We are concerned about the alleged activities of some members of the Orange Pride. Both university and NCAA guidelines are a part of the Orange Pride’s orientation and training. If those guidelines were violated, we will take appropriate action. Because of federal student privacy regulations, we can’t comment further.

Orange Pride is one of three student admissions groups that serve as ambassadors for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Orange Pride’s responsibilities include staffing university-wide admissions programs, providing campus tours, and hosting prospective student athletes and their families. There are 75 students, both men and women, in the group. These ambassadors interact with hundreds of students across the campus.

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C O N T A C T :

Karen Collins (865-974-5186, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — Watch ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Sunday, Dec. 13, and you’ll see how a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumna and her family’s construction company led more than 3,200 volunteers in building a house for a needy family.

What you won’t see is everything that’s happened since.

Anne Maleno (’91, sociology) and her family were so moved by their involvement in the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project that they’ve found a way to keep on giving even though the TV cameras are long gone.

Maleno is the property manager for Maleno Development, a company founded in 1976 by her father. The company has built more than 1,000 homes and apartments in the Erie, Pa., area.

“There are seven kids in our family, five of whom are involved in the company,” Maleno said.

“My father wanted us to come together as a family and company to have one charity that we donate to. When we decided to take on the ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ project, we knew we wanted to keep giving.

“We’ve created the Maleno Family to Family Fund to continue to help families with housing problems,” she said.

The story began back in the spring of 2009, when Maleno Development first got involved with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

“My younger sister, who also works with Maleno Development, heard that the TV show wanted to come to Erie to do a project and e-mailed them, saying our company might be interested in helping,” Maleno said.

The TV show contacted the family, asked some questions and the adventure began.

As the lead builders for the TV show’s project in their town, Maleno Development coordinated more than $1 million in donations. They lined up subcontractors willing to donate time and materials. They organized an army of volunteers.

In seven days, the team built a new handicapped-accessible home for a family whose two-story house had a cracked foundation, a leaky roof, peeling walls and a faulty sewage line. The matriarch of the recipient family suffers from myasthenia gravis, a degenerative muscular disease, but still runs a nonprofit youth development and family center from her home.

While the construction was under way, Maleno Development also held a book drive, a food drive and a blood drive.

Collected items were donated to a variety of organizations in the Erie area.

Maleno said her family was overwhelmed by the way their community came together and wanted to keep the spirit of giving alive.

The Malenos launched the Family to Family Fund with the goal of organizing charitable construction projects each year for needy families in the Erie area.

In September, Family to Family did its first project: renovating the home of a 57-year-old widow confined to a wheelchair because of an auto accident. Workers lowered her kitchen sink and rearranged cabinets, provided her with a new front-loading washer and dryer and made her bedroom wheelchair-accessible.

The Malenos already have started taking applications from families who would like to be helped next.

The Maleno family’s charitable work has been featured on numerous TV broadcasts in the Erie area and in a feature story in the Manufacturer and Business Association’s Business Magazine.

For more information about the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode, as well as the company and its charitable projects, see http://www.malenoextremehome.com/.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — Col. Robin Akin, the first former University of Tennessee female cadet to be selected for the rank of brigadier general, will return to campus on Friday, Dec. 11, to commission two current ROTC cadets as second lieutenants in the Army.

Akin also will speak during the ceremony, which will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom. The event is open to the public.

“There are only 22 female general officers in the entire Army, and Col. Akin’s selection is a significant achievement for her, UT and our ROTC program,” said

Lt. Col. Dave Leach, professor of military science and leadership.

The commissioning ceremony marks the end of cadets’ progression through the ROTC program and the beginning of their careers as Army officers. At the ceremony, Cadet Carly Berner of Media, Pa., and Cadet Zachary Schrandt of Sevierville will take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and enter the Army as second lieutenants. The two cadets also will be commissioned at the university-wide commencement on Dec. 13.

Akin was born in Nashville. She is a 1982 UT graduate and has a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and a master of strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Upon graduation from UT, she was as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps. Her military schooling includes the Quartermaster Officer’s Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Parachute Rigger Course, Jumpmaster Course, Logistics Executive Development Course, Support Operations Course, Command and General Staff College and Armed Forces Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College. She has received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Southwest Asia Battle Streamer. She holds the Master Parachutist Badge, Parachute Rigger Badge, Romanian and Germany Airborne Wings.

Assignments have taken her to Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Lee, Va.; Camp Smith, Hawaii; Korea; Germany; Southwest Asia and Iraq.

Akin is currently serving as commander, 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Fort Knox, Ky. In August, she was nominated for promotion to brigadier general.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — For years students in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have traveled far and wide to take their nursing skills to those in need. This spring, students from the college will help some of Peru’s poorest populations.

