What happens in your mouth can affect your entire body. That’s Dr. Waletha Wasson’s message—a message she delivers far beyond the classrooms of the UT College of Dentistry. Wasson is one of the originators of Tennessee Smiles—a program to help citizens realize the importance of good oral health.
UT’s vital signs are good: The university’s enrolling its best students ever, research funding is on the rise, and alumni and friends are unusually generous in their support. The next logical step toward realizing the university’s full potential is to increase the number of graduates it turns out to fuel Tennessee’s future workforce.
Northern Uganda, where children have long been traumatized by a brutal war, there is a group of rescued girls who call themselves “University of Tennessee girls.” For Professor Rosalind Hackett and a group of students, such stories prove that their efforts to raise awareness—and money—are making an impact.
He may not be able to tell you if the X-Files really exist, but Trey Halterman thinks he has been successful during his 2-1/2 years as an FBI special agent. “I’ve arrested drug dealers, protected the U.S. from people who want to cause harm to the country, assisted Hurricane Katrina victims, and managed major cases that will lead to arrests and prosecutions.”
Tracking a group of 200 illegal aliens in the remote Sonoran Desert may not sound like your typical day’s work, but U.S. Border Patrol agent Chris Frazier finds it frightening, exciting, and frustrating. “It involves a great deal of stamina and a good balance of all my senses,” says the Knoxville native and 1997 UT Knoxville public relations grad, who works in the Tucson, Arizona, sector.
Most of us have some special accomplishments of which we’re proud, and so does Nan Schumaker. Her accomplishments are just a little more spectacular than most people’s. They include graduating from the FBI Academy, leading investigations, and contributing to a national championship.
T. J. Waters (Chattanooga ’90) took a proactive approach to expressing his patriotism. He was selected by the Central Intelligence Agency to join the first post–9/11 spy class. His book about the experience, Class 11, was published recently by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
If you could look at mountains and seashores and think I saved that, wouldn’t you nearly pop with pride? Paul Pritchard (Knoxville ’71) can say that. He has helped preserve nature’s best for future generations.
Fall 2006 commencement at UT Knoxville seemed a fitting homecoming for civil rights pioneer Rita Sanders Geier. Thirty-eight years after filing suit against the state of Tennessee to desegregate its higher-education system and just 3 months after the end of the protracted legal battle, Geier delivered her message of hope and perseverance to more than a thousand graduates.
Despite overwhelming odds, Jim Hammond is hopeful that the hundreds of cadets he has trained to be Iraqi police officers will make a difference in Iraq’s transition to democracy. Hammond, a UT Chattanooga alumnus, urges the cadets to put aside political and ethnic differences. He believes, as his cadets do, that together they can help create better lives for everyone in a country ripped apart by violence.
“There’s no front line in Iraq. Everywhere we stayed was the front line,” said Dr. Joan Sullivan, a member of the National Guard, describing her 2005 tour of duty. As a surgeon for the 42nd Infantry Division, the 1987 graduate of the UT Health Science Center was deployed to Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown. The division’s deployment marked the first time a National Guard unit had been sent into combat since the Korean War.
The UT Institute for Public Service serves as a conduit for the knowledge of UT faculty members and consultants and puts that knowledge to use solving real-world problems. Through its four agencies, IPS provides training and technical assistance to state and local government leaders, law enforcement personnel, and industry innovators.
UT is becoming more brand conscious. A statewide marketing effort keyed to the “fUTure” includes billboards, a new television commercial, and print advertising. The branding effort was launched September 19 at a six-way simulcast for UT employees.
Agricultural production has traditionally focused on food and fiber, but a third F has entered the picture. Everyone’s talking about homegrown fuel. Whether processing soy diesel or harvesting French-fryer fat, Americans are searching for affordable, sustainable sources of energy available within our own borders.
When you hear University of Tennessee, Knoxville, student Scott Curran talk about “creating a model for campus sustainability,” it’s hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. Curran, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, takes pride in the success of the efforts to not only use biodiesel fuel on the Knoxville campus but also create the fuel from campus resources.
