The University of Tennessee at Martin Faculty and Staff Newsletter | July 5, 2016

addendaNew tuition model approved by UT Board of Trustees

A new “Soar in Four” tuition model, designed to speed progress toward degree completion, was approved for UT Martin on June 23 by the UT Board of Trustees. The new model encourages students to take 15 hours per semester and complete their undergraduate degrees in four years. The model will also fund new initiatives beneficial to student success, including a completely revamped and upgraded Career Development and Internship Center.

The tuition model is supported by UT Martin’s Student Government Association, which used student input to decide

investment commitments for the new funds. Other improvements include new faculty positions to relieve scheduling bottlenecks in gateway courses, new degree auditing and planning software, living-learning communities, and increased tutoring and advising.

Completing college in four years offers financial benefits for students. The fifth year of college and beyond results in the typical student adding $8,735 in debt. The student’s average annual cost to attend is $22,058, so graduating in four years will result in significant savings.

The new tuition structure immediately impacts 36 percent

of UT Martin students and will be phased in from fall 2016 through summer 2020, at which point 78 percent of students will be affected. The amount of tuition paid will be based on academic hours already earned by a current student.

Most students will enter the university under the new tuition structure and pay a $3,840 flat per-semester rate, plus mandatory fees as full-time students. Part-time and online students will remain on the traditional per-hour model. UT Martin does not charge for enrolled hours above 12, which is the threshold for full-time students for financial aid,

tuition and fee purposes.Mandatory fees at the

university will not increase this academic year. Additionally, the university is reducing the overall residential housing rates and increasing private scholarship assistance.

Students enrolled for online courses will pay more for courses in 2016-17, however. The undergraduate online course fee increased 2.2 percent for in-state and out-of-state domestic students, while graduate online course fees increased 3 percent.

The new tuition schedule is available at www.utm.edu/departments/bursar/tuition.php.

Genex Services awards the Department of Nursing $20,000 in scholarship funding

Genex Services, a provider of managed care clinical services, has awarded the Department of Nursing $20,000 in scholarship funding through its fifth annual Case Manager Scholarship Program.

Each year, Genex Services asks case managers, supervisors and branch managers within the company to nominate nursing programs at colleges and universities which they believe deserve additional funding. Susie Moore, a 1987 UT Martin alumna, nominated the UT Martin program for the award.

“The Department of Nursing at UT Martin has a proud and successful history in nursing education,” wrote Moore in her nomination letter. “I am very NURSING SCHOLARSHIP – Morgan Acuff, a senior from Milan, is pictured in one of the University of Tennessee

at Martin’s nursing practice laboratories.“Nursing,” page 3

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YoUTMs faculty, staff and student excellence

WORLD TRAVELER – Alexander is pictured with three of her new friends in the mountains of Ecuador. These llamas are one example of the many native species the group was able to see while traveling in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

Dr. Lynn Alexander (right), dean, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, recently traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with a university travel-study program. She then presented her experiences, which included meeting these three llamas, at the June 22 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Martin. The trip, coordinated by Drs. Sue Byrd, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences; Dawn Wilkins, Department of Biological Sciences; and Craig and Barbara Darroch, Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources, included visits to Ecuador’s famous cloud forest and bird sanctuary. Eleven students from a variety of campus departments participated in the trip.

Faculty and staff members from the UT Martin Parsons Center recently participated in a workshop day to train on SACS documentation, Blackboard systems and Paul Meek Library services. Members of the local Air Evac Lifeteam gave a presentation on how to use the AED units located at the center in case of emergency. Dr. Ross Dickens,

dean, College of Business and Global Affairs; Cindy West, dean, College of Education, Health and Behavioral Sciences; Dr. Jennifer Greenwood, chair, Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Daphne Henderson, chair, Department of Behavioral Sciences; Karen White, Paul Meek Library; Patty Flowers, Office of SACS Reaccreditation; and Erica Bell,

Becky Wilson and Dr. Brian Donavant, Office of Educational Outreach, represented the UT Martin main campus.

Pictured (above) are faculty and staff members from the UT Martin Parsons Center, along with main campus representatives, with members of the local Air Evac Lifeteam unit.

Dr. Michael Kempf, associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences, presented a poster titled “Cloning and Sequencing of the Flavobacterium johnsoniae Bacteriophage Cj1” at the 2016 American Society for Microbiology Microbe Conference on June 16-20 in Boston, Mass. Jacob Alhashimi, a senior biology major conducting research with Dr. Kempf, was a co-author on the poster.

Send your Addenda news to Erin Chesnut at echesnut@utm.edu

by July 13 for inclusion in the July 18 issue.

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proud of my alma mater.”Five programs are selected

each year, and the funds are intended to “recognize program alumni, strengthen awareness of the case management profession and invest in a new generation of graduates to fulfill a growing industry need.”

