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OUR TENNESSEE UNIVERSITY of TENNESSEE SYSTEM MA G A Z I NE K N O X V I L L E | C H A T T A N O O G A | M A R T I N | H E A L T H S C I E N C E C E N T E R | I N S T I T U T E O F A G R I C U L T U R E | I N S T I T U T E F O R P U B L I C S E R V I C E WINTER ONE UT 2021 WINTER 2021 Our TN W21 cover.indd 2-3 12/16/20 10:46 AM THE SCENE Bria McKay paints during an art class in front of Brehm Hall at UT Martin. PHOTO BY STEVEN MANTILLA VISIT ALUMNI.TENNESSEE.EDU/CAREER • CALL 865-974-2115 Untitled-2.inddOur TN W21 1cover.indd 4 12/16/20 10:48 AMOur TN W21 pages.indd 1 12/16/2012/18/20 10:44 9:26 AM AM THE SCENE Bria McKay paints during an art class in front of Brehm Hall at UT Martin. PHOTO BY STEVEN MANTILLA Untitled-2.indd 1 12/18/20 9:26 AM WINTER 2021 | VOLUME 101 | NUMBER 1 features 6 Making Space 10 Three Sisters 16 Opening Doors 20 Serving Those Who Have Served Us 26 Reflecti e of the Population 30 Consejera. Apoyodora. Amiga. 34 Dignity of Risk 38 Two Pennies and a Pledge 39 Calling for Philanthropy in every issue 3 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 IN THIS ISSUE 5 UT BY THE NUMBERS 41 CAMPUS NEWS Briefs from across the UT System 48 LAST WORD Diversity: A Good Start, Not the Finish Line ON THIS PAGE A scene from Pacer Pond at UT Martin. PHOTO BY STEVEN MANTILLA ON THE COVER Collage created by Laura Barroso University of Tennessee System Offic of Communications and Marketing 817-A Andy Holt Tower | Knoxville, TN 37996-0142 865-974-5179 | our.tennessee.edu EMAIL: [email protected] ADVERTISING: [email protected] @our_tennessee | Our Tennessee | @our_tennessee 2 OURTENNESSEEMagazine • Winter 2021 Our TN W21 pages.indd 2 12/16/20 10:44 AM UNIVERSITY of TENNESSEE SYSTEM MA G A Z I NE A message from the president Magazine for the alumni, friends and supporters of the University of Tennessee System, including campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin; the Health Science Center based Diverse as One in Memphis; and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service. Diverse but together—two words that combined bring new opportunities. Our community and nation have talked about diversity as we experience new ways to UT SYSTEM PRESIDENT come together. Randy Boyd, Knoxville ’79 As the president of the University of Tennessee System, one of my main goals is to make the university a strong and welcoming community for everyone. What makes a UT FOUNDATION PRESIDENT AND CEO VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS university great are its people—students, faculty, staff—and the opportunities to impact Kerry Witcher, Knoxville ’81 the future. Our experiences and our differences make us stronger together than we could ever be separately. VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Our campuses are fortunate to have students, faculty, staff and alumni with different Tiffany Carpenter, Knoxville ’96, Martin ’15 backgrounds and life experiences. These differences help us learn and grow. At UT, we are committed to creating an environment that helps every member of our community feel MANAGING EDITOR valued, respected and welcomed on our campuses. In helping to create this environment, Jennifer Sicking our UT leadership teams are actively working on approaches that meet the needs of their ART DIRECTOR communities. UT Knoxville is developing action plans for a campus where everyone is Laura Barroso respected, valued and included. At UT Chattanooga, unique events are being planned which are aimed at having critical conversations around equity and inclusion. The UT COPY EDITOR Jan Maxwell Avent Health Science Center has created a Diversity Certificat Program to connect participants to the foundational concepts of diversity and inclusion. These are just a few examples of WEB DESIGNER how we are definin our “OneUT” culture. Nick Simson STUDENT INTERN Jasmyne Clark, Knoxville ’21 ADVERTISING MANAGER John W. Lacey, Knoxville ’03 BUSINESS MANAGER Angie Holtzclaw CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Austin; Tony Campbell; Brooks Clark, Knoxville ’16; Brandon Dill; Angela Foster; Blake Hicks; Jane Hudson, Knoxville ’19; Sarah Joyner, Chattanooga ’14, ’16; Sarah Knapp, Martin ’19; Lee Maddox; Steven Mantilla; Patricia McDaniels, Knoxville ’83; Yasmin Murphy, Knoxville ’17; UT President Randy Boyd laughs with TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash, ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia Jackie Parreco, Knoxville ’09; Wade Payne; and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash during the Mayors’ Leadership Patrick Murphy-Racey; Peggy Reisser Luncheon in