Campaign Gifts Surge
You are making a better fUTure. Your gifts to UT’s Campaign for Tennessee totaled more than $738 million at the campaign’s midpoint in June. Gifts to the campaign are helping prepare students and the state of Tennessee to successfully meet tomorrow’s challenges.
The campaign is a $1-billion effort that benefits all campuses and institutes within the UT system. Goals mirror those of the system–student access and success, research, economic development, outreach, and globalization. Campaign priorities include endowed scholarships and professorships, chairs of excellence, building enhancements, and innovative faculty and student programs.
Jim and Natalie Haslam of Knoxville and Brenda Lawson of Cleveland, Tennessee, serve as co-chairs of the Campaign for Tennessee. President John Petersen wants more UT alumni and friends to be a part of this effort to build a better future. “We extend our thanks to the many volunteers and supporters who have helped us achieve this unprecedented level of support,” Petersen says. “We also look forward to continued momentum to further engage alumni and friends in achieving the university’s goals.”
UTC Receives Warhol Works
UT Chattanooga has added an artistic treasure trove, enriching its already Âsignificant art collection. The additions are photographs by the late artist Andy Warhol, a central figure in the American Pop art movement and a major influence in avant-garde music, film, and photography. UTC has received 100 Polaroid photographs and 50 silver gelatin prints, all original works by Warhol (1928–1987).
UTC’s Cress Gallery will feature 20 pieces–10 Polaroids and 10 silver gelatin prints–from the Warhol collection in September and October, says curator Ruth Grover. (Check http://oneweb.utc.edu/~artdept/cressgallery/index.html for dates and other information.)
In honor of its 20th anniversary, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts distributed 28,543 original Warhol photographs valued in excess of $28 million through the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program.
Jenny Moore, curator with the Warhol Foundation, says the photographs contain a wealth of information about Warhol’s process and his interactions with his sitters. The photographs, she says, reveal “the true idiosyncrasies of his subjects. Often, he would shoot a person or event with both cameras, cropping one in Polaroid color as a ‘photograph’ and snapping the other in black and white as a ‘picture,'” Moore says. “By presenting both kinds of images side by side, the Photographic Legacy Program allows viewers to move back and forth between moments of Warhol’s art, work, and life.”
Grover says the Warhol photographs won’t be matted or framed. They are stored protectively in portfolios in Lupton Library and are available by appointment to individuals and small groups for “white glove” study.
“As they are photographs, care must be taken to limit their exposure to light and protect them from fingerprints and dust,” Grover said.
Nurturing STEM Growth
How many times have we heard that the U.S. is short of science, Âtechnology, engineering, and mathematics graduates (STEM for short)? Jobs are going unfilled. Other countries are surpassing America’s supposed intellectual might. And the U.S. education pipeline isn’t producing enough professors to teach a surge of new STEM students if it should materialize.
All good solutions to the dilemma are worth considering, and UT has quite a few. The Governor’s Academy and Governor’s Schools are examples of many efforts UT makes to encourage more Tennessee youngsters to consider STEM majors.
The Tennessee Governor’s Academy, managed by UT Knoxville, has enrolled its second class of high-school juniors. The 33 students show “not just talent, but passion for math and science,” says Dr. Vena Long, TGA executive director. The academy was founded in 2007 by Governor Phil Bredesen. Students live and learn on the campus of the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville. They are paired with researchers at UT Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to conduct research. “Our goal is to give these students who have shown a desire to pursue a life in science and math a singular experience that will prepare them not only for college but also for a life of pursuing knowledge,” Long says.
The Tennessee Governor’s Schools in sciences and engineering have been inspiring high-school students for 20 years. The 5-week summer programs at UT Knoxville include college-level courses taught by university faculty members. The Tennessee Department of Education funds the schools, and UT Knoxville provides computer labs, classrooms, and other services. The College of Arts and Sciences offers administrative support. More than 3,000 students have enjoyed the experience, including UT alumnus Will Grover: “I attended the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Sciences at UT in 1994, and I left with such a positive impression of UT that I enrolled there as an undergraduate in 1995.”
Grover also attended a science program for high-school students at UC Berkeley, where he ultimately earned a Ph.D.
