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Produced April 02, 2018 | Updated: April 03, 2019

Many of our alumni are part of the work by the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office to transform families through an innovative program that pairs social and legal services.

In 2003, the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office (CLO) began a holistic approach for its low-income clients. As public defenders guide clients through legal representation, social workers address such issues as homelessness, mental illness, and substance or domestic abuse.

“We do what we can do to help our clients move forward, get out of the legal system so they don’t come back, get back into the community, and change their lives for the better,” says Sarah Buchanan (‘10, ‘17), CLO director of social services.

Many members of the CLO’s staff, as well as interns and externs, come from UT. Alumni currently account for sixteen of the office’s twenty-three public defenders, and all the social workers have degrees from UT. More than 50 UT social work students have completed field placements at the CLO since 2005.

After assessing the current situations and needs of clients, CLO social workers devise support plans that can include recommendations for housing or treatment programs.

“We try to give the public defenders a solution they can take back to the court,” Buchanan says. “Sometimes they can work with judges on alternative sentencing plans.”

The CLO’s services extend to providing programs for local children, with an eye toward combating the risk factors that can lead to criminal behavior.

“Kids who are living in really extreme environments, usually associated with poverty, are more at risk to wind up in the criminal justice system,” says Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens (‘79). “We try to expose them to things they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. We see that as part of our mission to prevent crime.”

The children build confidence and learn new skills by participating in arts, reading, gardening, cooking, and playing sports. UT students mentor the children through the university’s partnership with the CLO.

Buchanan’s PhD research at UT focused on how the CLO’s social work component affects recidivism. She compared outcomes between two groups of clients: one that worked only with a public defender while a second group with more complex legal histories had assistance from social workers. At the study’s end, the second group had fewer charges.

Buchanan says the key to the CLO’s effectiveness is training the social workers and public defenders to work with each other. And the approach is working well enough to attract broader attention.

State officials asked Buchanan to create a similar model for other counties. Now a grant is funding social workers in three more public defender’s offices. Buchanan is applying for private funding to test and implement the model around the country.

News of the CLO’s success in reducing recidivism is attracting national attention. Each year, University of Chicago law students spend their spring break of service in Knoxville studying the program.

“In doing this work, we learn the value of coming to understand each individual, seeing the inherent worth in that person, and communicating that we will work with you,” Buchanan says. “I have a client who went to prison. He calls once a week to work through his day-to-day challenges and conflicts. He wants to live a better life when he eventually returns to the community. I can help him take the steps for that to happen.”

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This story is part of the University of Tennessee’s 225th anniversary celebration. Volunteers light the way for others across Tennessee and throughout the world.

 

Produced August 14, 2017 | Updated: April 10, 2019

Over the past 35 years, 10 of our graduates have advanced the American space program as NASA astronauts.

The graduates include Randy Bresnik who commanded the International Space Station (ISS) during a 2017 mission.

In addition to extending UT’s time in space by another three months, Bresnik’s mission adds to a collection of research aimed to better humankind.

His team performed research related to drugs that only target cancer cells. They also used microgravity for a new lung tissue study to advance the understanding of how stem cells work and the pathology of Parkinson’s disease with the goal of helping develop new patient therapies—a project funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Another UT alumnus, Scott Kelly, advanced preparations for deep space exploration, particularly America’s plans to visit Mars, by participating in NASA’s One-Year Mission.

Kelly lived aboard the ISS from March 2015 to February 2016, taking part in research about how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-duration spaceflight.

Researchers continue to compare the differences between Kelly’s physiology and that of his twin brother, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut who remained earthbound during the mission. The Twins Study has revealed that Scott Kelly’s time in space even impacted him at the genetic level.

Studying those remarkable findings, along with changes in Kelly’s musculature and bone density, will help NASA prepare countermeasures for missions to Mars and beyond. The One-Year Mission was Kelly’s fourth and his last before retiring.

Another UT alumnus, Barry Wilmore, has also helped NASA prepare for visits to Mars. While Wilmore was ISS commander in 2014, his team used the first design emailed from Earth to make a tool in space. They made a ratchet wrench with a 3-D printer.

NASA was testing the ability to supply missing equipment on demand during a space exploration mission, along with the possible benefits of microgravity when creating objects in space.

