The beginning of May brings; a professor in the UT College of Nursing selected as the recipient of the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award; a UTIA Food Scientist received the Alton E. Bailey Award; an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering is awarded the prestigious Dr. James C. Conklin Endowed Faculty Fellowship; an Extension forestry specialist with the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries is named 2020 Extension Forester of the Year; and the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence Professor and head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The end of April brings; a new Director of Diversity and Community Relations appointed at Haslam College of Business; six UT seniors honored as 2020 Torchbearers; TCE sophomore receives $10,000 STEM grant; and Four UT researchers recognized with the 2020 Research and Creative Achievement Award.

Happy New Year and welcome back! This week’s recognitions include a CEE senior lecturer, four UT undergraduates, faculty from supply chain management, and a professor of architecture.

Hera Jay Brown, who graduated from UT in August 2018, has been named a 2020 Rhodes Scholar—the ninth current or former UT student to earn this prestigious honor.

As a Rhodes Scholar, Brown—a native of Corryton, Tennessee—will begin all-expenses-paid studies at the University of Oxford in England next fall. Brown tentatively plans to pursue both a master’s degree and a doctorate in migration studies.

“Having a Rhodes Scholar for a second consecutive year is a tremendous honor that underscores our university’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate scholarship, research, and engagement,” Chancellor Donde Plowman said. “Hera Jay has spent her academic and professional career researching important, and sometimes difficult, topics. She wants to make a difference in the world by informing international policy and decision making.”

Natalie Campbell, Student Government Association president, remarks on behalf of the students during the investiture ceremony for Chancellor Donde Plowman inside the Student Union Auditorium on November 6, 2019. Photo by Steven Bridges/University of Tennessee

Natalie Campbell, a senior at UT, who serves as student body president and has earned accolades for her work advocating alongside people with disabilities, has been selected for a Mitchell Scholarship, one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards in the country.