Spring 2003
Neslihan Alp, Claire McCullough, Stephanie Smullen, Cecelia Wigal and Kathy Winters, engineering and computer science, along with counselors from Girls Inc. of Chattanooga hosted a week of activities for 24 middle school girls in the second Adventures in Computers, Engineering, and Space (ACES) Camp. ACES is funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted by The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in partnership with Girls Inc. of Chattanooga and the UTC Challenger Center. ACES encourages girls to consider careers in computers, engineering and space, and to continue their education in science and mathematics. The residential camp includes public and private school girls entering seventh and eighth grades, and it is free for participants.
The Voltaire Foundation in Oxford, England has published Montesquieu and the Spirit of Modernity, editor David W. Carrithers, head of the Political Science Department, with Patrick Coleman (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 2002). In addition to writing the introduction to the volume, Carrithers has written an essay for the volume entitled Montesquieu and Spirit of French Finance: An Analysis of his Mémoire sur les dettes de l'etat (1715). The volume consists of eleven essays written by leading Montesquieu scholars in American and France. Three of the essays are in French, and eight are in English.
Chemical and Engineering News, serving 146,000 print subscribers plus on-line readers has listed The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as having the second highest percentage of graduating female chemists in the country. Under the ranking "Chemistry Graduates by Gender," UTC Chemistry ranks second behind Bryn Mawr, an all-female school in Pennsylvania. The information used in the analysis is based on Department of Education data from 1999-2000, and the listing appears in the February 10th issue of Chemical and Engineering News. UTC is also listed among the top 100 schools in the country in the number of male and female chemistry graduates for the year 1999-2000.
Under the direction of David Cundiff, the Department of Exercise Science, Health and Leisure Studies (EHLS) conducted a three-day Health Education and PANTS (Physical Activity, Nutrition, Tobacco Use Prevention and Sexuality Education) Training Institute this week at Brown Academy. The institute was made possible by a $20,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Education, Comprehensive School Health Program. Participants included educators from UTC, Covenant College, Hamilton County Health Department, Cleveland, TN elementary schools, Macon County Schools, Cookeville Crisis Pregnancy Center and Loudon County Schools. Gene Ezell, EHLS and Holly Dieken, human ecology were among the presenters at the institute.
A rare first-person description of the fate of Norwegian Jews during the WWII German occupation of Norway and in Hitler’s death camps in Poland is described in The Story of ‘Herman Der Norweger’ Auschwitz Prisoner #79235, (University Press of America) recently translated from Norwegian into English by Thor Hall, UTC Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion. Hall also wrote the introduction for the story.
Along with 14 undergraduate students, the UTC Departments of Chemistry and Biological and Environmental Sciences conducted a joint research activity covering a wide range of topics. These topics included: studying invasive non-native plant species in the Tennessee Valley; researching the chemical evolution of biochemical pathways; studying the geology of asteroids; improving syntheses of chiral pharmaceuticals; and treating heavy metal contaminants in water. Many of the students shared their research with the scientific community through presentations at professional meetings and their publications in peer-reviewed journals. An on-campus poster session during the Fall Semester allowed the students to showcase their work to the University Community. UTC researchers who attended the SouthEast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) meeting included Doug Kutz, Greg Grant,Monte Helm, Kyle Knight, Robert Mebane, Gail Meyer, Manuel Santiago and Steven Symes, all of chemistry. Chemistry students who attended the meeting include Lauren Beihoffer, Elizabeth Boaz, Elisha Fielding, Reese Harry, Greg Helton, Lensey Hill, James Hitchman, Vanessa Janeksela, John Lee, Katie Leonard, Missy Mathis, Ken Patel and Sarah Sewell. Henry Spratt, microbiologist at UTC worked with student Colette Huntley. Huntley presented research at a meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in Washington, D.C.
Gail Meyer, chemistry, received the Student Government Association Outstanding Professor Award, awarded to outstanding professors chosen by the student body.
Nominated by President George Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Wilfred M. McClay, history and SunTrust Bank Chair of Excellence in Humanities, serves on the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-member advisory board of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The National Council on the Humanities meets four times a year to review applications for the awarding of grants and to make recommendations to the NEH chairman regarding the Endowment's policies, programs and procedures. Each National Council member serves a six-year term. Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other community places.
