The Torchbearer

Winter 2007/Volume 46, No.1
The Alumni Information Source of the University of Tennessee

News from the Colleges

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

  • Professor Emeritus Bob V. Conger received the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for In Vitro Biology
  • Professor Reid Gerhardt was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in veterinary entomology
  • The Experiment Station Forest Resources Research and Education Center received the 2006 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in the Agriculture/Forestry Category
  • Biosystems Engineering undergrads placed first in the student “Fountain Wars” competition at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers international conference
  • Associate Professor Vincent Pantalone received a 2006 Wheeley Award for his soybean breeding program
  • The Tennessee Arthritis Education Partnership, which includes UT Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, received the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Partnership Award

College of Arts and Sciences

Picture of hearing testMelinda Freyaldenhoven conducts a hearing test to predict a person's success in wearing a hearing aid.
  • Audiology and Speech Pathology: UT Professor Emeritus Anna Nabelek and a team of researchers developed a two- to three-minute test that can be used to predict with 85 percent accuracy whether hearing aid users will succeed in using their hearing aids
  • Chemistry: Bin Zhao received a three-year, $285,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his research on “smart” polymers designed to respond to temperature changes in their environment
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences: Professors Claudia Mora and Henri Grissino-Mayer’s research showing that tree rings can help scientists study hurricanes was published in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Research published by Professor Sergey Gavrilets provides a new model to explain the causes of humans’ major evolutionary leap in brain size
  • History: The history department and the East Tennessee Historical Society conducted five-day institutes in June and July, funded by a U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History grant, to train history teachers from Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, and Polk counties, as well as Lenoir City and Sweetwater
  • Marco: Marco’s directorship has been named after former college Dean Stuart Riggsby who, along with his wife, Katherine, recently made a generous gift to the growing humanities program. Marco Director Robert Bast was named the first Riggsby Director
  • Music: Centaur Records has released a compact disc entitled “Chopin Waltzes” by David Northington, professor of piano
  • Physics: Graduate student Murat Özer was awarded the prestigious Nottingham Prize at the Physical Electronics Conference held June 18-21 at Princeton University

Music Center Funding Requested

The university’s top capital outlay priorities for the 2007-08 budget include $30 million for a new Music Center, $20.6 million for a new audiology and speech pathology clinic, and $9 million for additions and other improvements to the Veterinary Medicine Hospital on the agricultural campus.


Architecture and Design

  • Students participated in an international contest to design public housing and office space for New Orleans
  • Professor Mark Schimmenti served on a team that developed the plan to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina
Architect's drawing of future Glocker atriumThe new Glocker Business Administration Building will feature an atrium

College of Business Administration

  • The college signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force worth up to $25 million (more . . .)
  • Financial Times ranked the executive MBA programs in the nation’s top 25 (more . . .)
  • Sarah Gardial, associate dean, attended the 2006 Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education
  • Building on its extensive programs that focus on the aerospace and defense industry, the college is partnering with Aviation Week and Space Technology to provide continuing education opportunities for aerospace and defense professionals

Communication and Information

  • Peter Gross was named director of the School of Journalism and Electronic Media
  • The School of Information Sciences was ranked No. 1 in the nation for per capita journal articles published by its faculty and Professor Carol Tenopir was ranked as the most research productive library and information science faculty member in the United States, according to a University of Missouri–Columbia study
  • Scholars from Jordan, Yemen, and Iraq visited the college in November as part of the International Research and Exchange Board Promoting Transparency through Journalism and Education Partnerships
  • Professor Sam Swan signed a $1.2 million contract to improve journalism education in Jordan

College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

  • The Center for the International Study of Youth and Political Violence, founded by Professor Brian K. Barber, held its inaugural seminar in November with experts from Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa

College of Engineering

  • Bamin Khomami was named the Armour T. Grainger and Alvin & Sally Beaman Professor and head of the chemical engineering department
  • Chad Wiles was named new assistant director of engineering development

College of Law

  • John Sobieski Jr. was named interim dean
  • Order of Protection Day was held in November to raise awareness about domestic violence. Fourth Circuit Court Judge Bill Swann spoke and held court at the college
  • Recent visiting professors: evidence expert Ron Carlson, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia; Professor Kai Xiao of Shanghai Jiaotong University in the People’s Republic of China; and Jonathan Friedland, a partner with the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis

Nursing

  • The MSN Homeland Security Nursing program, the only such program in the nation, graduated its first students

College of Social Work

  • The college’s Office of Research and Public Service was recognized for helping an employee following the death of a child by Compassionate Friends, an international self-help group
  • Assistant Professor Matthew Theriot received the 2006 UT National Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award
  • Sherry Cummings, acting associate dean and associate professor in Nashville, has begun a three-year term as president of the Association for Gerontological Education in Social Work
  • The college received a grant from the Department of Education to develop student exchange programs with Canadian and Mexican schools of social work
  • Assistant Professor Sangmi Cho received an honorable mention from the Society for Social Work Research for her dissertation, “The Effects of Diversity on Organizational Behavior in a Perceived Homogenous Society: The Case Study for Korea” 

College of Veterinary Medicine

  • The college has created The Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness to help protect the nation’s agriculture and food supply from terrorist threats
  • The college won the 2006 Milton E. Adsit Excellence in Veterinary Medical Media Award at the 32nd Annual Health Science Communication Association’s Media Festival. Babbet Harbison and Aaron Killian produced the winning video entry, “Smoky’s Story: Four Pounds of Courage,” about Smoky, the first therapy dog on record, and her trainer, Bill Wynne, during World War II.