Author: khintz

In this WBIR Newsmaker, Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek sits down with Robin Wilhoit to talk about differential tuition for UT colleges and making UT Knoxville a top 25 institution.

Check out the video here.

The Volunteer Days (formerly Spring Fling) program scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled because of the predicted bad weather.

Future Volunteer Days programs will take place on Feb. 20 and April 10.

Saturday’s canceled program has not yet been rescheduled, but appropriate parties will be updated once a decision is made.

In the event that someone made travel plans which they were unable to cancel, admissions staff and tour guides will be on hand to accommodate them.

KNOXVILLE — Are your taste buds ready for an international adventure?

They’ll find it at the Ready for the World Café, which opens its 10-week spring semester run on Feb. 1.

The Ready for the World Café will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday through Thursday in the Hermitage Room on the third floor of the University Center.

Students enrolled in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism (HRT) 445, the advanced food production and service management class, plan and operate the café. ARAMARK, UT’s provider of dining services, prepares the food.

Diners pay $11 for the all-you-can-eat buffet or $9 for a plate of food to carry out.

Faculty and staff can use ARAMARK’s new UT Reward Card to receive a 15 percent discount at the café.

The HRT students worked together to select recipes and design the first week’s menu, which includes baked chicken croquettes with peperonata (sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil); Parmesan-encrusted tilapia with clementine gremolata; pork loin with pineapple relish; ratatouille Francé, pomme de terre les epinards (yukon potatoes with spinach), corn soufflé and artichoke, arugula, pepper and mushroom salad.

Donetta Poisson, instructor for the class that manages the café, said the café provides students with hands-on experience in running a restaurant while offering the campus community and public a unique lunch experience.

“We have six very enthusiastic, young, aspiring restaurateurs who will be running the café this semester,” Poisson said. “You’ll enjoy the delicious menus and interesting themes they come up with; and they will gain valuable experience that will allow them to prepare for future careers in the food industry or related fields.

“We hope you’ll visit the café this semester and see what a delicious experience it is.”

Here’s a look at the students who will be managing the café this semester:

• Brittany Bivins, of Manchester, is a junior majoring in nutrition with a minor in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. She has worked as a server at Calhoun’s on the River and has volunteered with several child nutrition organizations. She plans to get her master’s degree in nutrition from UT. She wants to be a pediatric nutritionist.
• Chris Hegseth, of Knoxville, is a junior in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. He grew up in Sevierville, and has worked at Dollywood’s Grandstand Café for five years. He also has worked at special events, including the Cystic Fibrosis Wine on the Water fundraiser. His goal is to own his own restaurant.
• Kerri Kimzey, of Germantown, is a senior in nutrition. She is minoring in Spanish and hotel, restaurant and tourism management. She works for Rex Bradford Jones Catering Co. as a catering server. She plans to attend culinary school soon. “I lived in Granada, Spain, for a semester, which is where I realized my passion for food and foodservice, which is why I became a nutrition major,” she said.
• Holly Phillippi, of Gallatin, is a junior in nutrition with a minor hotel, restaurant and tourism management with a concentration in pre-med. She plans to go to medical school and become a doctor.
• Kate Rogers, of Alcoa, is a senior in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management. She has worked and bartended at Stinker’s Barbecue in Maryville. Her goal is to be an event planner.

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — Six students and one faculty member from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, head to Miami this weekend to work behind the scenes at the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV.

The students, all of whom want careers in sport management or journalism, will spend 10 days learning how a large-scale sporting event is prepared and carried out by working directly with the National Football League at various Pro Bowl and Super Bowl events. This is the fourth year that a team from UT Knoxville has gone to the Super Bowl. TEAM UT participated in Super Bowl XLIII in Miami, Super Bowl XLII in Arizona and Super Bowl XLI in Tampa, and is scheduled to assist in Super Bowl XLV, which will be held in Arlington, Texas, at the new Cowboys Stadium. The team has been asked back each year by the Super Bowl Host Committee.

“TEAM UT has set a high standard for working these types of elite mega-events and adds tremendous brand equity to our university and respective programs,” said faculty adviser Fritz G. Polite, a professor of sport management who is founding director of the Institute for Leadership, Ethics & Diversity (I-LEAD) and director for community outreach and global engagement in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

“Working at the Super Bowl is a one-of-a-kind leadership experience for these students,” Polite said. “Many former TEAM UT members cite this experience on their resume as a reason for being employed today.”

Any UT Knoxville student could apply to be part of the team. Members were selected after writing essays about their career plans and being interviewed.

Elizabeth Pangle, a junior interested in sports broadcasting, is part of TEAM UT. She said all of the team members are very excited about the trip to Miami.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us. We plan to take what we’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to one of the world’s largest mega-events,” she said “We are looking forward to working with the NFL and networking with people from around the country.”

