The University of Tennessee at Martin Faculty and Staff Newsletter |October 13, 2014

addendaUT Alliance of Women Philanthropists 2015 Giving Circle Grant Applications are now Being Accepted

The UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists is accepting grant applications for its Giving Circle grants program. Applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. EST, Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, order to be eligible for the selection process.

Applicants may develop a new project or program that benefits their campus or expands upon an existing program. Winning initiatives will promote the spirit of the alliance by providing opportunities that inspire leadership and collaboration within the UT community. Grants range from $2,500 to $25,000 and are awarded annually to the most innovative and deserving applicants as determined by the alliance’s executive board. Winners will be announced Feb. 20, 2015, at the Women and Philanthropy Symposium in Knoxville.

The executive board of the Alliance of Women Philanthropists created the

Giving Circle in 2007 to make an impact on the UT campuses and to increase the alliance’s direct involvement with the University of Tennessee’s students, faculty and staff. Since its inception, the alliance has contributed more than $350,000 in grant funding across all UT campuses.

Thus far, UT Martin has received six grants and more than $55,000 in funding since the program began in 2008.

For more information about the UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists Giving Circle, including the grants application, submission instructions, and a list of past recipients, visit http://alliance.tennessee.edu/grants.

UT MARTIN AMONG ‘100 BEST COLLEGE BUYS’ – UT Martin is listed for the ninth consecutive year among “America’s 100 Best College Buys,” a listing compiled by Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc. The university is one of three public Tennessee higher education institutions listed. The recognition follows two other listings announced in recent months. In August, The Princeton Review named the university among the “Best in the Southeast” for 2015. The list is part of the company’s website feature “2015 Best Colleges: Region by Region” posted on PrincetonReview.com. UT Martin has been included in this listing for 12 consecutive years. Then in September, UT Martin continued in the top tier for southern master’s level universities in the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. The university was also ranked for the first time among southern regional institutions in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” category.

http://utmforever.com/s/1341/utm/index.aspx?sid=1341&gid=5&pgid=455

Visit the website for events

Share Your Opinion

page 2| addenda |October 13, 2014

YoUTM students, faculty and staff working together

n Dr. Matthew Braddock, assistant professor of philosophy, presented a paper Oct. 3 at the following international conference at The University of Tubingen, Germany: “Debunking Arguments in Philosophy.” n Dr. Clinton Smith,

assistant professor, Department of Educational Studies, recently presented at the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society’s Global Citizens Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His presentation topic was “Breaking Down the Barriers in Instruction and Technology: Universal Design for Learning.”n Dr. Clinton Smith,

assistant professor, Department of Educational Studies; Dr. Harriette Spiegel, IT specialist II and instructional

technologist, Instructional Technology Center; and Dr. Betty Cox, associate professor of education and chair, Department of Educational Studies, recently had an article accepted into the National Social Science Technology Journal with their article, “The Missing Piece: The Need for Training Online Faculty to Design Accessible Online Courses.”n Dr. Amy Yeung, professor

of music, coordinated Fall Tennessee Chapter of National Association of Teachers

of Singing (NATS) events, Oct. 3-4, at the Fine Arts Building on the main campus. Students from the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University, Chattanooga State Community College, the University of Memphis, Cumberland University, Union University, Rhodes College and some private voice studios came to the events, starting out with Friday masterclasses with vocal coach Thomas Jaber, music director of the Rice

University Chorale. The events concluded on Saturday with student auditions in which more than 90 student singers competed in 16 different categories ranging from the high school to the graduate levels. Seventeen judges and 12 collaborative pianists from the aforementioned schools participated in the event. Two UT Martin students came away with prizes: Derrica Pointer won third place in the Freshman Women Division, and John-Alex Warner won second place in the Freshman Men Division.

NARRU CONFERENCE SPEAKER – Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, speaks Oct. 7 during the annual conference of the Non-land-grant Agricultural and Renewable Resources Universities held at UT Martin. The College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences hosted the conference that attracted participants from non-land grant colleges of agriculture from around the U.S.

