The first faculty member to be awarded a Fulbright postgraduate fellowship was Dr. Alvin H. Nielsen, who spent the academic year 1951–52 in Liege, Belgium. In the summer of 1952, the first three UT students to be awarded Fulbright scholarships for international study were Mary J. Bell, John P. Blane, and William D. Foland.
Blair Gullion, who arrived to coach the men’s intercollegiate basketball team in 1935, was the first full-time basketball coach. (Men’s basketball began in 1909.) In his first season, the team went 15-6; won the SEC Basketball Tournament; and a member of that team, Harry Anderson, became UT’s first basketball All-American, being named in 1936.
Edwin Wiley, UT’s first full-time professional librarian, was appointed in 1892.
Although no official records survive of the specific fundraising efforts, the Blount College Building (completed in 1799) was paid for by public subscription. In 1803 Dr. Charles C. Coffin, then president of Greeneville College, recorded in his diary an informal meeting in March with the trustees of Blount College. At that meeting Blount College President … Continued
In 1960 the Alumni Association first held a phonathon, in which volunteers called alumni to solicit contributions to the annual giving campaign. The first national project was undertaken January 22–February 14, 1985. The national effort involved 55 students making phone calls four nights a week. More than 200 students applied for the 55 paid calling … Continued
The first geology field camp was held in 1949 near Sequatchie Valley.
Biophysicist Jeremy Smith was appointed in June 2006 as the first holder of a governor’s chair joint appointment between UT and ORNL. His appointment began October 1, 2006, at an annual salary of $230,000 and an ongoing discretionary research fund equal to his 12 months’ salary.
In 2007 UT became the nation’s first university certified by the Green Seal organization for its green cleaning practices (GS-42). UT began using green cleaning products in academic and administrative buildings in summer 2006. The certification applied to the seven buildings then cleaned by UT.
UT’s first “hothouse” was 20 feet by 13 feet and was built in 1880 at a cost of about $1,550. It was located on the hill behind the Agricultural Building (to the south of the current site of the Science and Engineering Building.)
Dr. Alvin Thaler, English Department, received the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a UT faculty member in 1929. The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1925 by US Senator and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim as a memorial to their son who died just before he was to go to college. The fellowships are for advanced … Continued