In 1994 Dean Rice, senior in speech communication, along with 18 master’s and doctoral students, presented his research at the International Listening Association conference. The conference presents the Brown Award jointly with the Institute for Study of Interpersonal Processes. Rice was the award winner and the first undergraduate to receive the award. His research looked … Continued

In 1883, a time at which UT was embroiled in an acrimonious conflict about censorship and propriety in the campus press, two “underground” publications appeared. The Weekly Bulletin, hand lettered and nailed to the wall of the chapel, was “An Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Art” devoted to “the reformation of abuses in the U … Continued

Willard N. Albert, a New York native, was attending Duke University Law School when he entered the service in 1942. He was discharged in 1943 and entered the UT College of Law.  Albert is generally considered to be the first veteran in the nation to quality and register for VA Education Benefits

The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges recognized UT Professor of Comparative Medicine Dr. Sharon Patton as its 1999 teacher of the year. Earlier in the year she was chosen by her peers to receive the Norden Award, a national award that recognizes excellence in teaching in veterinary schools. Receiving the Norden award put Patton … Continued

Dr. Shenggang Liu was appointed in summer 1990 as UT’s first visiting distinguished professor. Liu, a specialist in microwave electronics, was on leave from the China Institute of Electronic Science and Technology, where he served as professor and president. At the time of his appointment, eight UT faculty held the title of “distinguished professor,” but … Continued

The first Volunteer of the Year Award, presented annually at the Chancellor’s Associates Banquet, was presented to Hugh and Emily Faust in 1987. The award is presented to a person whose “untiring service and devotion to The University and the community represent the Volunteer Spirit in the truest sense.”

Lemuel Purnell Montgomery, who had been a student at Blount College, was the first war casualty among alumni. He died in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama.

The 1925 Purnell Bill authorized federal funds for research in home economics. In 1932 the Home Economics Department was the first on campus to utilize white rats for its studies of vitamins.

In 1896 physical culture classes for women students were instituted, and in 1899 the first organized Women’s Athletics Association was formed, with Miss Curtis as president.

Gloria Ray was named Women’s Athletics Director in 1976.