While the group will offer their assistance for free, their travel to and stay in Peru are not free. Eyeing costs per person of nearly $3,000, the nursing students and faculty are turning to the UT and Knoxville communities for help.

The College of Nursing will host a $5 pancake breakfast benefitting the international health care mission to Peru from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, at Aubrey’s Restaurant off Papermill Drive. Tickets are available for pre-order now and at the door the day of the event.

“Experiential learning — in which students engage in meaningful activities that address human and community needs — is fundamental to our nursing program and the kind of nurses we aim to graduate,” said Karen Lasater, clinical assistant professor in the College of Nursing. “These experiences provide students with the opportunity to develop cultural competence and a global perspective — lessons that you can’t learn in a classroom. To have this kind of experience will make our graduates all the more competitive in the profession.”

Thirteen students and two faculty members, including Lasater, will travel to Peru March 6 – 17, 2010. They will provide primary care to some of Lima’s poorest residents. Their trip also will involve community assessments and home visits where the students and instructors will educate people on nutrition and dietary needs, prenatal care, proper sanitation, safe food and water storage practices and sanitary living conditions. They also will conduct physical exams.

Similar trips have been made to Ghana, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama in years past. All trips, including the one to Peru, are coordinated through International Service Learning (ISL), an educational organization offering multidisciplinary humanitarian programs in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Africa.

ISL offers programs in health and education and general service projects. For health programs, participants are expected to be able to perform health services in the field under sometimes difficult and always unpredictable and challenging circumstances. The College of Nursing began participating in ISL programs in 2005.

“A fund has been endowed by Mr. Joe Emert, ‘78 alumnus of the College of Nursing, to assist with expenses for the international health trip. Our nursing students receive funds from the endowment, but we still need more funding,” Lasater said. “The pancake breakfast will be a nice, quick, affordable meal for all those students just getting back in town for the start of the spring semester, and for members of the community and surrounding area who wish to support the College of Nursing. We hope everyone comes out to support the nursing students and the mission.”

Aubrey’s will donate the food, time, facilities and kitchen cooks for the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. Members of the college will be on hand to help. The meal includes pancakes, eggs, bacon, juice and coffee. All proceeds go to support the trip to Peru, and donations also will be accepted.

To pre-order tickets, e-mail Karen Lasater at [email protected].

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C O N T A C T :

Karen Lasater (865-974-7629, [email protected])

Kristi Hintz (865-974-3993, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE – Thomas Mason, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and president and CEO of UT-Battelle, LLC, will be the featured speaker at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, fall commencement.

The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, in Thompson-Boling Arena.

More than 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students who have completed degree programs during the summer or fall semester will be awarded diplomas. Six graduates will receive commissions as second lieutenants in the United States Army.

Students being awarded post-graduate degrees will be honored in a graduate hooding ceremony at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11 in the arena.

Mason has served as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest science and energy lab since 2007. He joined ORNL in 1998 as Scientific Director for the DOE’s Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project. He was later named associate laboratory director and oversaw construction and development of the $1.4 billion dollar project, now one of the nation’s largest science facilities.

“The university is pleased to welcome Dr. Mason to share his message with our graduates,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is at the forefront of the nation’s science and energy agenda. Through our unique partnership, our faculty and our students reap enormous benefits. We appreciate being able to hear Thom’s insights, not only as the lab’s director, but as an extremely accomplished scientist and dedicated professional.”

Mason is an internationally recognized leader in the application of neutron scattering techniques. As director of the lab, he oversees a staff of more than 4,600 people and an operation which hosts approximately 3,000 guest researchers a year. The lab’s annual funding exceeds $1.4 billion.

Mason has served as an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, a senior scientist at Risø National Laboratory in Denmark and as a postdoctoral Fellow with Bell Laboratories. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2001 and a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2007.

A native of Nova Scotia, he received a bachelor’s in physics from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a doctor of philosophy in experimental condensed matter physics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

In 2008, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award for the Sciences from McMaster University.

The University of Tennessee manages and operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory through UT-Battelle with support from the state of Tennessee. The research enterprise consists of $3 billion in research facilities, equipment and expertise in East Tennessee. These resources include the Spallation Neutron Source, a $1.4 billion science project; the world’s largest unclassified supercomputer, joint research centers, state tax exemptions, and funding for joint faculty appointments.

Parking for commencement is available at any area on campus. Parking for disabled persons is available in the Neyland Drive garage (G-10). For more information, see the campus parking map.

For more information regarding the ceremony, call the registrar’s office at (865) 974-2101 or visit its Web site.

The graduate hooding will be webcast live.

The undergraduate commencement ceremony will be webcast live.

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C O N T A C T :

Beth Gladden (865-974-9008, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — The number of teachers in Tennessee public school systems will not keep up with future demand, forcing school systems to look elsewhere, including out of state, to find teachers to educate the state’s growing population of school-age children.