UTC music faculty composer Jonathan McNair of "Millenium Nutcracker" and "Heavy Metal Sound Sculpture" fame was invited to serve as guest composer at the seventh annual “A Little Now Music” at Brevard College in North Carolina, where he premiered a new work "Rhapsody and Impromptu" to a receptive audience. McNair was also invited to his alma mater, the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he spoke to students in a colloquium, taught a master class to composition students and lead rehearsals for an evening of his own music. McNair’s The Drinking Gourd was performed, a composition and narration on the Underground Railroad story, composed on commission for the Chattanooga Symphony educational outreach. McNair conducted the performance of a woodwind quintet enhanced by a string bass with lighting and narration. One of McNair’s compositions performed at Brevard, "Galapagos Lions" (for solo baritone saxophone) was also performed at the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Region 7 Conference. The Conference was held at the University of South Carolina School of Music, in Columbia, SC. Performing was Jon Gudmundson, of the Brevard College faculty, who also performed this work at the festival in Brevard. The NASA Conference performance was a juried event, meaning Gudmundson’s written proposal was reviewed and given approval.
Six UTC faculty members selected to explore new ways to integrate technology into the classroom. made presentations to the campus community. The 2002-03 Teaching, Learning and Technology Faculty Fellows are: Verbie L. Prevost, English; Jack Thompson, computer science; Jeff Rush, criminal justice; Deborah A. McAllister, Teacher Preparation Academy; Janetta Fleming, Teacher Preparation Academy; and Jane Brower, Teacher Preparation Academy.
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) announces Jane Reagor, human ecology, was awarded ASID Faculty Advisor of the Year. Reagor was honored for her superior commitment and guidance to the interior design students. The Faculty Advisor of the Year Award recognizes the dedication and insight of an outstanding ASID faculty advisor. ASID is the largest professional association representing the interests of interior designers with more than 31,500 members throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Sydney Roberts, theatre and speech, was cited in the Atlanta Journal Constitution for her costume design of Richard Garner 's production of "The Taming of the Shrew," performed at the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Oglethorpe University.
S. Kitrell Rushing, head of the Communication Department, addressed the Chattanooga Writers Guild meeting at the UTC Faculty Club. Rushing is the author of Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872, and he conducted a slide-show presentation of his recently published account of the 130 year old diary of Georgia educator, scientist, and newspaper woman Eliza Frances Andrews.
U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp announced the appropriation of two federal grants for technology initiatives on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus. Wamp joined UTC Chancellor Bill Stacy, Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, and Hamilton County Executive Claude Ramsey to report $1 million total in grants: $500,000 to the SimCenter, a graduate education and research program in computational engineering, and $500,000 toward the establishment of the Riverbend Technology Institute on the campus.
Felicia B. Sturzer, foreign languages, presented a paper, “What is Enlightened Sociability?” at the Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference, Feb. 28 - March 1, 2003 in Columbia, SC. She chaired the Prize Committee for the Best Graduate Student Essay for the Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and served on the Editorial Board of Women in French Studies.
Naomi Sutherland, Reference/Instruction Librarian, served as a panelist for "Leading by Example: Practical Professional and Personal Development" and spoke on the topic of mentoring. The presentation was delivered at the 11th Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) National Conference on April 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Roger Thompson, criminal justice, was appointed to serve on a federal task force under Project Safe Neighborhoods in the Eastern District of Tennessee, a comprehensive program designed to address violent gun crime through the enforcement of existing gun laws. This local initiative is part of a national strategy announced by President Bush as a top priority of his administration.
A history textbook from Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company called America: The Endless Quest, Vol I and II showcases a unique collaborative UTC effort. James Ward, history, author of several books, most recently Ferrytale, The Career of W. H. ‘Ping’ Ferry, Stanford University Press has written this two-volume set along with H. Larry Ingle, UTC professor emeritus and Ingle’s former student, William B. Scott, Kenyon College professor of American history. Cover art for both volumes was designed by Steve Lewinter,UTC professor of art. The book emphasizes political, social, and intellectual history by highlighting the broad trends in America’s past.
THANK YOU to the following retirees for your years of service to the University:
James Avery, human ecology
Renee Lorraine, music
Donald Klinefelter, philosophy and religion
Walker Breland, music
Glenn Draper, choral activities, music
Robert C. Fulton, English, honors program
