President George H. W. Bush enjoyed showing his friends the White House painting of President Abraham Lincoln and his Civil War generals. Bush would point to the painting and assert that all of America’s great presidents were tested by fire. Bush, a decorated World War II hero and experienced Cold War warrior, would have an opportunity to prove himself as America’s commander-in-chief during the l991 Gulf War. His son George W. Bush, only the second U.S. presidential offspring to also hold the presidency, will be judged for his own wartime decisions.
It must be true that opposites attract. Garry and Betsy Phillips didn’t agree on much of anything before they married. But today the couple agrees on one thing for sure—the United States must succeed in stabilizing a democratic government in Iraq. The stability of the whole Middle East hangs in the balance.
When you step through the doors of the Tennessee Governor’s Academy for Mathematics and Science in Knoxville, it’s clear you’ve entered a radically different kind of school. The walls are covered in posters singing the praises of science and scientists, and the mood during a calculus class is upbeat—to put it mildly.
UT is a leader in the development of alternative fuels, the university is enjoying its best year in recent history in terms of state funding, and Dr. Bill Bass has solved the mystery of “The Big Bopper”—these and other stories in this edition of UTopics.
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.
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.
Blair Pancake (Knoxville ’05) won the Miss Tennessee title, UT Chattanooga alumnus Leslie Jordan won an Emmy, and we catch up with two Katrina evacuees who were featured in the Summer 2006 issue—that and more in this installment of UTopics.
A top government administrator, a technology company founder, and a scholar of Renaissance literature. That’s not three people, but just one—UT alumna Lurita Doan. Doan (Knoxville ’83) is the first woman ever to head the massive U.S. General Services Administration.
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