That is the major finding in “Supply and Demand for Teachers in Tennessee,” a study released today by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The report’s authors at CBER were Director William Fox; Research Associate Professor Donald Bruce; Research Associates Brian M. Douglas and Melissa O. Reynolds; and Graduate Research Assistant Zhou Yang.

The study — which estimates the supply and demand of public school teachers from academic years 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 — was prepared to help local and state education officials hire and develop new teachers. The Tennessee Governor’s Office funded the study, and the Department of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) participated in the development of the report.

“Understanding future teacher supply and demand is a cross-cutting issue with implications for school districts, colleges and universities,” said Richard Rhoda, THEC executive director. “That is why it was appropriate that this study involved several agencies contributing resources to address a complex problem based on data. Since education is such an interconnected enterprise, we will need more of these collaborations as we go forward.”

According to the CBER study, the state will need as many as 69,168 teachers, pre-K through 12th grade, in the 2010-2011 school year, but will have only 57,665 teachers on the payroll because of expected teacher departures and growth in the required number of teachers. That will leave as many as 11,503 positions to be filled.

That gap will only grow over time, according to CBER estimates. By the 2013-2014 school year, the state will need to fill a cumulative 31,431 teacher positions, or about 40 percent of total teachers.

To fill the gaps, school systems will have to recruit college graduates and experienced teachers from other states, and look for people transitioning from other careers to become teachers. In some cases, Fox said, teachers may have to teach technical subjects for which they aren’t specifically trained.

Fox said the study helps to illustrate what must be done to meet the demands being placed on schools today.

“We’ve been changing the rules,” Fox said. “For instance, we’ve increased the number of math classes and sciences classes that students must take. We’ve lowered pupil-to-teacher ratios.

“What has never happened in Tennessee is someone sitting down and saying, ‘What are the implications of the policies we’re legislating?’ We have to begin to assess our capacity to provide the quality of education that we’re mandating, based on the traditional routes of finding teachers.”

Education Commissioner Tim Webb echoed that: “This study provides critical information as the state seeks to improve teacher effectiveness and implement the Tennessee Diploma Project.”

The Tennessee Diploma Project, which began this academic year, is a broad overhaul of standards and curriculum designed to challenge students and better prepare them for college and the workforce. Students who began high school in fall 2009 saw increased graduation requirements, a focus on the skills needed for college and the workforce in an ever-expanding global economy, and new assessments.

“Expanding all types of teacher preparation programs and teacher recruitment efforts is clearly going to be required to meet this demand,” Webb said.

It’s more than just finding enough teachers, Fox added; it’s finding teachers sufficiently qualified to teach the more complex subjects, such as science and math.

“There’s a huge imbalance between the number of people we need and the number of people who are being trained to teach these really technical matters,” he said.

The CBER study provides supply-demand gap estimates for a variety of teacher categories. The gaps are estimated to be largest in percentage terms (relative to 2010 supply) for teachers certified to teach English as a Second Language (ESL); elementary school music, art and physical education; eighth grade; and vocational education. The smallest percentage gap is estimated for kindergarten teachers.

In making their supply-and-demand predictions, researchers estimated a 2 percent yearly growth rate in the number of school-age children in Tennessee. They took into account the percentage of teachers who stay in their jobs from year to year, the percentage of teachers who move between school districts each year, the number of newly graduated teachers who enter the market each year and the number of former teachers who return to teaching each year.

Fox said his hope is that the report prompts colleges and universities to look for ways to increase the number of teachers they turn out, especially in high-demand subject areas.

The good news, Fox said, is that this report comes on the heels of two efforts being launched at UT Knoxville to help ease teacher shortages.

UT is partnering with the Public Education Foundation of Chattanooga, Knox County Schools and the Hamilton County Department of Education to create a new teacher residency program called Teach/Here. The program will recruit college graduates and career-changers with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math.

Also, it recently was announced that UT will receive as much as $1.8 million from the state of Tennessee to launch VolsTeach, a new program to improve the quantity and quality of mathematics and science teachers.

To read the CBER report visit http://cber.utk.edu.

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C O N T A C T :

Bill Fox, CBER (865-974-6112, [email protected].)

David Wright, THEC (615-532-3862, [email protected])

Karen Collins, UT (865-974-5186, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — Dr. Robert “Buddy” Moore, associate dean for research and graduate programs for the College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named executive director of the University of Tennessee Space Institute, UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek announced today.

Moore will begin serving on Jan. 1, 2010. Dr. Stephen Corda, who has been serving in the role as interim associate vice president and chief operating officer since July, will return to his faculty and research post at the institute.

“Dr. Moore is a very well respected and proven administrator who will lead the institute’s research and instructional mission with an eye for building new partnerships and graduate enrollment. He is a proven leader who can help implement strategies to enhance interdisciplinary projects and take advantage of opportunities,” said Cheek. “His experience with the university and several key research centers provides a broad framework for enhanced collaboration with UT, as well as other universities and public and private partners.”