WESTSTAR ALUMNI VISIT THE DRESDEN FARMERS MARKET – WestStar Leadership Program alumni and staff visited the new Farmers Market on Oct. 8 in Dresden. WestStar alumni county groups meet monthly to learn more about resources and opportunities in West Tennessee communities. The facility opened during the 2014 Iris Festival and then opened for the first time as a farmers market on June 28. The facility was made possible by two USDA grants and the city of Dresden. The facility, named the Terry Oliver Plaza for former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture Terry Oliver, can be reserved for an hourly charge by contacting Dresden City Hall. Lauren Bean (pictured far right), a 2014 UT Martin agricultural business graduate, was recently named Dresden community development director and provided information to the group about the facility. Pictured left to right (foreground) are Steve Vantrease, Dr. Tom Payne, Melinda Goode, and Jeanna Swafford, all WestStar alums; back row-top, Andrew Hart and Ray Stevenson, both WestStar alums; Charley Deal, WestStar executive director and program alum; and Virginia Grimes, WestStar coordinator, Jerry Brigance, WestStar alum, and Jordan Jones, WestStar staff member.

page 3| addenda | October 13, 2014

The Reelfoot Lake Environmental Field Station hosted its 3rd Annual Bio-blitz and Open House, Saturday, Oct. 4, in Samburg. The event was sponsored in part by the UTM Ecology Club, and several club members assisted during the day’s activities.

The event provides UT Martin students, faculty and members of the community the opportunity to become familiar with the field station and to learn about the educational opportunities the station provides through field courses, undergraduate research and outreach activities.

The “bio-blitz” is a student competition in which teams survey a portion of the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge and compile a list of organisms they can identify. The winning team is awarded a trophy at the end of the day’s event. The open house at the RLEFS allowed visitors to view and handle live animals, as well as prepared specimens of organisms common to the Reelfoot Lake ecosystem.

Several students that have taken field courses at the station or have participated in undergraduate research on topics related to the Reelfoot Lake system were on hand to talk to visitors about their experiences.

Third Annual ‘Bio-Blitz’ and Open House Held Oct. 4 at Reelfoot Lake

Winners of the 3rd annual Reelfoot Lake Environmental Field Station bio-blitz were team members (front row, l to r) Erica Burton, Dani Dalton, Kelsey Hutson; (back row, l to r) Larry Kinney, Logan Campbell, Kesley Wallace and Justin Reh. Team members not pictured were Dixon Sensing and Hannah Graves.

Gina Lowry, senior biology major and seasonal interpretive ranger for Tennessee State Parks, handles a barred owl at the Reelfoot Lake Environmental Field Station open house.

Kelsey Hutson, a senior biology major, shows off an eastern hog-nosed snake at the Reelfoot Lake Environmental Field Station open house.

Send your Addenda news

to :Bud Grimes

bgrimes@utm.edu

“Questions and Answers” about UT Martin

n Question – What buildings on campus are safest for tornados?

n Answer (provided by Doug Sliger, emergency management coordinator and safety specialist) – In my opinion there are no guarantees of safety during a tornado. Tornados are something that we cannot control, but prior planning and preventive actions will help reduce the number of injuries and deaths that might occur otherwise.

Environmental Health and Safety has prepared Emergency Evacuation and Tornado Shelter maps (or signs) for the academic buildings, and the Residential Housing staff provides similar information for students in the residence halls. If we determined that no areas of a certain building should be used as a tornado shelter, we specified tornado shelter areas in another nearby building. The criteria used to select the tornado shelter areas were:

1. Seek shelter in the basement or the lowest floor possible. DO NOT seek shelter in mechanical rooms or electrical rooms that contain piping or equipment that could rupture and cause injuries during a tornado. Also, avoid basements that may flood during a storm.

2. Seek shelter in a small, interior room. Avoid rooms with outside walls (unless the walls are underground) and very large rooms such as auditoriums, gymnasiums and cafeterias.

3. Stay away from rooms with windows or lots of glass that can break and cause injury.

Considering the above criteria, some of the “safer” tornado shelter areas on the main campus may be:

• The accessible basement areas of Browning and Ellington Halls,

• The basement of Cooper Residence Hall,

• The underground rest rooms, locker rooms, and other designated rooms in the south end of the Skyhawk Fieldhouse (east of the Elam Center Pool),

• The underground classroom on the southeast corner of the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex (Ag Pavilion classroom),

• The north side of the first floor of Clement Hall that is below ground level,

YoU Tell Mepage 4| addenda |October 13, 2014

addendaThe University of Tennessee at Martin

Published weekly during the academic year and biweekly during the summer by UT Martin, Martin,

TN 38238

• Dr. Joseph DiPietro - President, University of Tennessee System

• Dr. Thomas Rakes - Chancellor •Bud Grimes - Addenda Editor• Nathan Morgan - University

Photographer

UT Martin is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section504/ADA/ADEA employer. E05-0425-00-007-15

TENNESSEE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS COMMISSIONER VISITS UT MARTIN – Commissioner Greg Gonzales, Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, and Colin Barrett, Tennessee Bankers Association president, were among the attendees for the Tennessee Bankers Luncheon and Community Leadership Town Hall Meeting held Oct. 2 at UT Martin. The Horace and Sara Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking hosted all activities. The day’s first session, “Career Opportunities in Financial Services,” was attended by banking, finance, marketing, management, accounting, information systems, economics, and agricultural business students and faculty. Career opportunities with regulatory agencies, community banks and financial services in general were discussed. Gonzales and Barrett responded to audience questions as they discussed the importance of obtaining a relevant degree and encouraged students to engage in internships and other experiential learning opportunities. They also discussed the importance of communication, critical thinking and teamwork skills. Pictured above are (l to r) Cory Luther, senior agricultural business student; Morgan Brewer, senior finance major; Colin Barrett; Greg Gonzales; and J.D. Leavell, sophomore finance major. In the photo below, Dr. Tom Payne, (left) Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking, is pictured with Gonzales and Barrett.

