A program that started on UT’s undergraduate campuses will go nationwide, thanks to a grant the Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) received from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
Cultural Competency in Law Enforcement is a training course that was pushed by UT President Randy Boyd and Institute for Public Service Vice President Herb Byrd shortly after the George Floyd killing in Minnesota. It was originally funded by UT and provided to the safety departments in Knoxville, Martin and Memphis.
The $699,000, two-year grant will allow LEIC to facilitate 36 courses across the country, reaching an estimated 1,250 law enforcement officers. LEIC also will develop an online component of the training.
LEIC also received a $748,000 grant from COPS to become a Regional De-escalation Training Center. LEIC will provide 24 classes of de-escalation principles and practices, de-escalation fundamental and de-escalation recertification. The National De-escalation Training Center was formed in 2015 and has partnerships with university-based and other training departments in regions across the country.
SMART Initiative Partners with Gibson Gives
The Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource of Tennessee (SMART), a program of the UT Institute for Public Service, has partnered with Gibson Gives—the charitable foundation for Gibson, the iconic and leading global instrument brand—to place ONEbox opioid-emergency response kits in Knoxville music venues.
Since January, the Gibson Gives’ Training and Empowering Musicians to Prevent Overdose (TEMPO) Nashville Live Music Venue Program has been offering ONEbox kits to 72 live-music venues in the Music City metro area. The ONEbox opioid-emergency response kits contain two doses of the opioid reversal medication naloxone, as well as personal protective equipment and video instructions that are activated when Onebox is opened.
“Our SMART staff is excited to be partnering with Gibson Gives to place overdose-reversal instruction and medication in our local musical venues,” says SMART Executive Director Jennifer Tourville. “We feel fortunate that Gibson Gives has contributed the supplies to save lives in our community. In fact, we know that, right after we distributed the kits to local venues, a life was saved at one of the sites.”
NAIFEH Center Hosts Certified Public Manager National Consortium Meeting
Participants from 45 states and Jamaica attended the Certified Public Manager (CPM) National Consortium Meeting hosted by the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership.
The Naifeh Center, which facilitates the Tennessee CPM program, hosted the national event for the first time. As part of the conference, a panel of Tennessee CPM graduates shared their capstone projects with all the attendees.
