This section of Dialogue features external media coverage faculty, staff, and students in our college received. Links are sourced from UT System News Roundup.
Arts & Humanities
WATE: UT’s Carousel Theatre being replaced (Theatre)
The University of Tennessee’s Carousel Theatre is being replaced, following a $5 million gift from UT System President Randy Boyd. We are told the new Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre, name after Boyd’s wife, will provide state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure. UT’s college drama program was ranked eighth in the world by Hollywood Reporter in 2020.
News Sentinel: Bearden High graduate is now a screenwriter in Los Angeles (English)
The interest and inspiration continued as he went to the University of Tennessee and took a creative writing class from Margaret Lazarus Dean while majoring in English. “She was probably the biggest influence on me as a writer,” he said.
WBIR: ‘I have to own who I am’ | UT’s first Black woman student president leaving behind legacy, on and off campus (English/Africana Studies)
Last year, University of Tennessee students elected the university’s first-ever Black woman as the student body president — Karmen Jones. At the time, Jones had no idea how big of a task she’d be facing. As the student president, she led the school through the COVID-19 pandemic and several racial injustice movements that engulfed communities across the U.S. She graduates next week and will leave behind important changes. “I don’t think students are scared to speak up now, and I think that’s been missing for a long time,” said Jones. “This was the most intense amount of pressure I think I’ve ever felt in my life.” She only had one year as the student body president to make a difference and help the campus community.
Natural Sciences
ScienceMag.org: Driving for a difference (Microbiology)
Bikash Bogati, a graduate student in microbiology, published an essay reflecting on his character. Bikash is an international student from Nepal who began volunteering during his doctorate work.
Phys.Org: New study shows microbes trap massive amounts of carbon (Microbiology)
Violent continental collisions and volcanic eruptions are not things normally associated with comfortable conditions for life. However, a new study, involving University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Associate Professor of Microbiology Karen Lloyd, unveils a large microbial ecosystem living deep within the earth that is fueled by chemicals produced during these tectonic cataclysms. Also on ScienceMag.org: Microbes are siphoning massive amounts of carbon from Earth’s tectonic plates
WBIR: Out of this world achievement: UT scientist, professor elected to National Academy of Sciences (Earth & Planetary Sciences)
University of Tennessee scientist and professor emeritus Harry “Hap” McSween has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, which recognizes distinguished achievements in research.
WVLT: Back from Arctic Circle, UT researchers study thawing permafrost (Microbiology)
From polar bears to Rocky Top, University of Tennessee scientists are heading home from the Arctic Circle. Their multimillion dollar project was put on ice by COVID. Now, they’re drilling into the ice.
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Scientists seek clues to microplastics problem through ‘pickled fish’ time capsule (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Looking like a cupboard full of preserves made by a river-faring grandmother, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s collection of thousands of “pickled” fish could offer a 56-year look back to when microplastics, fish and humans were first becoming connected in the Tennessee River Valley. Until now, there have been no long-term, freshwater studies on microplastics pollution, but TVA and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville are trying to change that.
Social Sciences
The Washington Post: ‘I started crying uncontrollably’: Dealing with mixed emotions over the pullout from Afghanistan (Psychology)
Experiencing such a mixture of emotions can be disorienting and difficult. “This is often a confusing experience, as we don’t have much practice with mixed feelings and don’t expect them,” said Jeff Larsen, a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee. “It’s important to give yourself permission to have all these emotions. The good news is that having at least some positive emotions in the mix can make it easier to deal with the negative ones.”