At the conclusion of the Miami trip, TEAM UT members must write a reflection paper on their experiences with TEAM UT and Super Bowl XLIV.

Team members are:

• Sean Hensley, of Knoxville, is co-director of TEAM UT. A senior in sport management, Hensley has spent two years interning at the Vol Network and has been a Sports Illustrated On-Campus Consultant.
• Lauren Wey, of Brentwood, is co-director of TEAM UT. She is finishing her master’s degree in sport management. She is a graduate assistant for the Lady Vols marketing and promotions department and has been a Sports Illustrated On-Campus Consultant.
• Chris Borns, of Greenbrier, is a freshman Chancellor’s Honors student in sport management with a triple minor in business administration, political science and American studies. He is the first freshman to be selected as a member of TEAM UT.
• Elizabeth Pangle, of Loudon, is a junior majoring in journalism and electronic media, concentrating on sports broadcasting. She plans to go to graduate school to pursue a degree in public relations. Pangle is an active member of Tennessee Athletic Hospitality.
• Genna Pinto, of South Plainfield, N.J., is a senior in journalism and electronic media with a concentration in news and sports journalism and broadcasting. She currently is interning with the Lady Vols media relations department and serves as a Partners in Sports game day student assistant. She is an anchor and news writer at WUTK radio.
• Daren Stoltzfus, of Johnson City, is a senior in journalism and electronic media with an emphasis on sports journalism and broadcasting. He is president of The Volunteer Channel, the student television network at UT Knoxville.

“The Super Bowl project combines all the elements that constitute successful teaching and learning,” said Bob Rider, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee. “The TEAM UT students have spent hours preparing for this experience and will spend many more hours of on the job training. Experiential learning is authentic learning and contributes significantly to the overall educational experience for the student.”

TEAM UT pays its own way to Miami. Team members have been raising funds to help defray their expenses.

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PHOTO CUTLINE: TEAM UT members are, left to right, Chris Borns, Genna Pinto, Sean Hensley, Professor Fritz Polite, Lauren Wey, Darren Stoltzfus and Elizabeth Pangle.

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C O N T A C T :

Fritz Polite (while at Super Bowl) 407-758-0811

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

As the threat of inclement weather approaches, it’s a good time to review the university’s policy on cancellations and delays, as found in the 2009-2010 edition of Hilltopics.

The University of Tennessee will remain open except in the most severe weather conditions. The Chancellor (or appointed representative) may officially close or suspend selected activities of the University because of extreme weather conditions. When a decision to close is reached, campus and local radio and TV stations will be notified and the notice will be posted on the front page of www.utk.edu.

If the University is officially closed, certain essential activities such as campus dining, facilities services, police, steam plant, and telephone services will continue to operate. Some facilities such as the Library and University Center will, if possible, continue to function as a service to students and faculty. When the University is officially closed, its policy of Days of Administrative Closing will apply for staff exempt and staff nonexempt employees.

In the event of inclement weather when the University remains open, all faculty, administrators, and staff will be expected to make every reasonable effort to maintain their regular work schedules, but are advised to avoid undue risks in traveling. Employees who anticipate arriving late or not arriving at work at all should notify their immediate supervisors. Employees have the option of charging their time off to annual leave or leave without pay, or, with approval, they may make up their lost work hours.

In the event of a delayed opening, the chancellor (or appointed representative) will determine a specific time of opening and that information will be distributed to the campus community through the local media and via the front page of www.utk.edu. All faculty and staff are expected to report to their specific work location by the set opening time.

Students are expected to report to their regularly scheduled class only if there are 30 or more minutes remaining in the session. For example, if a delayed opening is set for 10 a.m., students who have classes from 9:40 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. should report to that class at 10 a.m. Students who have classes from 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. should not report to class. In a delayed opening, all classes scheduled prior to the set time of opening and those that have less than 30 minutes remaining after the set opening time are cancelled for the day.

Students will be responsible for any academic work they miss due to absences caused by severe weather conditions. It is the individual student’s responsibility to take the initiative to make up any missed work, and it is the instructor’s responsibility to provide a reasonable opportunity for students to complete assignments or exams missed due to such absences. Faculty members have discretion in determining whether an additional session will be added for the class or if additional work is assigned due to the closure or delayed opening.

More information can be found online at http://dos.utk.edu/hilltopics/.

George Strait’s concert tomorrow night has been rescheduled, Varnell Enterprises announced today.

Because of the strong possibility of inclement weather throughout the area, George Strait does not want to potentially jeopardize the safety of his fans, production crew and band by trying to perform tomorrow night Jan. 29.

All tickets will be honored for the rescheduled date. The entire 3 act package will return on Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. to Thompson Boling Arena.

For additional information, contact Tickets Unlimited or the arena management office at 974-0953.