Knoxville. PHOTO BY SAM THOMAS Winburne, Martin ’20; Susan Robertson; Shawn Ryan; Sandy Schaeffer; Sam Thomas, Knoxville ’13; Melissa Tindell, In these pages, you will read some of the incredible and diverse experiences of Knoxville ’93; David Yates individuals who are part of the University of Tennessee family. There are lessons to learn Our Tennessee (formerly Tennessee Alumnus), established from all of them. in 1917, is published three times a year in spring, fall Together can we make UT the best it can be on our way to the greatest decade ever. I and winter for the University of Tennessee Alumni Association and its sponsors and hope you’ll join me in that effort. distributed to all alumni donors. E17-0405-002-003-154. Fall 2020. Volume 101, Number 1. 55,321 copies printed by Lane Press, 87 Meadowland Dr., Randy Boyd, Knoxville ’79 South Burlington, VT 05403. OURTENNESSEEMagazine • Winter 2021 3 Our TN W21 pages.indd 3 12/16/20 10:44 AM IN THIS ISSUE Welcome to Our Tennessee. some more. The committee narrowed the list to its top three, After years of letters protesting the Tennessee Alumnus with Our Tennessee obtaining the top votes. name, as it signifie a single male graduate, as well as Our Tennessee includes all campuses and everyone letters in support of maintaining a more than 100-year within—UT is for all, and so this is Our Tennessee. It also tradition, this spring we decided to survey the readers of alludes to the impact UT has on the state. As goes the our print magazine to obtain their thoughts. We emailed University of Tennessee, so goes the state of Tennessee. It the survey to 16,000 randomly selected alumni readers is our state, and we change it—and the world—with each and received about 1,600 responses. More than 50 percent degree awarded. In fact, this year we graduated a record approved changing the name, with 16 percent against it. number of 12,277 students—and 57 percent were female. The remainder signifie the name of the magazine didn’t As you can see from our graphic on Page 5, the majority of matter or they were unsure. As more than one respondent students enrolling are female. noted, as long as the content and quality remained the Additionally, retaining the word Tennessee pays homage same, the name didn’t matter. to the magazine’s 104-year history and the part of the name Strong opinions were written on both sides, but with a that continues to serve its readers well. We are Tennessee. clear majority, we decided to continue weighing the matter. And this is Our Tennessee. This magazine will continue UT System UNDERGRADUATES UT MINORITIES (Black, Hispanic/Latino, We formed a committee with alumni from each campus, to reflec UT and our alumni in Tennessee and around 55 % female had a record Asian, American Indian asked them to consider other names for the magazine or the world because this is still Our Tennessee, as you were 45 % male or Alaskan Native) to keep Tennessee Alumnus as the name. Several survey forever changed by your time here. 52,559 UT SYSTEM respondents suggested we consider magazine names that Thank you to the alumni and many others who students GRADUATE STUDENTS 19.61% would represent all of our campuses as well as be a strong contributed their time and thoughtfulness as we 41,184 58% female UT KNOXVILLE identifie of the UT System. In the same survey regarding contemplated this change. We exist to serve you, and we undergraduate 42% male 18.07% the name change, we also requested name suggestions. want to serve all of you well. We will continue to strive to tell UT CHATTANOOGA and 21.32% After removing the names that were campus specific we well the stories of our alumni, faculty, students, institutes, TENNESSEE RESIDENTS UT MARTIN still had a lengthy list of suggestions and brainstormed campuses and research. For this is Our Tennessee. 11,375 graduate 80% 20.16% UT HEALTH enroll this fall. OUT OF STATE SCIENCE CENTER 20% 27.51% Social distancing and wearing masks were the norm at UT Chattanooga and all of the campuses this fall. PHOTO BY ANGELA FOSTER 4 OURTENNESSEEMagazine • Winter 2021 Our TN W21 pages.indd 4 12/16/20 10:44 AM UT System UNDERGRADUATES UT MINORITIES 55 % female (Black, Hispanic/Latino, had a record Asian, American Indian 45 % male or Alaskan Native) 52,559 UT SYSTEM students GRADUATE STUDENTS 19.61% 41,184 58% female UT KNOXVILLE undergraduate 42% male 18.07% UT CHATTANOOGA and 21.32% 11,375 TENNESSEE RESIDENTS UT MARTIN graduate 80% 20.16% UT HEALTH enroll this fall. OUT OF STATE SCIENCE CENTER 20% 27.51% Our TN W21 pages.indd 5 12/16/20 10:44 AM Evann Bailey, a UTC senior, studies urban bee wings and whether warmer weather is affecting the insects.