KNOXVILLE — The College of Communication and Information (CCI) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will hold a ceremony at noon Friday, March 5, to recognize BB&T for establishing the BB&T\/Martha S. “Missy” Wallen Dean’s Enrichment Fund. The $100,000 gift will be used to support a number of current and future needs of the college including visiting scholars, travel to disseminate faculty\/graduate student research results and facility upgrades.<\/p>\n
The ceremony will take place in room 314 on the third floor of the Communications Building, and is open to the public.<\/p>\n
Wallen, the Tennessee state president for banking firm BB&T, is a 1974 alumna and has been a member of the College of Communication and Information’s Board of Visitors since 1999.<\/p>\n
As an expression of gratitude, the college has named one of its classrooms, room 314, in their honor.<\/p>\n
“This generous gift to name CCI’s ‘classroom of the future’ and to create the BB&T\/Martha S. “Missy” Wallen Dean’s Enrichment Fund is a tremendous boost for the college,” said Mike Wirth, dean of the College of Communication and Information. “We are proud to have this technologically advanced group and team classroom bear the name of one of the Southeast’s leading financial institutions along with one of our most distinguished alums.<\/p>\n
“Private donations such as this have a remarkable impact by allowing us to invest in the innovative programs and ideas required to remain at the forefront of communication and information education,” Wirth said.<\/p>\n
The classroom has been redesigned to create a classroom for team-based teaching and learning. Student teams can cluster around six wall-mounted flat screen monitors, glass boards and computers that they can share and collaboratively control. Also in the room are movable tables for small-group projects; videoconferencing equipment; a portable and adjustable lectern for the instructor; and dimmable lights.<\/p>\n
For more information on the college, visit http:\/\/www.cci.utk.edu\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n