Moore joined the UT Knoxville faculty in 1981 as an assistant professor of microbiology. He later served as the head of the department of microbiology, helping to grow individual and collaborative research programs. In 2001, he was named associate dean for research and graduate studies for the College of Veterinary Medicine. Along with overseeing the college’s research and graduate programs, he directs the Center of Excellence in Livestock Diseases & Human Health. He also directs the Comparative and Experimental Medicine (CEM) Graduate Program, a joint program of the college and the UT Health Science Center’s Graduate School of Medicine. The CEM program has seen a dramatic increase in faculty participation, student enrollment and assistantships as well as support for shared projects about human and animal health.

Moore has a bachelor’s and a master’s from Clemson University and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the UT faculty, he served as a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health. Throughout his career, he has published significant research and has been an associate editor of the Journal of Immunology and editor of Infection and Immunity.

The UT Space Institute, located in Middle Tennessee, is a graduate education and research institution that was established in 1964 to focus on research in engineering, physics, mathematics and aviation systems. Nearly 1,500 graduate degrees — including more than 180 doctorates — have been awarded through the institute in partnership with UT Knoxville’s College of Engineering.

At the recommendation of UT Interim President Jan Simek at its annual meeting last June, the UT Board of Trustees approved a new organizational structure that placed reporting responsibilities for the institute with the Knoxville chancellor.

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C O N T A C T :

Karen Collins (865-974-5186, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — Alumnus Joe Crafton, president of CROSSMARK, a leading provider of services to the consumer goods industry, has provided a gift to the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in recognition of the impact UT has had on his family.

His gift supports technology in the college’s new James A. Haslam II Business Building and shopper marketing efforts in the college’s Department of Marketing and Logistics. To commemorate his generosity, the college has named the Crafton Family Terrace in the Haslam Business Building in his family’s honor.

“It is especially meaningful to have the terrace named after my family,” said Crafton, a 1984 graduate of the College of Business Administration. “From the Crafton Family Terrace, there is a clear view of the alma mater colleges of my wife, Wendy, who graduated in 1984 with a humanities degree; father Joe Sr., who graduated in 1950 as an engineer and lived in the stadium dorm; mother, Patti, who was a Torchbearer, graduating in 1955 in education; my brother Nick, a graduate in engineering, and another brother Hugh, a business graduate. Not to mention the numerous extended family members who graduated from UT. The Crafton Family Terrace also provides an ideal view of where my wife and I first met — Neyland Stadium — and her beloved Smoky Mountains in the distance.”

By giving to the college, Crafton hopes to perpetuate its tradition of excellence in consumer goods sales and marketing education and encourage future students to pursue careers in the industry. His gift is part of UT’s Campaign for Tennessee $1 billion fundraising effort.

This gift was very personal for Crafton on several other levels.

“Before Haslam was built, business classes were held in the Glocker Business Administration Building. It was in Glocker where I developed my passion for marketing and supply chain management that led to my career in consumer goods marketing. Glocker, however, was technologically challenged to provide students with a state-of-the-art learning environment. I wanted to ensure that future generations kept pace with global advancements,” he said.

Crafton also sees shopper marketing as a way to differentiate college graduates in the workplace.

“The consumer goods industry is investing incremental time and dollars in reaching the consumer when he or she is in a shopping mode. As a founding member of UT’s Shopper Marketing Forum, my planned gift will go toward advancing superior student education in areas having greatest demand,” he said.

Richard “Dick” Reizenstein, emeritus associate marketing professor, was instrumental in reconnecting Crafton with the college.

“Dick was an associate dean of the college when I was a student. He re-involved me in the college through his Executive-in-Residence (EIR) program. On one of my EIR visits to meet with students, I saw the plans for Haslam and realized the exceptional leverage the building provided the college. I’m glad to be associated with it,” Crafton said.

The Campaign for Tennessee — the most ambitious effort in the university’s 214-year history — places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this level of private support.

The campaign, which launched its silent phase in 2005, will secure private gifts that, in turn, will contribute substantially to the distinct, but linked, campuses in the UT system. Funds raised through the campaign will directly support the objectives of UT’s strategic plan. Among those objectives are improved student access and success, research and economic development, outreach and globalization.

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C O N T A C T :

Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE – The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have established a new Distinguished Fellowship designed to attract top graduate students in science and engineering.

The first-of-its-kind program, funded jointly by UT Knoxville and ORNL, will provide students with an unparalleled opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research at both institutions and build on similar programs to attract to research faculty. Recruiting is now under way for the inaugural class of students, who will be admitted for fall 2010. The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2010.