“These programs show students that there’s a world outside of their hometowns, and great opportunities are out there if you’re willing to look,” Grover says. (More STEM outreach initiatives of the College of Arts and Sciences of UT Knoxville at www.artsci.utk.edu/outreach/CEESTEM.asp)
UT has a systemwide goal of increasing the percentage of its STEM graduates from the present 17 percent to 20 percent by 2010. Most efforts to increase STEM majors involve encouraging interest in science in students from kindergarten through high school. This is sometimes done directly with students and often through teacher workshops. Science fairs, UT Chattanooga’s Gear Up, UT Knoxville’s Science Olympiad, Upward Bound, and science programs offered through 4-H and FFA are some of the many ways UT builds interest in STEM subjects and increases the numbers of young people who earn degrees in these vital subject areas.
UT Welcomes Haslam Scholars
Fifteen of the nation’s top students are the first Haslam Scholars to attend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. More than 1,100 students met the eligibility criteria for the Haslam Scholars Program, and more than 200 students were interviewed by administrators. The Haslam Scholars Program is a premier honors program akin to the Jefferson Scholars at the University of Virginia and the Morehead-Cain Scholars at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
The 2008 Haslam Scholars are:
- Alex AuBuchon, Henry County High School, Paris, Tennessee
- Morgan Baltz, Mount Juliet High School, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
- Anna-Lise Burnette, Seymour High School, Seymour, Tennessee
- Kelley Callaway, Bearden High School, Knoxville
- Caitlin Conley, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Franklin, Tennessee
- Margaret Conley, Daniel Boone High School, Jonesborough, Tennessee
- Charlie Edwards, Lawrence County High School, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee
- Aeron Glover, Whitehaven High School, Memphis
- Alexander Happ, Westminster Academy, Germantown, Tennessee
- Chelsea Knotts, Ripley High School, Ripley, West Virginia
- Bert Ruyten, Tullahoma High School, Tullahoma, Tennessee
- Candance Swanigan, Central High School, Memphis
- Elizabeth Tiller, American Christian Academy, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Brittany Vasquez, Morristown–Hamblen High School West, Morristown, Tennessee
- Mark Walker, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Selection criteria included scholastic achievement, leadership potential, maturity and seriousness of purpose, and special talents. Haslam Scholars will be part of an intimate study group mentored by top members of UT Knoxville’s faculty. Program benefits include a $1,500 laptop computer and a study-abroad experience valued at $4,000, with as much as $5,500 to support a senior research thesis and travel to present their work.
Haslam Scholars also will receive a Chancellor’s Scholarship–now the top academic scholarship–which provides annual awards between $7,000 and $11,000.
The UT program was created with $2.5 million from Jimmy and Dee Haslam of Knoxville. Jimmy Haslam is president and CEO of Pilot Travel Centers. Dee Haslam is CEO of RIVR Media and serves on the UT Development Council. The Haslams chair the Campaign for Tennessee for the Knoxville campus.
Jim and Natalie Haslam of Knoxville contributed an additional $2.5 million to support the program. Jim Haslam is chairman of the board of Pilot Travel Centers LLC and chairman of the board and president of Pilot Corporation.
Baker, UT Welcome Toyoda
When Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, gave $2-million to help build the new Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, he told his good friend Howard Baker that he wanted to see the new facility. In May, Baker honored that request, giving Toyoda–who stopped in Knoxville while on a business trip in the U.S.–a personal tour of the almost-completed Baker Center on Cumberland Avenue.
Baker and Toyoda, whose father founded Toyota Motor Corporation, are friends of long standing. The Baker Center’s Toyota auditorium will be the center of such public programming efforts as conferences, teacher workshops, and other meetings.
After exploring the construction site, the entourage of Toyota executives and Baker’s wife, former U.S. senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker, moved to Neyland Stadium for lunch in a skybox. The JumboTron in the stadium conveyed a welcome message–in English and Japanese–to Toyoda and his wife, Hiroko.
At the luncheon, Toyoda thanked Baker and the university for its hospitality. He said he’d like to return to Knoxville once the Baker Center’s new building is open–and perhaps take in a football game, too.
