UTM Students Help Classmate

Five students from Dyersburg High School’s Engineering Design IV class visited UT Martin with their teacher, Seth Coleman, to troubleshoot an accessibility project for a middle school student. Ashley Owens, UT Martin assistant professor of engineering, helped the students improve a dodgeball launcher that they designed and built for a middle-school student who uses a wheelchair. The students say he has always wanted to throw a dodgeball, and they wanted to make that dream come true. The device works much like a baseball pitching machine: two wheels set parallel to the ground turn in opposite directions, and the ball is placed between them, shooting it forward.

Telling Quilting Stories

Mary Margaret Pettway, one of the noted Gee’s Bend quilters, was an artist-in-residence for a quilting class at UT Martin. Gee’s Bend is a community in Wilcox County in west-central Alabama located in a bend in the Alabama River. The African-American families who lived on the land stayed there after emancipation, working the land to make a living. The class, Storytelling through Quilts, was directed by Henri Giles, assistant professor of African-American studies. Pettway taught and demonstrated quilting techniques, encouraging students through their growth in learning something new and telling them about Gee’s Bend and its history.

Tour Celebrates 125th Anniversary

Chancellor Yancy Freeman Sr. and university representatives crossed the state April 13-17 to promote and celebrate UT Martin’s 125th anniversary. The UT Martin 125th Anniversary State Tour began in Knoxville and concluded in Ripley, the site for one of UT Martin’s six regional centers. The tour was sponsored by the UT Federal Credit Union. Each stop provided updates on academic and student successes and celebrated the people and partnerships that impact the university and its mission of education and service.

Agreement Signed with TCAT

An articulation agreement was signed at Gibson County High School’s equine building by UT Martin and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Jackson officials that provides agriculture students a seamless path to a four-year degree. The agreement links dual enrollment opportunities at Gibson County High School and South Gibson High School with TCAT Jackson’s farming operations technology and digital agronomy programs and, ultimately, with bachelor’s degree options in UT Martin’s Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources.

Captain’s Challenge Sets Records