• The designated areas in the basement of the Business Administration Building,

• The designated areas in the basement of the Holt Humanities Building,

• The shooting range room on the first floor of the ROTC Building (concrete bleachers overhead),

• The underground areas and interior rooms on the first floor of the Boling University Center, and

• The designated areas on the first floor of University Village Phase 2.

The shelter areas listed above include those in basements of campus buildings and a few other shelter areas in larger buildings, but these are not the only safe tornado shelter areas on campus. Seek shelter in the designated areas on the Emergency Evacuation and Tornado Shelter map (sign) for the building you are in, or follow the directions of Residential Housing or Public Safety personnel.

Submit your questions to the Suggestion Box link at www.utm.edu.

•War of 1812 exhibit, J. Houston Gordon Museum, Paul Meek Library (through Oct. 31)

•Fall Break, through Oct. 14 (classes resume Oct. 15)

•Oct. 13 – Fall Break

•Oct. 13 – Employee Engagement Survey Meeting, Watkins Auditorium, 2:30 p.m.

•Oct. 14 – Fall Break

•Oct. 15 – Fall Semester Classes Resume

•Oot. 16 – Skyhawk Tennis at ITA Regionals, Knoxville

Calendar•Oct. 16 – Skyhawk Basketball

Showcase, Elam Center 6:30 (no admission charge)

•Oct. 16 – Concert Series: Elise Blatchford, Guest Flute Recital, 7:30 p.m.

•Oct. 17 – Skyhawk Equestrian vs. New Mexico State and Fresno State, at New Mexico State, Las Cruces, N.M.

•Oct. 17 - Skyhawk Tennis at ITA Regionals, Knoxville

•Oct. 17 – Skyhawk Volleyball vs. Eastern Illinois, Skyhawk Fieldhouse, 7 p.m.

•Oct. 18 - Skyhawk Tennis at ITA Regionals, Knoxville

•Oct. 18 – Skyhawk Football at Tennessee State University, Nashville, 2 p.m.

•Oct. 18 - Skyhawk Volleyball vs. SIU-Edwardsville, Skyhawk Fieldhouse, 2 p.m.

•Oct. 18 – Skyhawk Cross-Country at Chattanooga Front Runner Invitational, 3 p.m.

• Oct. 18 – Octubafest Concert, 5 p.m.

•Oct. 18 – CONCERT SERIES: Dr. Douglas Mark, Guest Trombone Artist, Blankenship Recital Hall, 3 p.m.

•Oct. 19 – Skyhawk Golf at Austin Peay Intercollegiate, Hopkinsville, Ky.

•Oct. 19 – Skyhawk Tennis at ITA Regionals, Knoxville

•Oct. 19 – Skyhawk Soccer at Eastern Illinois, 1 p.m.

•Oct. 19 – Noah Friedman, Senior Percussion Recital, 7:30 p.m.

(Note – The Addenda calendar is not a comprehensive listing of university events. Check the Events Calendar at www.utm.edu or utmsports.com for additional university events and activities.)

Charlene LoVettePrincipal Secretary

Department of Public Safety

In 1984, I started walking with a neighbor when I first moved to Martin. At that time the Elam Center was unlocked at 5:30 a.m., and we would walk and pray every morning before work. In 1993, I started walking everyday during my lunch break. I didn’t want to lose my parking space, so I walked instead of leaving campus. Now, I walk to my church on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a noon service and at the Elam Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Charlene’s motivation:

• I stay motivated because walking is my quiet time – a time I have all for myself. It’s a time to think and meditate. Walking relieves my stress and thus keeps me healthier and happier.

Charlene’s advice:

• Being active gives you the desire and energy to get more accomplished in a day. When I can’t get out and walk I find myself tired and sluggish. If you feel good about yourself, you are able to spread a more positive energy to the ones around you.

The Office of Campus Recreation is recognizing individuals and groups who are making extra efforts to elevate their fitness levels. We commend your friends and colleagues by deeming them “UTM Fit.”

page 5| addenda | October 13, 2014