The Board of Directors of Leadership Knoxville, Inc., is accepting nominations for its 2011 class, which will run from August 2010 – June 2011. Frank Rothermel, President of Denark Construction and Leadership Knoxville Board member, will chair the selection committee. Deadline for submission is Friday, Feb. 26.

The 2011 class will be Leadership Knoxville’s twenty-seventh. Started in 1985, the program equips around 45 area leaders each year with important information about the community and region, along with skills to enhance their leadership abilities. Over 1,000 people have participated in the program since its inception.

The committee is seeking nominations from business, government, education, religion, the arts, the professions, civic and community organizations. Nominees may live in Knox and all contiguous counties, should be community minded, and should demonstrate leadership capabilities. If selected for the program, participants will be required to participate in monthly day-long sessions, and occasional two-day sessions. Tuition is $2,500 for the year-long program, but partial scholarship assistance may be available.

Nominations may be made online. Nominators must provide the candidates name and email address. The candidates will in-turn receive an electronic application to submit for consideration in the class.

The 2011 class will be announced in early June.

For more information, contact Tammy White at (865) 523-9137 or at [email protected].

This News Sentinel article reports on the work of UT College of Veterinary Medicine staffers who performed surgery on a 25-year-old female chimpanzee at the Knoxville Zoo to stabilize four broken metacarpal bones in her hand.

KNOXVILLE — An anonymous donor has made a $1 million challenge to raise money to provide financial assistance to students enrolled in the teacher internship program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The donor, a longtime supporter of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, has offered to give $1 million in memory of the late J. Clayton Arnold if the college can collect at least $1 million in contributions from other supporters.

The J. Clayton Arnold Challenge is based upon the inspiration of a man whose desire was “investing in the human race.” Arnold, a rural mail carrier in Williamson County, began providing financial assistance to students studying to be teachers in 1965. While Arnold only earned a $60-per-month salary and never attended college, he was a smart man who made investments throughout his 95 years. These investments allowed him to give UT Knoxville its first million-dollar gift.

“I am loyal to the human race. I believe it is capable of scarcely dreamed of development. Education has the most important role in the development. The responsibility for this development rests upon us,” Arnold said.

Arnold believed by investing in the preparation of teachers his gift could influence 25 million students: “Out of the fund I have set up, 5,000 students who are planning to be teachers can be helped in the next 50 years. If each of them influences 5,000 children, I feel that my money will help 25 million children.”

Even with his generous gift, Arnold was never content. Instead, he challenged UT alumni to help contribute to his efforts, which has resulted in large gains to the university’s annual giving program. In 2009, 82 teacher education interns received a J. Clayton Arnold Scholarship.

“The J. Clayton Arnold Challenge invites others to follow Arnold’s lead and make a transformational gift to honor a teacher who has touched their lives,” said Bob Rider, dean of the college. “The perfect way to do that is to nominate an educator for the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences’ Educators Hall of Honor.”

With a $1,000 contribution, a donor can nominate an educator for the Hall of Honor. For a contribution of $25,000 or more, a separate scholarship endowment fund will be established in the honoree’s or donor’s name.

The next group of Hall of Honor inductees will be announced during a ceremony on March 25.

To learn more about the Educators Hall of Honor and how to nominate someone, see: http://cehhs.utk.edu/AlumniTest/hall_of_honor.html.

“By making a charitable gift to the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, you are not only helping to meet the J. Clayton Arnold Challenge, but also making an investment in future educators whose impact will last beyond a lifetime,” Rider said

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — The College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, kicks off its newest lecture series, Designing Environments for Health, next week. The semester-long lecture series will explore the connection between health and the built environment in the design of health-related facilities and the design of our communities.

“There is definitive data showing a strong link between the built environment and patient outcomes,” said B.J. Miller, lecture series organizer and facilitator for the college. “We can create healing environments through achievable and often inexpensive measures. This lecture series will explore new design approaches to health care design and examine the future of health care in this country.”

As part of the series, several nationally renowned designers, strategists and architects — with expertise in improving public health and patient outcomes through design — will visit the college to present their work.

In its second year, the series this spring will feature several videoconferenced lectures from Nashville in collaboration with the Nashville Civic Design Center (NCDC).

The series begins at 5:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 3, with a videoconference from the NCDC by Richard Jackson, chair of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. His presentation, “Health — Spanning Disciplines,” will explore the major health challenges of the 21st century and how society must collaborate to create coherent efforts to build healthy communities.

All lectures and videoconferences will be held in room 111 of the Art + Architecture Building and are free and open to public.