Genex Services focuses primarily on handling workers’ compensation claims and managing the care of injured workers.

“The scholarship award is very special to Genex because it’s

through this initiative that we’re really helping to develop the future professionals who will continue our mission to help injured workers return safely to their jobs,” said Delphia Frisch, executive vice president and chief operations officer of Genex Services. “We’re very proud of this program and our case managers.”

The department’s scholarship award committee will accept student applications in the fall semester, and awards will be announced in the spring for

the upcoming 2017-18 academic year. Award criteria and amounts have yet to be determined.

“All college students can benefit from financial aid, of course, but nursing majors have the added expenses of uniforms, shoes, stethoscopes and other equipment, as well as travel to various clinical sites. This gift will be very beneficial in helping them cover these costs in addition to tuition and books,” said Dr. Mary Radford, chair, UT Martin Department of Nursing.

Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.; the University of San Diego in San Diego, Calif.; the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing in Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., also received awards from Genex Services this year.

For more information on the scholarship or to inquire about applications, contact Radford at 731-881-7140 or by email at marye@utm.edu.

“Nursing,” from page 1

TOWN AND GOWN – Members of the University of Tennessee at Martin and the City of Martin Town and Gown Association gathered for lunch June 20 in the UT Martin Dunagan Alumni Center. The Town and Gown program seeks to provide a network of resources for campus and local community members to collaborate on area services, events, programs, commerce and education. Businesses that have committed to the program for five years are presented with a framed print and five annual membership medallions. Sam Lewallen (center), representing Simmons Bank, accepted the bank’s first medallion during the association lunch. He is pictured with city of Martin Mayor Randy Brundige (left) and UT Martin Interim Chancellor Dr. Bob Smith.

SUMMER TEACHING WORKSHOPS – Jeff Presson (foreground), Logan Hubble (back, left) and Zach Tippit (back, right), all teachers at McKenzie High School, measure beam deflections during a training workshop hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin in the month of June. They were among more than 250 West Tennessee teachers who participated in one of 13 different summer workshops. The training sessions focused on classroom organization and management, cooperating teacher strategies and engaging students in STEM-related subjects at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The workshops, offered to teachers free of charge, were sponsored by UT Martin’s Teacher Quality Partnership Grant, funded through the U.S. Department of Education.

Finish Your Degree

Reconnect with

Tuesday, July 19, 5–7 p.m. Welcome Center, Boling University Center

For more information, call (731)881-7701

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WestStar Leadership Program graduates 2016 classMembers of the 2016 WestStar

Leadership Class graduated June 21, in an event held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Jackson.

A reception was followed by dinner and the graduation ceremony. The University of Tennessee at Martin sponsors the WestStar Leadership Program.

This marked the program’s 27th class and brings the total to 769 graduates since WestStar was established in 1990.

The 2016 class included 30 participants who were competitively selected to learn new leadership skills and develop strategies for assisting communities in solving problems and maximizing potential.

2016 WESTSTAR CLASS – (front row, l-r) Carrie Ann Knox, Jackson; Jennifer Travis, Lexington; Kelly Codega, Memphis; Donna Craig, Paris; Elizabeth Pritchett, Martin; Beth Parnell, Jackson; Achana Jarrett, Brownsville; Mary Ann Sharpe, Brownsville; Shelly Matthews, Henderson; and Shawn Francisco, Dresden; (back row) Joseph Crone, Memphis; Dr. Brock Martin, Huntingdon; Jason Griggs, Milan; Mayor Justin Hanson, Covington; Greg Dozier, Rives; Joel Howard, Covington; Mayor Maurice Gaines Jr., Ripley; Mayor Chris Young, Trimble; Erric Kellum, Jackson; Mayor John Holden, Dyersburg; Whit Ashe, Savannah; Ron Gant, Rossville; Michael Overbey, Jackson; Bobby Williams, Rossville; Art Sparks Jr., Union City; Brooks McDonald, Bartlett; Ross Mitchell, Selmer; Charley Deal, WestStar executive director, Martin; Virginia Grimes, WestStar coordinator, Martin; and Mayor Carlton Gerrell, Paris.

Each WestStar class is chosen annually by the program’s board of trustees. Selection is based on leadership achievements and potential to contribute to West Tennessee’s development.

Participants are chosen from all occupations and levels of community and regional involvement.

Among those attending the event was interim Chancellor Bob Smith, WestStar co-founder and former executive director for the program, who thanked the 2016 class for their commitment to improving West Tennessee.

Charley Deal, associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and WestStar executive director, presided over the event.

He thanked the program’s corporate sponsors, offered a “year in review” of WestStar activities and presented graduation plaques along with the program’s board of trustees.

Deal also announced several WestStar awards, including the program’s two major recognitions:

•C.P. Boyd Leadership Award – Carrie Ann Knox, of Jackson, Kirkland Cancer Center. The award, named for Haywood County community leader and educator C.P. Boyd, is the person selected by the class who best reflects compassion and leadership for West Tennessee.

•Jimmy Daniel Make-A-Difference WestStar Leadership Alumni Award – James Ross, of

Jackson, WestStar Class of 2004, interim president and CEO, West Tennessee Healthcare.

The award is named for the late Jimmy Daniel, 1990 WestStar graduate, founding trustee member and a field representative during the Gov. Don Sundquist administration.

Selection criteria include a WestStar graduate who has had a positive impact in the recipient’s city or county during the past five years and a strong record of leadership in West Tennessee.

To learn more about the WestStar Leadership Program, contact Virginia Grimes, program coordinator, at 731-881-7298 or visit utm.edu/departments/weststar/.

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UT Martin hosts unusual visitors during summer programs

EXOTIC NEW FRIENDS – Shawna Adams, of the Natural History Educational Company of the MidSouth, visited the UT Martin campus June 27 and brought a few friends to visit students in the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Agricultural Sciences. Adams’ presentation included appearances by a fruit bat, a prairie dog, a blue-tongue skink and a Euroasia owl named Elliot (pictured).

DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURER – Legendary author Mark Twain made a visit to UT Martin on June 24 and spent time with scholars from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Humanities. Twain, played by Robert Valentine, a faculty member at Murray State University, recounted stories of his childhood days on the Mississippi River and left his audience crying tears of laughter at his tall tales.

Skyhawk football is coming!Do you know where your seats are?

Season tickets go on sale July 18.

Get yours early for the best selection

in the newly renovated Graham

Stadium.

Call Fran Spears, 881-7207

UT Martin online programs receive state, national recognition

UT Martin’s online degree programs have received both state and national recognitions in recent months.

The university is ranked third on TheBestSchools.org’s list of the best online colleges in Tennessee, and BestColleges.com specifically ranked the UT Martin online master’s degree in school counseling 17th in the nation among comparable programs.

TheBestSchools.org published its list earlier this spring and considers all of UT Martin’s online offerings holistically.

The ranking considers factors such as type and number of programs offered, program

quality, faculty strengths, and school awards, rankings and reputation.

UT Martin is listed in third place behind the University of Memphis, in first place, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in second.

The complete ranking can be found at www.thebestschools.org/tennessee-education/best-online-colleges-tennessee/.

The ranking by BestColleges.com, released June 29, focuses specifically on online master’s programs in school counseling and includes UT Martin in the top 20 most affordable programs.

The ranking is based on the

most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics and takes into account the percentage of degree-seeking students who take out student loans, the average loan amount, the institution’s loan default rate, and the average net price to earn the degree.

This complete ranking can be seen at www.bestcolleges.com/features/most-affordable-online-masters-in-school-counseling/.

For more information on UT Martin’s online programs, contact UT Martin Online at 731-881-7764 or visit www.utm.edu/onlinestudies.

Pat Head Summitt MemorialLive webcast, 6 p.m., July 14

Watkins Auditorium

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Summer STEM camps leave lasting impression on local students

BUILDING ROBOTS – UT Martin offered three different summer STEM camps to local students this year, thanks largely to funding from the Northwest Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub. These camps allow children in grades 6-10 to have hands-on interaction with the world of engineering, science and robotics. The students pictured built robots from the ground up, which they then programmed to complete a variety of tasks.

“Today we had to learn how to tell the distance our rockets went when we shot them up; we had to do all the calculations. We learned about trigonometry. I didn’t even know that was a thing,” said Emily Grace Bell, of Martin.

Bell, who attended Skyhawk STEM Camp at the University of Tennessee at Martin this summer, will be a freshman at Westview High School in the fall. She is one of 55 students who participated in one of UT Martin’s three STEM camps this summer.

Last year, it cost parents $195 per student to participate in these camps, putting the experience out of reach of many area families. However, thanks to funding from the Northwest Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub, registration for the 2016 camp sessions dropped to $45 per student.

“The Northwest Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub covered all equipment costs, snacks, general supplies and student intern stipends,” said Dr. Louis Glover, UT Martin professor of educational studies and director of the summer camps.

Thirty students also received scholarships to cover their camp fees. Eight of these were funded by the Martin Kiwanis Club, while 22 students were sponsored by individual faculty and staff members from across the UT Martin campus.

As a result, enrollment for STEMulation camp, designed for sixth through eighth grade students, jumped from fewer than 10 students in 2015 to 31 students this year. Eleven students attended Skyhawk STEM Camp (for rising ninth and 10th graders) and 20 participated in the special Skyhawk Engineering Camp.

A majority of these students came from Weakley and Obion

counties.“I think it’s a great

opportunity for the kids to build things and to learn and have fun all at the same time, which sometimes I don’t think they know is possible,” said Hannah Clayton, whose daughter, Melodi, participated in both Skyhawk STEM and Skyhawk Engineering camps.

Clayton’s feelings were echoed by Sheay McGehee, whose son, Grant, attended the engineering camp.

“It challenges all the different processes of thinking and problem solving,” she said. “(Grant) likes the hands-on and using his mind to be creative.”

The UT Martin camps allowed students to study physics, engineering, mathematics and robotics through hands-on building activities. Campers launched rockets, built earthquake towers, tested boomilevers, raced solar-powered cars and designed robots programmed to complete

specific tasks. The experience not only helps

campers understand concepts taught in their school classrooms, it also gives them a look into the world of engineering. Some of these students have always been interested in STEM-based career fields, while others were introduced to the industry for the first time.

“(Grant) has always been interested in engineering and robots and things like that,” said McGehee. “I know it’s something he says he would like to do in the future, so this will give him an idea of if he really likes this area or not.”

“He’s been building stuff ever since he was four or five years old,” said Todd Maxey, whose son, Parker, attended Skyhawk Engineering Camp. “I’d give him a box of stuff, and he just starts putting it together. … This is a really good opportunity for him to get out and try something of this scale.”

Glover, who has designed and

directed these camps since he joined the UT Martin faculty in 2011, taught in Louisiana and Texas for 23 years before moving to Tennessee. Having hosted dozens of science camps in his previous positions, Glover was disappointed to find that UT Martin did not have an existing science camp program and built the current curriculum from the ground up.

“Everyone knows the wave is STEM. Every industry that people try to bring into the state is STEM. Today a high school diploma doesn’t count for much. You have to go to community college or vocational school or something, and they want to know, ‘Do you know computers?’” explains Glover.

“It’s really important for girls. When I was in Dallas, I did solar cars. They were street-legal … and we raced them all over the country. I always made certain that I had females on the team because girls are told, ‘You

“STEM,” page 7

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“Questions and Answers” about UT Martin

•Question – The Office of Extended Campus and Online Studies is changed its name to the Office of Educational Outreach, effective July 1. Why this change?

•Answer – The name change, approved by the chancellor’s staff, was made to better reflect the office’s mission and work that expands university access and resources throughout West Tennessee. The results of a Qualtrics survey affirm the name-change decision. In the survey, 78 percent of the 230 UT Martin respondents (69 percent faculty and 95 percent administrators) supported the name change. The Office of Educational Outreach includes the five UT Martin centers, UT Martin Online, degree and non-degree programs and dual enrollment.

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

YoU Tell Me

The 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. Robert M. Smith – Interim Chancellor • Erin Chesnut – Addenda Editor

UT Martin is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA employer. E05-0425-00-001-16

addenda

Chancellor’s Search UpdatesVisit tennessee.edu/execsearch/utm-chancellor/ for the latest information on the search for a new UT Martin chancellor.

•July 8 – Summer I classes end•July 11– Summer I grades due•July 12 – Summer II classes begin•July 13 – Last day to drop/add summer II classes•July 14 – Summer II administrative drop•July 14 – Pat Head Summitt memorial event; webcast from Thompson-Boling Arena, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Watkins Auditorium; 6 p.m. Central Standard Time•July 15 – SOAR IV; Boling University Center; 7:30 a.m.•July 16 – Football camp, grades 9-12

Calendar don’t do engineering; you don’t do science.’ So I always made certain I had more girls than boys,” he said.

Glover hopes to make his STEM camps affordable and accessible to families of all income levels and promote STEM-based industries among all populations.

“This equipment is very expensive, and the average school can’t afford their own units in robotics. Each kit is $600. Because of the grant, we can serve 50 kids at a time,”

he said. “The seed has been planted, and hopefully (these students) will ask next summer, ‘Will he let us come back?’ and the answer will be, ‘Yes!’ So they’ll come back as seventh graders and hopefully as eighth graders and ninth graders and then, since they’ve always been on this campus, they’ll hopefully say, ‘I’m going to this college because when I was young, I was there every summer.”

“I’ll come back any time I can,” said Tyler Molands, a rising ninth-grader. “I just think it’s a lot of fun.”

The Northwest Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub is a collaborative effort between UT Martin and Dyersburg State Community College to support STEM education in regional schools, connect existing STEM assets and promote successful teaching in West Tennessee classrooms.

For more information about Skyhawk STEM Camps and how to get a child involved, contact Glover at 731-881-7214 or by email at lglover5@utm.edu.

“STEM,” from page 6

A special thank you to those faculty and staff members who sponsored a child to attend STEM

camp this summer!