Dr. Edward S. Joynes joined the faculty as professor of rhetoric and elocution in 1878, following his dismissal from Vanderbilt. Joynes was a member of the original Vanderbilt faculty but had been dismissed because his drinking habits (a penchant for imbibing wine and beer with meals acquired during his study in Europe) were unacceptable to … Continued

In August 1993 an endowed professorship in Judaic Studies was established within the Religious Studies Department. Its initial holder, Gilya Gerda Schmidt, developed a Judaic Studies program that in 1995 was named the Fern and Manfred Steinfield Program in Judaic Studies.

Since 2001 the College of Law has held a gala to raise money for the Julian Blackshear Scholarship, which helps to recruit and retain outstanding African American students. The scholarship is named for the third African American to earn the JD (1970) from the college, Julian W. Blackshear. He practiced law in Nashville for 36 … Continued

Faye Julian earned the bachelor’s (1959) at Tennessee Tech and the MA (1962) and PhD (1977) from UT. Her 1977 doctorate was the first awarded by the College of Communications. She moved to Knoxville with her husband, WJ Julian, who was appointed director of bands in 1961. Following completion of the master’s degree, she joined … Continued

Director of bands and professor of music education, Dr. WJ Julian came to the university in January 1961. He was a graduate of Tennessee Tech, veteran of World War II with service in the Pacific as a naval ensign, and held graduate degrees in music from Northwestern. Under his direction, the band grew in numbers, … Continued

In 1935 Lora Bond, a first-year UT student, won the Juliet Lowe Memorial Award, presented annually by the Girl Scouts of America in honor of the birthday of the Girl Scouts’ founder. Bond won a free trip to Switzerland, with side trips to England and France, for being the most outstanding Girl Scout in the … Continued

The JumboTron is a 44-foot by 28.5-foot video screen placed in the south end zone of Neyland Stadium in 1999. The board weighs 275 tons and is supported by a 132-foot by 51-foot superstructure. More than 600 tons of steel were involved in the construction. Footings for the structure are buried 52 feet deep, and … Continued

In 1928 the faculty passed (44 to 27) a requirement that all juniors would be required to take an examination to be sure that they could write expository prose satisfactorily. A writing laboratory was also opened to help students who did poorly on the junior English exam. From 1928 until 1970, all juniors spent two … Continued

May Justus, the author of 65 books for children and others telling the stories of Appalachia and offering lessons on living, was both author and activist. She had a long association with UT, having attended summer courses in 1923, 1929, 1930, 1934, and 1938. She completed UT correspondence courses in 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935, and … Continued