The rest of the lineup includes:

• Feb. 10, “Creating an Experience Environment in Healthcare,” a lecture by BSA LifeStructures.
• Feb. 17, “A Blueprint for a Healthy Nashville,” an NCDC videoconference panel discussion applying Jackson’s insights to impact the health of Nashville’s citizens.
• Feb. 24, “The Master Planning Model and the Future of Healthcare Design: Planetree and Greenhouse Design Concepts Setting the Design Standard,” a lecture by Hart Freeland Roberts.
• March 17, “A New Paradigm in Healthcare,” an NCDC videoconference by Wayne Ruga, author and thought leader.
• March 24, “The Future of Healthcare in America,” presented by Marc Suave, Gresham, Smith and Partners.
• March 31, an NCDC videoconference panel discussion facilitated by Gresham, Smith and Partners.
• April 7, “Evidence-based Healthcare Design,” presented by Rosalyn Cama, Cama Inc.
• April 14, “Transforming Healthcare through the Arts,” an NCDC videoconference presentation by Annette Ridenour, Aesthetics Inc.
• April 21, “Four Dimensions — Creating Sustainable Senior Living,” presented by Jane Rohde, JSR Associates.
• April 28, “Long-term Care — The European Model,” presented by Victor Reigner, University of Southern California.

The presentations on Feb. 3, Feb. 17, March 17, March 31 and April 14 are open to the public in the Nashville area. They will be held at 4:30 p.m. CST at the NCDC, except for Jackson and Ruga’s lectures, which will take place in the Belmont University auditorium. The keynote lectures by Jackson, Ruga and Ridenour will cost $25.

The lecture series will be viewable both live and in archive form online.

For more information about the series, visit http://www.arch.utk.edu/Special_Programs/healthlecture.html.

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C O N T A C T :

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

B.J. Miller (865-974-5267, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — With legislators debating a health care redesign, there is a lot of discussion about what’s wrong with American health care and how it could be fixed.

The College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been working with health care professionals for more than 10 years, teaching them the business of health care to improve quality, improve patient outcomes and lower costs.

“We have shown that when the health care community understands and implements good business principles, the health care system improves,” said Mike Stahl, William B. Stokely Distinguished Professor in Management and director of UT’s Physician Executive MBA (PEMBA) program. “Physicians are thirsting for knowledge about how to run patient-centered practices that improve patient outcomes, eliminate redundancies, shorten patient wait times, put an end to reworks, simplify paperwork and lower costs.”

PEMBA — which for the past six years has been ranked “the No. 1 preferred MBA program exclusively for physicians” by Modern Healthcare/Modern Physician magazines — teaches physicians to think as physician leaders.

“PEMBA physicians already think of their patients first due to taking the Hippocratic Oath. What they learn in the program enhances the value they add to their patients,” Stahl said.

Jody Crane, a 2004 PEMBA graduate and business director of Fredericksburg Emergency Medical Alliance in Fredericksburg, Va., applied lean principles to improve performance in one of the busiest emergency departments in the country. By applying lean principles in his emergency department, he and his team at Mary Washington Hospital have reduced the length of stay in the emergency department by over 38 percent — from over four hours in 2004 to two hours and 30 minutes in 2009. They also have decreased the rate with which patients leave without being seen by almost 90 percent — from a high of 13 percent in 2003 to 1.5 percent in 2009.

“This tremendous increase in capacity came without significant investments in human resources or costly physical plant modifications, but through creating a learning organization and applying human ingenuity,” Crane said. In essence, the Fredericksburg team created the capacity to treat 38 percent more patients with similar resources.

“Toyota used these principles to improve manufacturing efficiencies in the automotive industry; the concepts are just as applicable in a healthcare environment,” he said.

Crane believes so strongly in lean that he and Chuck Noon, a founding faculty member of PEMBA, encouraged the college to introduce a Lean for Healthcare five-day course as a deep-dive into lean principles, in which he is a lead faculty member. Other college faculty members are working with college staff in developing an entire curriculum of healthcare leadership courses to be available in 2010.

Here are several other examples of healthcare professionals around the country who have used the business principles learned in UT’s Physician Executive MBA program to make changes that increased efficiency and improved patient outcomes:

• Dr. Ramesh Gandhi practices gastroenterology in Dayton, Ohio, and is president of Digestive Specialists and Digestive Endoscopy Center LLC, an outpatient practice with 20 gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists; they perform thousands of colonoscopies yearly. With the implementation of continuous process improvements learned in PEMBA, his center has reduced significantly expected complications from colonoscopies, including an 85 percent reduction in perforation rates. This has led to improved satisfaction among patients and referring physicians, more referrals, and business growth.
• Dr. Thomas L. “Tim” Stover is president of outpatient services at Akron General Health System in Akron, Ohio. Before the concept of wellness became popular, he developed Akron General Health and Wellness Centers, an outpatient, lower-cost, higher-quality delivery system based around prevention, wellness, rehabilitation and lifestyle change. The Centers offer free-standing, 24/7, full-service emergency departments; outpatient clinical services, including diagnostic and surgical services; physician offices; and an award-winning medical fitness center.
• Dr. John H. Hajjar, chief executive officer of Urology Specialty Care and Surgicare Surgical Associates in New Jersey, lowered patient costs and improved quality of urology services by moving procedures from an in-patient to an outpatient setting. SurgiCare manages more than 10 ambulatory surgery centers in New Jersey, New York, and Florida.