“These fellowships open a new level of partnership between UT Knoxville and Oak Ridge,” said UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “By combining the opportunities available at our two institutions, we will attract the best graduate students in fields vital to our nation’s future and continue to develop the strong relationship between our institutions.”

The combination of hands-on research work at the nation’s largest science and energy laboratory combined with their academic and research work toward a degree in the highly-ranked scientific programs at UT Knoxville is expected to serve as a major attraction for students.

Fellowships will be available in materials science, computational science, nuclear science and neutron science with coursework in UT Knoxville’s College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences. Applicants should have academic experience in at least one discipline of the physical or computational sciences.

“These fellowships are sure to attract even more of the nation’s top talent to UT and ORNL,” said Thom Mason, Director of ORNL. “This program is another example of a partnership that is bringing enormous value to both the university and the laboratory.”

The fellowships offer paid tuition, along with a $30,000 annual stipend. Renewable up to five years contingent on the student’s academic and research progress, the package represents an opportunity competitive with other top institutions.

Graduate students in the sciences and engineering play a vital role in the advancement of research by helping top faculty advance their research projects while also generating their own research. In addition, these positions can be expected to have a positive impact on the area’s economy by attracting and retaining talented students.

Students selected for the fellowships will undertake summer research internships at ORNL beginning the summer before they start coursework at UT Knoxville. Their work at ORNL and UT Knoxville will provide them with research opportunities at world-class facilities and centers, including the UT-ORNL joint institutes for computational, biological, neutron and advanced material sciences.

“We have been able to attract world-leading scientists to UT Knoxville and ORNL through the Governor’s Chair program, and the scientific resources that helped draw them to East Tennessee will help draw students to the Distinguished Fellowship as well,” said UT Knoxville Provost Susan Martin.

More information on the program, along with application materials, is available online.

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C O N T A C T :

Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE – University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumnus Clay Jones and his wife, Debbie, have donated $1 million to provide funding for the university’s student leadership program.

Jones, Rockwell Collins chairman, president, and chief executive officer, visited campus last week to discuss plans for the gift, which will fund the Jones Director of Leadership Programming in the student affairs division.

“I owe a big part of my success to the leadership roles I experienced while at UT,” Jones said. “I learned how to work with others and direct a team, how to manage my time, how to lead. I hope this program will enhance UT’s student leadership opportunities to give all students the experience I had.”

Funds from the new Jones Director of Leadership Programming Endowment will be allocated annually and will help expand current programming and encourage more students to participate in leadership activities on campus.

Jones received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, now the College of Arts and Sciences, in 1971. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Student Government Association, Air Force ROTC and Student Ambassadors, among other organizations. He also was named a university Torchbearer, the highest honor an undergraduate student can receive. He and his wife also have provided significant support to the Torchbearer Scholarship Endowment.

“Providing programming and instruction for leadership is an essential part of the growth and development of students,” said Tim Rogers, vice chancellor for student affairs. “Clay and Debbie Jones have given the university a tremendous gift that will have a significant and lasting impact on our students and campus for years to come.”

Examples of current UT programming to be expanded with this gift include:

• The Ignite Summit: A three-day leadership retreat for first-year students that shows them the social leadership opportunities across campus, while building a peer network for student success. The Jones’ gift will allow more students to attend the conference.
• Emerging Leaders Program: A class offered to those interested in student life, government and community service. It provides a base foundation of leadership skills, attitudes, theories, applications and an appreciation for diversity. The class includes an exchange trip and community service project. More class offerings will be available for this program because of the endowment.

Upon graduation from UT Knoxville, Jones served as a U.S. Air Force pilot and flew F-15 jets in the late 1970s. After he completed his service, he joined Rockwell International in 1979 and eventually led the successful spinoff of Rockwell Collins, a company specializing in communication and aviation technology. Jones was named president and chief executive officer in 2001. He has served as chairman of the board since 2002.

Jones serves as a director for Unisys Corp. and John Deere Co. He also serves on the boards for several organizations, including the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa, the Aerospace Industry Association and United Way of East Central Iowa. He also is a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

During his visit to Knoxville, Jones was presented with an Accomplished Alumnus Award. The program brings noteworthy alumni back to campus to honor their accomplishments and gives them an opportunity to share their stories, talents and career experiences with students and other alumni. The program is sponsored by the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs.

Jones and his family reside in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The gift is part of the university’s $1 billion fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Tennessee. The most ambitious effort in the university’s history, the campaign places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this level of private support.

The campaign secures private gifts through contributions, pledges and planned giving to advance the university’s strategic goals that include improving student access and success, research and economic development, outreach and globalization. More than 98 percent of all gifts are designated for a specific purpose or program, such as scholarships or endowed professorships, and help provide the vital resources to advance key initiatives.

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C O N T A C T :

Beth Gladden (865-974-9008, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — The College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a strong reputation nationally and internationally, according to the 2009 Eduniversal survey, which ranked the top 1,000 business schools worldwide.

