Charles Bell Burke, a graduate of Cornell whose dissertation, “The Open Road,” was the first doctoral dissertation on Walt Whitman, joined the English Department in 1909 and was in charge of subfreshman English and the regular freshman course.  At the upper division level, he introduced courses in the short story, the essay, and the novel. … Continued

See T, the.

Jay Bush graduated from the UT College of Business in 1986 with a major in transportation and logistics. He first went to work for a trucking company and then returned to Knoxville to take a position with the family business—Bush Brothers & Company. He is the adopted son of Condon Stout Bush (1937–2003). He and … Continued

Professor John McBryde taught the first course in the field of business education when he offered a course in phonography (a system of phonetic shorthand invented by Sir Isaac Pitman in 1837) in the 1879–80 session. In 1880–81 the trustees established a one-year business course including penmanship, bookkeeping, stenography, and associated studies. The one-year course … Continued

Funding for the 15,000-square-foot Business Incubator, located on the agriculture campus, was completed in 2005. The UT Research Foundation received $2.5 million in local, state, and federal grants for the facility. The federal money came as a matching grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) for funds contributed by UT, Knox County, the Tennessee … Continued

The Buskers Dinner Theatre, an all-student organization sponsored by the Theatrical Arts Committee (part of the Central Program Council), was formed in 1971. It took its name from the Buskers of Victorian England, who were theatrical people who parodied local folks, politics, and situations. The organization was formed to provide theatrical opportunities outside the UT … Continued

Ray Bussard was employed in 1966 to build a men’s swimming program, a sport that the university had discontinued in 1959. His first team, all freshmen, ended the 1968 season with a surprising second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference. The next year, his team won the Southeastern Conference title, and Tennessee swim teams began a … Continued

United American Bank Chairman Jake Butcher, Democratic candidate for governor, announced on December 15, 1978, a $500,000 gift from the bank to the Tennessee Tomorrow campaign to establish the C. H. Butcher Professor of Banking and Finance, in honor of the father of Jake and C. H. Butcher. The elder Butcher was a longtime banker … Continued

Jake Butcher attended the university in 1953–54 and 1959–61. He was a major figure in Tennessee banking and politics in the 1970s and early ’80s and was the chairman of the board of the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (1982 World’s Fair)—the driving force behind the successful fair. In 1968 he and his brother, Cecil H. … Continued

Dr. Butefish joined the university’s College of Education in 1967. He served as professor of curriculum and instruction and director of student teaching before his retirement in 1995. In 1992 he received an Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award; in 1993 he was the recipient of the L. R. Hesler Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service … Continued