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C O N T A C T :

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

Laura Bower (865-599-7152, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — The new Scripps Convergence Lab is open for business in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The lab opened at the start of the spring semester, and a grand opening celebration will be held Friday in the lab, located on the fourth floor of the College of Communication and Information. The event is by invitation only.

Funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the 4,000-square-foot lab is similar to the “The Commons” area of Hodges Library in that it provides an informal gathering spot for the college’s students and organizations, as well as rooms for occasional class meetings. The space includes two studio areas, a conference room, a focus group room, lounge space, a kitchenette and offices for members of the college’s information technology team. The lab is equipped with computers, software, audio-visual equipment, including UT’s first high-definition projector and a portable HD video studio, and portable white boards.

“This is going to become the hub for the college,” Dean Mike Wirth said. The lab allows students in different areas of the college — the School of Journalism and Electronic Media, the School of Advertising and Public Relations, the School of Information Sciences, and the School of Communication Studies — to mingle and collaborate.

“It encourages a convergence of the disciplines, something that’s increasingly important as the problems we deal with become increasingly complex,” Wirth said, adding that the college will be encouraging its faculty to work together so students can produce interdisciplinary projects.

“Our students now have access to the technology and space they need to create more elaborate projects,” Wirth said. “With our classrooms and teaching labs equipped with cameras, computers and other technology booked solid with classes, the Scripps Lab will have a transformative impact on the educational experience of our students.”

The $500,000 gift — the largest cash gift the college has received — is part of the Campaign for Tennessee. The most ambitious fund-raising effort in the university’s 214-year 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, 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.

The Scripps Howard Foundation previously presented the university with a $50,000 gift to fund the Tennessee Journalist Web Journalism Project, which connects UT journalism and electronic media students with top Web journalism professionals.

The Scripps Howard Foundation, based in Cincinnati, is the philanthropic arm of the E.W. Scripps Co. Its mission is to advance the cause of a free press through support of excellence in journalism, quality journalism education and professional development. The foundation helps build healthy communities and improve the quality of life through support of sound educational programs, strong families, vital social services, enriching arts and culture and inclusive civic affairs, with a special commitment to the communities in which Scripps does business.

The E. W. Scripps Co., also headquartered in Cincinnati, is focused on newspaper publishing, broadcast television, and licensing and syndication. It owns the Knoxville News Sentinel.

The company’s cable networks and specialty Internet search businesses were spun off July 1, 2008, into a new company — Scripps Networks Interactive. The Scripps Networks, which are part of Scripps Networks Interactive, are headquartered in Knoxville and include HGTV, DIY, Food Network, Fine Living Network, Great American Country, and soon will take on the Travel Channel and a new venture, the Cooking Channel.

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — Patrice Pavis, an internationally recognized artist, author and scholar of drama and performance, will visit the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Feb. 1 – Feb. 19.

Pavis recently retired as professor of theater studies at the Département Théâtre at Université Paris VIII and is a renowned leading expert on contemporary theater. His publications on theater semiotics, performance analysis and intercultural theater have contributed significantly to fundamental research on theater and performance practice.

Pavis will give the following lectures, which are free and open to the public:

• “Interpreting Today’s Performances,” 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, in 1210-1211 McClung Tower;
• “Intercultural Performance Today,” 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, in Hodges Library auditorium;
• “Is There an Ideal Theater School?”, 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, in the Carousel Theater; and
• “Aging in the Performing Arts,” 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in 1210-1211 McClung Tower.

Pavis also will lead a master class on “The Performance of Aging” for students and faculty of the theatre department.

The visit is sponsored by the university’s Ready for the World intercultural and international awareness initiative, and the UT Knoxville Departments of Theatre, Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures and English.

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C O N T A C T :

Les Essif (865-974-6375, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — In partnership with the Tennessee Clean Water Network, the Knox County Public Library and the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy will hold four events to highlight national and regional water issues.

Increasing demands for water in energy production, agriculture and development create pressures on this critical and finite resource. The recent move by the Georgia Legislature to redraw the state border between Tennessee and Georgia to take part of the Tennessee River illustrates this.

The programs will include a documentary film showing, a brown bag book discussion, a lecture by author and activist Maude Barlow and a roundtable discussion. All events are free and open to the public.

Jan. 31 — Documentary film showing

A free showing of the film “Blue Gold: World Water Wars,” winner of many national and international awards, begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium. Light refreshments will be served.