The college received “three palmes,” indicating an excellent business school that is nationally strong and has international links. Palmes substitute for stars, which are typically used in rankings; a multicolored palme is part of Eduniversal’s logo.

“It’s an honor to be ranked as an Excellent Business School among our international peers,” said Jan Williams, dean of the College of Business Administration. “The steps we are making in expanding our curriculum to reflect the worldwide stage are earning us unprecedented international recognition and awareness among business deans worldwide.”

Eduniversal asked the deans from each of the 1,000 selected business schools worldwide to decide which ones they would recommend to students by answering the question, “Which business school(s) would you recommend to anyone wishing to study in this country?”

Their responses were given to a committee of nine independent academic experts, who then ranked each of the 1,000 institutions.

Created by SMBG, the leading company in France in student orientation, http://www.eduniversal.com was launched in October 2007 to serve as a search engine for higher education projects and international recruitment.

The College of Business Administration also has garnered top rankings for its undergraduate business curriculum, full-time MBA program, executive-level MBA programs for working professionals, Physician Executive MBA program, supply chain/logistics curriculum, and undergraduate and master’s accountancy programs in U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Modern Healthcare, Kaplan Publishing, CPA Personnel Report, Journal of Business Logistics, AMR Research, Supply Chain Management Review and Forbes.

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C O N T A C T :

Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — Florence Graves was born in India and received her undergraduate degree in economics from Bombay University. She lived in Dubai for 25 years before immigrating to Tennessee. She’s run a restaurant and a landscaping business, worked as a sous chef at Bonefish Grill and is now the executive assistant to the dean in UT’s College of Architecture and Design.

But her passion is cooking, and her dreams are to market a line of fusion sauces and launch her own restaurant chain.

Graves is one of 16 food enthusiasts — college students, retirees and working professionals in a variety of fields, including some already in the food service industry — who graduated Wednesday, Dec. 2, from the Culinary Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

This is the fifth class to graduate from the institute since it started in October 2007.

“This is no ordinary graduation, because the students had to prepare their ‘final exam,’ which entailed the development and execution of the graduation meal,” said John Antun, founding director of the Culinary Institute and assistant professor of hotel, restaurant and tourism management. Antun, a certified executive chef with a doctorate in higher education administration, has spent more than 40 years in the hospitality industry and opened and operated four successful restaurants in the New York metropolitan area.

“The 16 graduating students worked on designing an elaborate culinary experience for their guests of the graduation and their instructors. This gave them the opportunity to not only prepare a fine meal, but also to show off to their friends and families,” Antun said.

The Culinary Institute at the University of Tennessee provides students with professional culinary instruction. Appealing to food service professionals and food hobbyists alike, the 10-month program offered by the Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, covers topics including safety and sanitation, the art of tasting, knife skills and ice sculpting.

Students who complete the program receive a credentialing Certificate in Culinary Arts and the ServSafe Food Service Sanitation certification, valid for five years.

“I always had a passion for creating and experiencing different kinds of foods,” Graves said. “Coming from India and having lived in the Middle East, I felt very comfortable with Asian and Middle Eastern food. However, I wanted to learn about Western cuisine. I have an entrepreneurial bent and I thought this would be a valuable course to take if I want to have a food business of my own.”

With her new certifications, Graves has big plans.

“I have some ideas, one of which is commercializing fusion-type sauces,” she said. “My dream, however, is to own a chain of healthy multi-national fusion fast-food places!”

Graves might even get some help from her husband, Tom Graves, director of operations for the Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Business Administration.

Here are the newest graduates from the Culinary Institute:

• William Bradford Arp II, Knoxville
• Summer A. Belk, Vonore
• Marc E. Bliss, Knoxville
• William E. Bolton, Clinton
• Matthew Bushnell, Maryville
• Misty A. Dagley, Alcoa
• Samuel William Davis, Knoxville
• Trevor Ian Dunlap, Knoxville
• Florence F. Graves, Knoxville
• John S. Hill, Knoxville
• Brandon Foster Johnson, Knoxville
• Shannon Kupferer, Knoxville
• Robert B. Schildt, Greeneville
• Justin P. Solomon, Knoxville
• Jacob Stugart, Mocksville, N.C.
• Dustin Blair Thomas, Lenoir City

For more information about the Culinary Institute, see http://culinary.utk.edu/.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

Ready for the World: Our World in Need

KNOXVILLE — Nathan Kelly is not telling you to vote Democrat or Republican. But he can tell you what will happen economically either way.

Your decision, he said, will have a significant impact on poverty and economic inequality.

Kelly is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

To him, poverty focuses on those who are poor and inequality has to do with the gap between the rich and the poor. Also, inequality examines the well-being of the poor relative to the rich. He says fighting poverty directly combats inequality, although fighting inequality does not always lead to reductions in poverty.

