December 2025
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College of Arts and Sciences Announces New Department Heads
Faculty members new and familiar take on leadership roles for College of Arts and Sciences departments. Three new faculty members joined the College of Arts and Sciences on January 1 in department head roles, adding to new departmental leadership announced in August 2025. They add their rich expertise and experiences to the college’s environment of…
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Scholar Spotlight: Mojca Kuplen
“I explore various ways that art engages our minds and, thereby, fosters self-understanding and empathy for others.” Mojca KuplenTeaching Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Philosophy My research reflects overlapping interests in the philosophy of art, contemporary aesthetics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. I am interested in how and why we come to appreciate artistic (and aesthetic)…
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Advantages Uncovered in Blue-Green Algae Colonies
UT microbiology research into cyanobacterial blooms reveals that colonies take on metabolic functions and resistance to viruses. An international team of researchers led by a visiting scholar at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is shedding light on the dynamics in cyanobacterial blooms that can threaten freshwater safety. By analyzing Microcystis spp. in single cells and…
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Scholar Spotlight: Anna Marshall
“As a fluvial geomorphologist I study how rivers shape the landscape and how people, in turn, shape rivers.” Anna MarshallAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Geography and Sustainability My research explores physical processes that sustain ecosystem functions in rivers and what it means for rivers when those processes are lost due to legacies of human activity. I identify…
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Delivering Vol Excellence
CATE shines a light of excellence on teaching at UT. The high caliber of teaching offered at UT is a cornerstone of the unparalleled experience for students at Rocky Top. The Community of Scholars for Advancing Teaching Excellence (CATE) was established within the College of Arts and Sciences to focus and build on this aspect…
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WGS Adds Women’s Health Degrees
Women, Gender, and Sexuality program keeps the interdisciplinary pace and launches new major and minor in women’s health. The Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS) interdisciplinary program gives UT students opportunities to explore the ways that these topics intersect to shape the past, present, and future of human cultures and societies. The curriculum connects classes from…
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Collins Takes the Vol Spirit to the Second Mile
Alumna Hannah Collins built her successful business on language and communications skills honed in the College of Arts and Sciences. Hannah Collins shaped her path as an entrepreneur on the strong communications skills and cultural understanding she developed as a Spanish major at UT. Early goals of possibly working at the United Nations grew into…
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Scholar Spotlight: Florence Dery
“I study how things like where people live, work, and go to school affect health. My goal is to understand the social conditions or non-medical factors that cause unfair differences in health.” Florence DeryAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Africana Studies There is a growing recognition that health inequities are not just biological or behavioral but deeply rooted…