Acknowledging that past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management, the film suggests that, as water enters the global marketplace and political arena, it is feasible that wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today. Various entities vie for control over our water supply, which spurs protests, lawsuits and, in some cases, revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to a resource that is basic to survival.

Feb. 2 — Brown bag, green book discussion

The public is invited to bring their lunch for the Brown Bag, Green Book series and discuss Maude Barlow’s book, “Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.” The event will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the East Tennessee History Center’s Auditorium, located at 601 Gay St.

The discussion will be led by Renee Hoyos from the Tennessee Clean Water Network; Joanne Logan from the UT’s Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science; and Tiffany Foster from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Feb. 3 — Barlow lecture

Maude Barlow will speak at 7 p.m. in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium.

She is the author of numerous books, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, as well as senior adviser on water to the United Nations where she provides counsel to Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockman, president of the General Assembly. She also chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch and is a councilor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council.

Barlow was one of the “1000 Women for Peace” nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. In the same year, she received the prestigious Lannon Cultural Freedom Fellowship as well as the Right Livelihood Award. Known as the “Alternative Nobel” and given by the Swedish Parliament, the Right Livelihood Award cited her “exemplary and longstanding worldwide work for trade justice and the recognition of the fundamental right to water.” She also won the Citation of Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Canadian Environmental Awards, Canada’s highest environmental honor.

Feb. 9 — Roundtable discussion on water

Students, faculty and regional experts will gather at 4:30 p.m. in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium to discuss issues presented during the past week’s programs and their implications for water policy in the region.

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C O N T A C T :

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

Our World in Need: Focus on Poverty

KNOXVILLE — “Baldwin Lee, James Agee and Walker Evans: Photography, Poverty, Politics in the South and Abroad” will be theme of a mini-summit to be held Feb. 4 and 11 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” by author James Agee and photographer Walker Evans, will be the used in various discussions on the first day. The second day will fast forward 50 years to the 1980s, with an exhibit and a presentation about photographs taken by UT Professor Baldwin Lee.

Three mini-summits looking at various aspects of poverty and work being done at UT Knoxville in these areas will be held this spring. Ready for the World, UT’s international and intercultural initiatives, has devoted this academic year to “Our World in Need” with a particular emphasis on the issue of poverty. A mini-summit on Poverty and Health Care is being planned for March and a mini-summit on Poverty, Energy and the Environment is being planned for April.

All of the events are free and open to the public.

The first mini-summit kicks off Feb. 4 with four short presentations and discussions about “Poverty and the Politics of Outreach and Engagement.” These will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. at UT’s Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, 1640 Cumberland Ave.

Presenters include Michael Lofaro, English professor; Steven Dandaneau, associate provost and director of the Chancellor’s Honors Program; Rosalind Hackett, professor of religious studies; and a student panel led by Marvelene Moore, music professor.

Then, from 7 to 9 p.m., a community discussion of “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” will be held at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. It will be led by Nissa Dahlin-Brown, associate director of the Baker Center, and Robert Kronick, professor of educational psychology and counseling.

In 1936, Agee the author, and Evans, the photographer, were on an assignment for Fortune magazine to write about sharecroppers in the South. Their work culminated in this book of stories and photos that provides a picture of life in the 1930s.

The mini-summit will continue on Feb. 11 when the study moves forward to the 1980s with a program titled, “Photography, Poverty and Culture in the South.”

From 7 to 9 p.m. in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium, Lee — who earned his graduate degree from Yale School of Art where he studied under Evans — will provide an illustrated lecture of his journey through the South as he photographed families living in poverty and witnessed their culture and learned about their lives. His work will be featured in an upcoming book, “In Consideration of Photographing the South.”

Lee’s presentation will be followed by a tour of his photos exhibited in the Baker Center rotunda and a reception. An exhibit of Lee’s photography also will be displayed in Hodges Library. A display of Walker Evans’ photographs from “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” from the UT Ewing Gallery also will be featured in the Baker Center. All of the photo exhibits will be displayed through March 31.

This mini-summit is being sponsored by the Provost’s Office, Ready for the World, the Baker Center, the College of Education Health and Human Sciences, the Council on Academic Outreach and Engagement, UT Libraries, the School of Art and the Knox County Public Library.

For more information about each of the poverty mini-summits, see http://www.bakercenter.utk.edu.

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Note: James Agee photo is courtesy of Florence Homolka.

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — Dreaming of adventure and learning something new? The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Study Abroad Fair may have something for you.

The Study Abroad Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the University Center Ballroom. The event brings together a wealth of campus resources for students interested in taking their studies abroad.

Those attending the fair will find information on summer, semester and yearlong programs. Students who have studied abroad will be on hand to share their experiences. Faculty leading summer and mini-term programs also will be there to answer questions. Information will be available about internship opportunities, financial aid and scholarships.