Other Volunteer Astronauts

Hank Hartsfield
1982 First of three flights
UT’s first astronaut, Hartsfield piloted Columbia’s last test flight, Discovery’s first flight, and a Challenger flight that included 75 experiments related to biology and materials science.

Rhea Seddon
1985 First of three flights
A medical doctor and the fifth American woman in space, Seddon researched how weightlessness and cosmic radiation impact animal cardiovascular and skeletal systems.

Chris Hadfield
1995 First of three flights
Hadfield was the sole Canadian to spend time aboard the space station Mir, as well as the first Canadian to spacewalk and use the shuttle’s robotic arm—which was designed and built by Canadians.

Joe Edwards Jr.
1998 flight
Edwards piloted Endeavour on a mission to Mir for research related to space travel and growing plants in space.

Dominic Gorie
1998 First of four flights
Gorie’s first flight was the final Mir mission, which helped pave the way for the ISS. His second flight included the first highly-detailed mapping of Earth.

Jeffrey Ashby
1999 First of three flights
Ashby’s missions include advances in X-ray and ultraviolet imagery of the atmosphere and observations on tissue loss in space.

William Oefelein
2006 Sole flight
Oefelein’s mission on Discovery included the deployment of a new solar array for the ISS.

 

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This story is part of the University of Tennessee’s 225th anniversary celebration. Volunteers light the way for others across Tennessee and throughout the world.

 

Produced February 6, 2017

After eight years of transformational leadership, Jimmy G. Cheek wrapped up his tenure as our seventh chancellor.

Preparing to join the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Cheek reflected on what he calls “the best job I’ve ever had.”

“As I think about everything that has happened in my time here—there are so many good things and great accomplishments—I am most proud of the hard work of the team on our campus,” he said.

Soon after arriving in 2009, Cheek accepted a challenge from then-Governor Phil Bredesen to move UT into the ranks of Top 25 public research universities. Campus-wide enthusiasm and collaboration have led to progress on the initial priorities: undergraduate and graduate education, recruitment and retention of stellar faculty and staff, improved facilities and an increased resource base, and expanded research and outreach. Diversity has since been added as a priority.

More than $1 billion has been invested in new buildings, renovations, and outdoor spaces and grounds. These include six new academic buildings, four residence halls, and the new state-of-the-art Student Union. Ayres Hall was restored to its full grandeur and the steam plant was converted to gas, removing two large smokestacks and eliminating the university’s use of coal.

Strong Hall, a much-needed classroom and laboratory building on Cumberland Avenue, will open its doors in March, while the Ken and Blaire Mossman Building, another new classroom and laboratory building, is taking shape.

Cheek has provided the resources and oversight to help strengthen and promote the university’s brand.

“Although we know that great things are happening here, the outside world hasn’t always noticed. We set out to change that,” he said.

Cheek’s tenure coincides with significant research momentum through the university’s partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other public and private entities. He appointed 14 of the current 15 UT-ORNL Governor’s Chairs and landed several high-profile research centers—including the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation and CURENT, UT’s first National Science Foundation engineering research center.

Some of the nation’s most promising young scholars enroll in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education. Created in partnership with ORNL, the Bredesen Center has a fast-growing interdisciplinary energy sciences and engineering degree program and a proposed new PhD in data sciences and engineering.

The chancellor is always the first to credit the successes of his tenure to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends—the Volunteer family that extends beyond our campus borders.

“Accomplishments of the past eight years would not have been possible without the support of alumni and friends,” he said.

Transformational gifts have led to our first two named colleges—the Haslam College of Business and the Tickle College of Engineering.

Fundraising has grown from $72 million in fiscal year 2009 to $167 million in fiscal year 2016. More than 43,000 donors invested in UT last year—an increase of more than 10,000 donors over the past three years.

“We’ve faced challenges over the past eight years, but when I think about what we’ve accomplished together, I’m proud—and humbled,” Cheek said. “Thank you for allowing me to be your chancellor. I am, and will always be, a Volunteer.”

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This story is part of the University of Tennessee’s 225th anniversary celebration. Volunteers light the way for others across Tennessee and throughout the world.