In 1945 Mr. and Mrs. J. Kennedy Craig gave the university a collection of several hundred perfect specimens of Florida and Pacific seashells, assembled over a six-year period. The collection memorialized their son, Captain Brown Atkin Craig, who was killed in action on November 4, 1944. He had left UT as a junior to volunteer … Continued

Abbreviation for the Southeastern Conference, the athletic conference in which UT teams play.

The SEC network launched on August 14, 2014. To meet broadcast needs of the network and to provide opportunities for students to train in TV production, the UT Athletics Department added the $10 million Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio on the ground floor of the Brenda Lawson Athletics Center. The studio was equipped with … Continued

Tennessee’s 1989 men’s game in Thompson-Boling Arena against Kentucky set the SEC regular-season record with a crowd of 25,610. The capacity of Thompson-Boling was reduced to 21,678 prior to the 2007–8 season by the addition of premium seating—luxury suites and loge seating.

In 1988 Karen Rosen of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution complained to SEC Commissioner Harvey Schiller that Vanderbilt Athletics Director Roy Kramer slammed a locker room door in her face and told her “no girls allowed” after Vanderbilt played Georgia at Georgia. The athletics directors for SEC universities approved a policy recommended by Schiller that universities must … Continued

Security cameras were first installed at entrances to residence halls in 1985. Installation at all halls was completed in 1993, with the addition of cameras at Morrill, Hess, and Melrose.

Margaret Rhea Seddon, who earned the MD degree at UT’s Medical College in 1973, became a NASA astronaut in 1979. A three-flight veteran with over 722 hours in space, she was a mission specialist on STS 51D (1985) and STS-40 (1991) and was the payload commander on STS-58 in 1993. She retired from NASA in … Continued

Upon recommendation of the College of Law, the UT Board of Trustees approved awarding an honorary doctorate of laws to John Seigenthaler at the spring 2013 College of Law spring commencement. A Nashville native, Seigenthaler worked at the Tennessean for 43 years, moving up from reporter to assistant city editor to special assignment editor and … Continued

UT initiated the Semester in Wales at the University of Wales at Swansea in fall 1988. Students are full participants in the life of the university, and a UT faculty member is in residence to direct the program. Students attend the university from September until December, taking classes in British literature, history, politics, and Welsh … Continued

The UT chapter of the national military organization Semper Fidelis was chartered on January 10, 1961. Students enrolling in officer training programs of the US Marine Corps were eligible for membership.