“In reality, poverty and inequality are often intertwined,” Kelly said. “Usually, when there are many people living in poverty, the gap between the rich and the poor is also large.

“The core of my research examines the causes and consequences of economic inequality.”

Kelly’s work fits well into Ready for the World, the campus’ international and intercultural initiative, which this year is focusing on “Our World in Need” with an emphasis on poverty.

His book “The Politics of Income Inequality in the United States,” printed by Cambridge University Press, tries to zero in on the relationship between poverty and economic inequality.

“Many economists argue that inequality is essentially an inevitable result of a market-driven system,” Kelly said, “and government action is impotent to influence inequality. My research fundamentally contradicts this assessment.”

Kelly’s research shows that differences in economic equality depend on whether a Republican or Democrat is in office.

“When Democrats control the White House and liberal policies are enacted, inequality declines,” Kelly said. “The evidence on this point is quite solid and consistent. To be completely clear, electing Republicans and pursuing conservative policies generally increases inequality, while electing Democrats and pursuing liberal policies decreases inequality.

“I hope that this message makes it out to both liberals and conservatives, in the hopes that some common ground might be found by learning about the empirical realities of American politics.”

Kelly, in his research, also analyzes the distribution of wealth and the government’s involvement.

Teaching a First Year Studies course for freshmen, Kelly said he and his students can explore how politics, poverty and inequality are interconnected. The course involves a lot of discussion and challenges students to confront any biased perceptions of poverty and economic inequality.

“So many of my students have absolutely no idea what it would be like to be poor,” Kelly said. “I’m not sure I even fully understand. It is important for students to see and understand poverty, in part to understand how privileged they are, but also to see the poor as fully human. Sometimes, it’s too easy to … dehumanize the poor. Having direct interactions with economically diverse populations makes it harder to view the poor only as an ‘other’ and perhaps even another that is not deserving of full respect.”

Kelly hopes to make his students not only more conscious of poverty and economic inequality, but also make them more politically aware.

“Individuals matter, but so does government,” Kelly said, “and I hope that I can convince students that governments at least have the potential to be a very powerful actor for the good in this context. Governments also can act very badly. If I can show students that our government somehow represents the values of our society, I hope they will get involved to push government to represent our best values rather than our worst.”

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C O N T A C T :

Bridget Hardy (865-974-2225, [email protected])

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE – The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, broke ground Tuesday on the John Tickle Engineering Building, a cutting-edge facility that will house two key departments in the university’s College of Engineering.

The five-story, 110,000-square-foot building, named for Tickle, president and owner of Strongwell Corp. and a 1965 alumnus of the college, will contain laboratory space, classrooms and offices. In addition, the building also will anchor a new gateway to campus and provide a new link between Neyland Drive and the Hill.

“This facility will play a vital role in our efforts to bring students into the engineering fields, and will greatly enhance the opportunities available to faculty and students as they work to shape the future of our state and our nation,” said UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “We are all especially grateful to both John and Ann Tickle for their support for our university and its mission, and we’re proud that the building will bear John’s name.”

The Tickles have provided a generous donation toward the construction of the John Tickle Building, which will house the department of civil and environmental engineering and the department of industrial and information engineering.

“Education is the key for taking this state and our nation forward. In academics, like athletics, to get the best we have to have the best facilities,” Tickle said.

Facilities for each of the two departments are currently spread across several different buildings both on and off the main campus. The new space will include the American Society of Civil Engineers Project Lab/Student Project Lab, the GeoTech Lab and the Undergraduate Soils Laboratory, computer and senior design labs, a student study and seminar room, and faculty and graduate student offices.

A unique feature of the building is the pedestrian bridge that will connect the Tickle Engineering Building to the

heart of the campus. Easing pedestrian access for students, faculty and staff to the Hill, the bridge is a signature element that also will provide a visual link from the facility to the existing engineering buildings on the Hill.

Along with Cheek and the Tickles, those taking part in the groundbreaking included Jan Simek, UT interim president; Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam; Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale; Jim Porter, chair of the UT College of Engineering Board of Advisors; Mike Crabtree, representative, Campaign for Tennessee College of Engineering Executive Committee; Wayne Davis, UT Knoxville engineering dean; Dayakar Penumadu, professor and head, department of civil and environmental engineering; and Bruce Robinson, professor and interim head, department of industrial and information engineering.

The $23.1 million new facility is funded both by private support from the Tickles as well as funding from the State of Tennessee.

The Tickles also provided considerable support for the John and Ann Tickle Small Animal Hospital expansion within UT’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Their gift allowed construction to go forward on the $10 million, 32,000-square-foot addition in 2007. The facility was opened in the spring of 2008.

