At the September 6, 2011, celebration of the life of the late Roger Lynn Stephens, it was announced that the Orchestra Library Collection would be named for him. Stephens, a baritone singer, served as director of the School of Music from 2001 to 2011 and during his last years as director fought a valiant battle … Continued

Martha E. Rogers enrolled at UT in 1931 in a pre-medical curriculum. She left UT after two years and enrolled in the diploma nursing program at the Knoxville General Hospital, from which she received the Diploma in Nursing in 1936. In 1937 she completed the BS in public health nursing at Nashville’s George Peabody College. … Continued

In 1973 Chancellor Jack Reese appointed a broadly based committee to develop a “role and scope” statement for UT Knoxville. It addressed societal and individual needs, needs inherent in the disciplines, student body composition, teaching, student services, research, public service, undergraduate education, graduate education, postdoctoral education, professional education, continuing education, the territorial question, new programs, … Continued

After years of complaints and jokes about the hours-long process of registration, “rolling registration” was introduced in fall 1990. Under the new system, there were four periods for students to hand in their scan forms to register in advance for classes, and each period had a corresponding drop-add date. Registration had been held in Ayres … Continued

In September 1939 the All Students’ Club broke with tradition and abandoned the traditional green freshman caps, adopting instead orange and white “rooter caps” sold to all classes by the Beaver Club (freshman caps did have a green button on the top, while all other caps had orange buttons). The hats served as the admission … Continued

The Rose Hole, a city park bounded by Sixteenth Street, Clinch Avenue, and White Avenue, was used for UT play and pep rallies. It was called the Rose Hole because the large, flat playground area had high banks that were filled with rose bushes. In 1953 the Knoxville Scottish Rite Bodies bought the site for … Continued

The Douglas V. Roseberry Award is the highest honor the Physics Department bestows on an undergraduate student. Douglas Roseberry was an energetic student with a penchant for physics and enthusiasm for participation in departmental and university extracurricular activities. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he was described by Alvin Nielsen, former department head, as “clearly … Continued

An Army Air Corps Unit was established within the ROTC program in 1946. With the passage of the Armed Forces Unification Act in September 1947, the name of the Army Air Corps was changed to United States Air Force. The full separation of the air force from the army was complete on July 11, 1949. … Continued

In 1952, for the first time in the history of military instruction on campus, the Air Force ROTC allowed women to enroll in a class. The new class, for future air officers, was World Political Geography and showed relationships between modern air power and world geography. The course did not lead to commissioning for the … Continued

UT’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 800 received the 2010 Right of Line Award, honoring it as the best of the nation’s 56 medium-sized Air Force ROTC Detachments. The competition measured performance in five categories: production of officers, education, recruiting and retention, university and public relations, and cadet activities.