On a crisp spring morning, 17 U.S. Army forensic science technicians closely studied seven crime scenes deep in the forest of the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center’s Arboretum.
The staged scenes were all part of the inaugural Forensic Invitational, a competition among the top agents of the U.S. Army’s 10th Military Police Battalion Criminal Investigation Division. The UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) and its National Forensic Academy played host to battalions and teams from Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Kaiserslautern, Germany; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and the Knoxville Police Department. The team from the 10th Military Police Battalion at Fort Bragg won the competition.
The Army criminal investigators became familiar with the academy several years ago and started sending a few forensic science technicians a year through the 10-week program.
“The idea for this competition came about over dinner one night,” LEIC Executive Director Rick Scarbrough says. “They are familiar with all of our facilities and expertise to help them make this a successful event. We were excited to host them and to showcase our program to even more people.”
Center for Industrial Services Certifies Six
The UT Center for Industrial Services graduated its 10th class through the Tennessee Certified Economic Developer (TCED) Program. This cohort brings the total of Tennessee certified economic developers to 64.
This year’s spring graduates gathered in Nashville to present their capstone projects, the final requirement for certification. TCED candidates completed a week-long basic economic development course in addition to a series of six core courses pertinent to economic and community development. TCED gives participants a broad-based knowledge of economic trends, tools and core components required to compete in today’s global economy.
The spring 2019 TCED graduates are:
- Shari Brown, project coordinator, J.A. Street & Associates, Blountville
- Mary Carpenter, president and CEO, Dream Center of Tennessee, Nashville
- Jonathon Connell, regional director, Southeast Tennessee Development District, Chattanooga
- Tommy Lee, deputy director, Upper Cumberland Development District, Cookeville
- Laura Todd, consultant, Downtown District Consulting, Collierville
- Stephanie Watkins, director, Southeast Industrial Development Association, Chattanooga.
Program Eligible for Benefits
The Tennessee Certified Public Manager Program, a course run by the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership, received its official letter from U.S. Veterans Affairs that its year-long program is now eligible for veterans’ benefits.
This will allow public-service employees who have veterans’ benefits the opportunity to enroll in the program. Those who complete the program are already eligible for academic credit hours from UT Martin.
In 2020, CPM sessions will be offered in all three grand divisions of Tennessee.