Tickle received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1965 from the UT Knoxville. He served in positions with Owens Corning Tech Center, Justin Enterprises and Krueger Metal Products before returning to his hometown of Bristol, Va., to assume the presidency of Morrison Molded Fiber Glass Co. Tickle stayed with MMFG after its acquisition by Shell in 1985 and eventually purchased the company. He renamed the company Strongwell Corp. in 1997. Today, Strongwell is a worldwide operation, with the Bristol division serving as its headquarters.

Tickle is a member of the Campaign for Tennessee Engineering Executive Committee. He has been the recipient of a host of local, regional and national business and philanthropic awards, including having the mall at Bristol Regional Medical Center, which was dedicated in 2004, named for him; laureate in the Junior Achievements Business Hall of Fame in 2000; Virginia Chamber of Commerce Torchbearer Award for Western Virginia in 1999; and serving as Bristol Regional Hospital chairman from 1987 to 1992. He also was a member of the UT Athletics Board and has served on the College of Engineering’s Board of Advisors.

Ann Tickle graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the UT Knoxville College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Tickle also has been extensively involved in philanthropic work.

The Campaign for Tennessee — the most ambitious effort in the university’s 214-year history — places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this level of private support. As of April 30, 2009, more than $577 million of the $610 million Knoxville campus goal had been received in both donations and pledges for future support.

The campaign, which launched its silent phase in 2005, will secure private gifts that, in turn, will contribute substantially to the distinct, but linked, campuses in the UT system. Funds raised through the campaign will directly support the objectives of UT’s strategic plan, including improving student access and success, research and economic development, outreach and globalization.

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C O N T A C T :

Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409, [email protected])

Kim Cowart (865-974-0686, [email protected])

The story of Little Brown Dog, who about a month ago was brought to UT’s College of Veterinary Medicine after being dragged for several miles behind a pickup truck, shook the Knoxville community. In this News Sentinel story, assistant professor and attending physician Patricia Sura, discusses the dog’s treatment and recovery.

Tennessee Athletics and the Mission of Hope will team up Tuesday, Dec. 1 to collect toys for this year’s Mission of Hope Toy Drive. Fans that donate a new toy will receive free admission to the match-up against George Washington. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“Our fans are always so giving this time of year,” Women’s Athletic Director Joan Cronan said. “It’s such a great feeling to be part of something that positively affects so many people in our area.”

Collection bins will be located at the Thompson-Boling Arena Ticket Office as well as the northwest and northeast gates beginning at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow. Suggested items include sports balls and equipment, action figure sets, fashion doll sets, arts & crafts sets, hand-held games for children ages 10-14.

Members of the Tennessee Athletic Department and the Mission of Hope will be at collection sites accepting toy donations. Gates will open at 6 p.m. For more information call 974-4114.

About Mission of Hope

The Mission of Hope is a nonprofit organization that serves and assists children and families in dire need throughout numerous distressed communities in rural Appalachia. The group has several ministries include Christmas and back-to-school campaigns, health care events and construction and resource ministries.

KNOXVILLE — Minneapolis-based attorney Randy Hopper has been recognized with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s, Accomplished Alumnus Award. The award is sponsored by the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs and recognizes graduates who have achieved great professional success.

Hopper graduated from UT in 1976 and began his career working on a White House-sponsored urban education program, “Communities in Schools,” in inner-city Atlanta and the Bronx and Harlem neighborhoods of New York.

He served as manager of public affairs for the Cummins Engine Co. and as a program officer in its corporate foundation; as director of state development planning for the state of Minnesota; and as an economic development adviser for the governor of Minnesota. He has served as finance director for two successful congressional campaigns and since 1982, he has been president of Robert R. Hopper & Associates, a private consulting firm.

Hopper graduated from law school in 1987 and upon his graduation received an Excellence in Trial Advocacy Award from the Association of Trial Lawyers designating him as one of the Top 10 student trial advocates in the country. He is now senior partner for Zimmerman Reed P.L.L.P. in Minneapolis and focuses on complex civil litigation and government relations.

As part of the Accomplished Alumni program, Hopper also spent time on campus and addressed a group of 30 students. He credited UT with contributing to his career and his professional success. He encouraged the students to take advantage of the opportunities UT provides them.

“Put your heart and soul into this experience and commit to making something out of your college years,” Hopper said. “Your classes, professors and the activities here on campus will give you the basis for great success later in your life.”

The Accomplished Alumni program is designed to attract alumni of note to campus to share their success stories with UT students, other alumni and the greater UT community. Through this program, alumni make an impact in the classroom and also are honored for their achievements.

For more information on the Accomplished Alumni program and to view other recipients, visit http://alumni.utk.edu/programs/accomplished.

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CUTLINE: College of Arts and Sciences Dean Bruce Bursten (left) presents attorney Randy Hopper (right) with the Accomplished Alumni Award.

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C O N T A C T:

Beth Gladden (865-974-9008, [email protected])