Approximately 800 UT Knoxville students study abroad each year, reaching all corners of the globe. For many students, these experiences are only possible due to assistance from financial aid programs and scholarship opportunities.

One scholarship program that will be represented at the fair is the Benjamin Gillman International Scholarship. The Gillman Scholarship is allowing six UT Knoxville students to study abroad during the Spring 2010 semester. More than 900 Gillman scholarships were awarded to undergraduate students across the country for the current semester. Six of UT’s seven applicants were chosen to receive scholarships between $4,000 and $5,000.

UT’s Gillman recipients are: Carla Chantal Safi, a junior in the College of Architecture + Design, who is spending the semester at the Danish Institute of Study Abroad in Copenhagen; LaTisha Raulston, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, who is studying in Costa Rica; sophomore Lauren Raschke, in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, who is currently studying in Spain; Whitney Chase and Joshua Shaffer, both seniors in the College of Architecture + Design, who are studying in Poland; Todd Buchkovich, senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, who is studying in Guadeloupe.

Study abroad is an important component of “Ready for the World: The International and Intercultural Awareness Initiative.” The goal of the initiative is to transform the campus into a culture of diversity that best prepares students for working and competing in the 21st century. The initiative involves diversifying the university community, altering the curriculum, encouraging faculty to incorporate international and intercultural aspects in all of their courses, expanding study-abroad and work-study opportunities, and encouraging students to take advantage of all of these opportunities.

For more information about UT’s Study Abroad programs, visit http://www.utabroad.org.

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C O N T A C T :

Rebekah Winkler (865-974-8304, [email protected])

KNOXVILLE — The vampire frenzy is sweeping the nation and experimental film is following the trend.

UT Professor of Film and Video Production Norman Magden’s film, “Café,” received first place in the Experimental Film category in the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival. The movie also was selected for screening at festivals in Hollywood, New Orleans, Denver and Ecuador.

In “Café,” Magden uses a theater troupe and a real dance club in Chicago to create his environment where the undead walk the streets. Dracula even makes an appearance when he puts on a floor show for spectators.

“‘Café’ is a mockumentary,” Madgen said. “It is a documentary of a theatrical event. It takes place on a real street in Chicago, but the characters are fictional.

“I’ve been entering festivals for a number of years,” Magden said. “This is the first year I’m showing ‘Café,’ and it’s gotten a lot of feedback.”

This film is part of a larger film Magden is working on that has to do with film realities. He says “Café” is his attempt to create a visual film that is a fantastic fantasy. He creates a visual journey instead of focusing on telling a story. Because it is experimental art, it gives Magden the freedom to express his unique interpretation of toying with a person’s sense of what is concrete and what is abstract.

The film uses a special effect Magden calls “multi-image performance works.” These works involve dancers dressed in white wearing white masks. The dancers carry large screens projecting images that create a whimsical world of movement.

“In my multi-image performance works that incorporate film, I project images from the back of the room and the dancers reflect these images on their white costumes as they move,” Magden said. “I use images from the dance itself. It’s hard to see the difference between the live dancers and the projected images of the same dancers.”

Most images Magden selects depend on the theme of each performance. For instance, he did a piece based on Joan of Arc and had images of flames projected on one of the dancers to depict Joan burning at the stake.

Magden said his films are more pieces of art than stories.

“I mix live with fictional imagery,” he said. “I’m more of an artist than a theater person, so I’m more interested in art than traditional storytelling.”

A UT professor since 1993, Magden teaches and encourages his students to think outside of the proverbial artistic box.

“The mission of my courses is to show students how to create media as a fine art form,” Magden said. “This is an alternative way to think about reality in performance and time arts context.”

A premier showing of his film will be at his A1LabArts annual members meeting on Jan. 30.

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — UT College of Business Administration alumna Jennifer Banner has established two endowments for the college in honor of two of her former educators, the Richard L. Townsend Excellence Endowment and the John Wachowicz Excellence Endowment.

Banner’s gift is part of the Campaign for Tennessee, a $1 billion fundraising effort at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Banner graduated in 1981 with a major in general business and, in 1983, earned her Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree with a tax concentration. She currently is the CEO of Schaad Companies LLC; prior to joining Schaad she was a CPA and principal of Pershing Yoakley & Associates P.C.

“I wanted to honor two professors who made a difference in my life, both while I was on campus and continuing over the course of my professional life,” Banner said.

Richard Townsend is an associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Management; John Wachowicz is a Regions Bank Scholar in the Department of Finance.

“They both took an interest in me beyond teaching finance and accounting. Dr. Townsend helped steer me into the tax concentration, made numerous recommendations to recruiters, served as my adviser while in the MAcc program, and helped get me a graduate teaching assistantship,” Banner said.

