The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is investing in high-impact research, scholarship and creative activity through the inaugural awards of its Ascent Program for the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Designed to support transformative projects with disciplinary and institutional impact, the new internal funding initiative provides awards of up to $50,000 for up to three years.
Awards in the first round span the disciplines of music, architecture, art history, archaeology and film.
“These projects exemplify the kind of visionary scholarship and creative activity that strengthen UT’s national reputation,” said Deborah Crawford, vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development. “The Ascent Program was created to help faculty pursue ambitious achievements that will reshape conversations in their fields.”
Creating cinematic orchestral experiences and advancing jazz guitar through collaboration
The Natalie L. Haslam College of Music aims to bring a blockbuster film screening with live orchestral accompaniment to Knoxville in 2027. The project proposes a large-scale performance by the UT Symphony Orchestra in a local venue and is led by faculty member Alexander van Duuren.
“Live soundtrack performances by symphony orchestras are highly popular and growing rapidly across the country,” said van Duuren. “Music schools, which traditionally train performance students for work in professional symphonies, are often unable to train students for this type of performance due to the high cost of production. The grant we received allows us to do exactly that, while providing an exciting performance to the public and exceptional exposure for the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music.”
The effort will position UT among a very small number of universities attempting film-with-live-orchestra productions at the proposed scale, in addition to creating new educational, fundraising and community engagement opportunities.
The screening will be open to the public, with free access for UT students and faculty. In addition, the project creates partnerships with local schools to bring high school students to campus performances.
Also in the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music, guitarist and composer Denin Slage-Koch will release Twang, a genre-spanning album featuring internationally recognized musicians.
“So many musicians dream of the freedom to create their most authentic work without limitations, and the Ascent award has made that possible for me,” said Slage-Koch. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I also see it as a responsibility — to share something only I can contribute and to create music that reflects the truest version of what I have to offer.”
The project, featuring Slage-Koch’s original music, will be recorded in Nashville. Ascent funding will support the album’s national and international promotion, helping bring Slage-Koch’s work to broader audiences and positioning it for major industry recognition.
“Empowered by this new grant program, these projects represent significant, collaborative, and outside-the-box thinking in creative activity,” said Nathan Fleshner, the college’s associate dean for research. “They will have a transformative impact for these individuals, the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music, and the University of Tennessee’s reputation for research and creative activity.”
Exploring innovation in architectural design
Ted Shelton and Tricia Stuth in the College of Architecture and Design will produce a book examining the work of their architecture firm, curb. Rather than functioning as a traditional monograph, the publication will explore the ideas, processes and design philosophies behind the practice’s projects.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to gather, reflect on and expand on the ideas embedded in the 20 years of our architectural firm’s work,” said Stuth. “It will allow us to both demonstrate the value of the work we have created to date and provide an intellectual framework for the work we will do across the remainder of our careers.”
The project will also prepare the applicants to compete for nationally and internationally selective grants and fellowships as an outcome of the Ascent process.
“While book publishing may be waning in some disciplines, it remains a vibrant channel for architects to present and elucidate their work, which is often inaccessible to others due to location or privacy,” said Shelton. “The Ascent-supported publication will allow us to position ourselves more clearly within the architectural discourse.”
“The Ascent program, and especially the award to Shelton and Stuth, is wonderful evidence of UT’s commitment to the broad dissemination of knowledge and its willingness to meet creative scholars at the cutting edge of their own fields,” said Avigail Sachs, associate dean for research in the College of Architecture and Design.
Supporting global scholarship, archaeological discovery, and local filmmaking
Kelli Wood, the Dale G. Cleaver Assistant Professor of Art History – Museum and Curatorial Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, will develop a major scholarly book focused on the art of early modern Goa, India. Based on her previous research as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, the project is expected to contribute substantially to the field of global art history. The award will also support international collaborations, grant applications and conferences, and will connect Knoxville with experts from four continents.
“Redefinition is at the heart of my research in Goa — redefining where the Renaissance happened and who gets to shape the historical record,” said Wood. “I’m honored that the Ascent grant will advance a new kind of art history built through collaboration with curators, artists and scholars across the globe.”
Also in the College of Arts and Sciences, archaeologist Aleydis Van de Moortel in the Department of Classics will complete a book documenting the UT-led Mitrou Archaeological Project in Greece, one of the most significant archaeological investigations of Bronze Age state formation in mainland Greece.
“This research bridges the humanities and social sciences while also drawing on a wide range of natural science disciplines,” said Van de Moortel. “Through this interdisciplinary approach, the Mitrou Archaeological Project has uncovered compelling new evidence about the rise and decline of Mycenaean palatial societies on the Greek mainland — the first state-level societies to emerge in Europe.”
The long-running excavation has helped scholars better understand the emergence of social inequality at the beginning of the Mycenaean civilization and holds one of only five U.S. field permits granted annually in Greece.
Finally, Ascent will support a feature-length narrative film being developed by Paul Harrill, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Art. Harrill’s film tells the story of a road trip that becomes a search for love and meaning. The film has already attracted high-profile collaborators and actors ahead of planned production.
“UT’s Ascent program is remarkable,” said Harrill. “This support promises to elevate the visibility of my work in a way that is uncommon, particularly for a film produced through an academic institution.”
The project advances UT’s growing visibility in cinematic arts and storytelling.
“It’s an exciting time as university-focused commitments like the Ascent program are enabling faculty to pursue aspirational scholarship and creative activity that will elevate global recognition of the amazing work being done across campus,” said Mike Blum, associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences.