Initiated in 2009, this award by the Knoxville Alumni Association recognizes alumni (40 years old or younger) who have demonstrated distinctive achievement in their careers or civic involvement or both and who show great promise for the future. Four individuals were recognized in the initial year of the program:
Brannon Costello (PhD, 2004), assistant professor of English at Louisiana State University, wrote the groundbreaking book Plantation Airs: Racial Paternalism and the Transformation of Class in Southern Fiction; published in major journals in his field; cocurated an exhibition on the history of superhero comics; and sponsored a visiting lecture by James Sturm, award-winning cartoonist and graphic novelist.
Stephen Kennedy (BS, 1997), marketing manager with Rohm & Haas, received two vice president’s awards at Rohm & Haas for revitalizing a unit that was about to shut down; and was selected to participate in the Rohm & Haas Essential2Grow leadership program, which recognized his leadership potential.
Ali Safavi (JD, 2002; MBA, 2002), global director of account management at the Walt Disney Company, was responsible for over $1 billion worth of business overseeing feature animation for three continents; worked in brand management for Häagen-Dazs, Levi’s, Sara Lee, Procter & Gamble, and Hewlett-Packard; and launched the consumer air freshener Febreze while at Procter & Gamble.
Michael Thigpen (BS, 1991), associate director of the Botswana/US Prevention Research Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Gaborone, Botswana, was in charge of 90+ medical and clerical professionals charged with conducting joint HIV prevention research funded by the government of Botswana; he was a commander in the US Public Health Service Commission Corps.