“Dr. Wachowicz taught me valuable business/finance skills that I still use every day,” she said. “I can never repay that debt. I was motivated to honor him because for decades I have watched him give so much of himself to UT and to his students, so much above and beyond the call, never asking to be in the limelight for it, just doing it because he is a man who wants to do his job to the best of his abilities. He absolutely has earned the right to be honored,” she said.

Banner also credits her success to two of her great aunts for taking a chance on her many years ago by paying for her college education. She said she’s worked to give them a good return on their investment.

“They led by example and showed me the way to give back to support education,” Banner says. “They exemplified the saying, ‘Don’t give someone a fish; teach them how to fish.’ Now I know how to fish. Dr. Wachowicz and Dr. Townsend taught me how, and I want to support higher education so more people can learn to fish.”

The endowments provide a way for other alumni of the college, friends and family of the faculty, colleagues, etc. who were touched by Townsend and Wachowicz’s teaching to give back to the college. Anyone may contribute to these endowments.

Banner’s gifts are part of the Campaign for Tennessee, the most ambitious effort in the university’s 214-year history, which 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 Knoxville community is invited to read John Rawls’ book, “Justice as Fairness,” and then participate in a series of group discussions beginning Jan. 25.

The book events are being sponsored by the University of Tennessee Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and the Knox County Public Library.

“Sen. Baker, in talking about the American democratic republic as an ‘experiment,’ says it is our job as Americans to continually evaluate our system in order to create one that works,” said Carl Pierce, interim director of the Baker Center.

John Rawls devoted his intellectual life to answering these important questions of political philosophy. His work gives Americans a shared framework for public deliberation and reasoned judgment about the most pressing political issues that we face: guarding our basic constitutional liberties, creating and maintaining equal opportunity, and the interplay between economics and social cooperation for the common good. Without this shared framework, American citizens may find political life dominated by dogmatic fanaticism and apathetic resignation.

Citizens committed to the success of our system owe it to themselves to engage in the questions that occupied Rawls — perhaps the most important political philosopher of the 20th century.

Group discussions of Rawls’ book will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Mondays in the Toyota Auditorium at the Baker Center, 1640 Cumberland Ave., on the UT Campus. Each meeting will be facilitated by a UT faculty member with expertise on Rawls’ work:

• Jan. 25, Part 1: Fundamental Ideas, led by Joe Cook, College of Law
• Feb. 1, Part 2: Principles of Justice, led by Otis Stephens, College of Law
• Feb. 8, Part 3: The Argument from the Original Position, led by Iris Goodwin, College of Law
• Feb. 15, Part 4: Institutions of a Just Basic Structure, led by Matt Deaton, Department of Philosophy
• Feb. 22, Part 5: The Question of Stability, led by David Reidy, Department of Philosophy

No previous knowledge of Rawls’ work is expected. Light refreshments will be served at the group discussion events.

A two-day symposium, Rawlsian Liberalism in Context(s), will be held at the Baker Center on Feb. 26 and 27.

For more information, visit http://bakercenter.utk.edu, or contact Amy Gibson.

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C O N T A C T :

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

KNOXVILLE — More than 150 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students will pitch in around the community to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., on Saturday, Jan. 23, with the campus’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

UT students are invited to participate in the TeamVOLS event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration will run from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Register online by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to participants, and a limited number of T-shirts will be available.

At 9 a.m., students will be bused to service projects throughout Knoxville, including Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries, Ijams Nature Center, Habitat for Humanity, the Florence Crittenden Agency, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Love Kitchen, Ronald McDonald House and others.

Students will return to campus for lunch and to hear from keynote speaker Avon William Rollins Sr.

Rollins, director and CEO of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center Inc. in Knoxville, has a long history of civil rights involvement. A co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Rollins was associated with King as well as Malcolm X. As a result of his civil rights activities across the South, he has been incarcerated approximately 31 times. He has assisted in creating more than 20 grassroots community development organization minority leadership programs in more than 10 cities in the southeastern United States.

Along with his role at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Rollins is president and CEO of Knoxville-based Rollins & Associates Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in economic development and labor relations. He also is on the board of the East Tennessee Cancer Society and is an advocate for proactive health care. He has received accolades and recognition from various national, state and local organizations including the National Business League and the Booker T. Washington Foundation. The National Civil Rights Museum of Memphis, in cooperation with the East Tennessee Minority Professional Association, dedicated its annual Heritage Award in honor of him. He has twice received the Minority Business Advocate Award presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

TeamVOLS serves as UT Knoxville’s volunteer center, aiming to provide students with active community service and outreach opportunities in order to become proactive participants in their communities. Along with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, TeamVOLS coordinates alternative spring and fall break trips, outreach with community organizations and many more service opportunities. To learn about TeamVOLS programs, visit http://teamvols.utk.edu/programs.php.

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C O N T A C T :

Rebekah Winkler (865-974-8304, [email protected])