Baker Center Nears Opening
A museum that brings politics to life through Âinteractive exhibits. Archived papers from some of Tennessee’s greatest leaders. Classrooms and a 200-seat auditorium for educational and public programs.
All of this–and more–will be unveiled this fall when the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy opens its $17-million 53,000-square-foot facility at 1640 Cumberland Avenue, on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Grand opening events will include public tours of the new facility and a community open house.
“The building will showcase and enhance the Baker Center’s work, making it an even greater asset to our university and our community. Students will be able to see for themselves how government works and the important part citizens must play in order to maintain democracy and help it thrive,” Baker Center executive director Alan Lowe said.
A $100,000 state Community Enhancement Grant helped the Baker Center make last-minute enhancements to the new building’s museum and civic-education program. Among those enhancements is a video that recounts the momentous events that have taken place in the Russell Caucus Room, where Baker rose to national prominence during the Senate Watergate hearings. Some of those events have included the Iran-Contra hearings, hearings for the Truman Committee, and the McCarthy hearings.
“Interactive and audiovisual elements tend to stick in a visitor’s mind and will definitely make an impression on young people. And since the youth of our community are our future, it is critical they learn how our government works and the importance of being civically engaged,” Lowe said.
Baker served three terms as a U.S. senator from Tennessee. As vice-chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, he rose to national prominence during the Watergate Hearings of 1973 and 1974. He was a candidate for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination and served as President Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff in 1987 and1988. In 2001 President George W. Bush appointed him ambassador to Japan. He served in that post until 2005.
Join the Tennessee Travelers
You’ve got an expanded opportunity to see the world with a UT point of view. The UT Alumni Association’s tour program is growing to 30 trips next year, featuring some of the most interesting and exotic destinations in the world–Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, and Machu Picchu.
Last May’s trip to China was a special one for the UTAA, a 2-week sojourn that included the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the picturesque West Lake District of Hangzhou, all with the added attraction of a UT faculty host, Dr. Suzanne Wright, a China expert who provided extra information just for the Tennessee Travelers.
Dan Fancher (Knoxville ’67) said the trip was “first class all the way.”
“The guides were professional, very knowledgeable, and spoke very good English, plus they went out of their way to meet individual requests,” Fancher says. “The best parts for us were the Great Wall and the terra-cotta soldiers in Xian. To see the terra-cotta soldiers lined up in battle formation was something to behold.” He also praised China Advocates, the company the university contracted with for the tour. Fancher says he and his wife, Sandy (Health Science Center ’70), who live in Gainesville, Georgia, probably will travel with UT again.
You do not have to be a UT alumnus to travel on UTAA tours. You can start planning a fabulous vacation right now by checking out the 2009 tours.
A New Way to Do Business
Imagine a classroom outfitted with state-of-the-art technology that makes conversing with students half a world away as easy as the flip of a switch. Imagine a classroom where students’ laptop screens can be projected for the entire class to see. Imagine a facility with special multiroom suites designed for students working on team projects, large meeting areas, dining facilities for catered meals, and classrooms specifically designed for professional education.
Those are among the many special features in the College of Business Administration’s new $40-million 174,000-square-foot facility. The building is expected to open later this year.
The façade of the old business building was preserved, but the inside is all new. Distinctly modern with architectural stairways, an atrium, and a glass elevator, the new building is equipped for high-definition global teleconferencing, and it features digital signage, wireless Internet access, and an advanced room access security and information system.
The building will house 34 classrooms, including seminar rooms, more than 50 offices for staff and administration, 31 team rooms, four presentation rooms, a technology center, and an investment center. It was constructed with mostly state dollars; gifts and monies from a quasi-endowment helped furnish it and outfit it with technology.
The College of Business Administration was established in 1913 when Theodore W. Glocker, a professor of economics and sociology, arrived at the University of Tennessee. With 11 students and one faculty member, courses in the then “School of Commerce” were restricted to money, banking, and corporate finance.
Today, U.S. News & World Report ranks the college’s undergraduate program 36th among top-tier public universities and 58th nationwide. The magazine ranks the college’s supply chain–logistics graduate program 10th nationally and 6th among top-tier public institutions.
