The University of Tennessee at Martin Faculty and Staff Newsletter | November 30, 2015

addendaTennessee Teacher of the Year to visit UT MartinCathy Whitehead, Tennessee’s

2015-16 Teacher of the Year, will address UT Martin’s future teachers during a reception held Dec. 3.

Whitehead will tell her story “From UTM to Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year” and will share practical ideas for first-year teachers.

Whitehead, of Henderson, earned a Master of Science in curriculum and instruction and a reading specialist endorsement from UT Martin in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

She currently teaches third grade at West Chester Elementary in Chester County, where she received the Teacher of the Year Award for the 2014-15 school year.

She is also serving a two-year term on Gov. Bill Haslam’s inaugural Governor’s Teacher Cabinet, which meets quarterly to advise the governor on educational policy and discuss

information from the classroom. She will represent Tennessee

in the National Teacher of the Year competition in April 2016.

The UT Martin reception will honor those students completing their student teaching experiences along with the cooperating teachers and principals who accepted the challenge of preparing them for their future careers.

The Carl Seale Outstanding Student Teacher Award, established by Seale’s wife and children, and the Jodi Woods Award for an Outstanding Special Education Student Teacher, established by the late Dr. Crystal Whitlow, will also be presented during the reception.

For more information, contact Kimberly Castleman, coordinator, Department of Educational Studies, at 731-881-7215 or by email at kcastlem@utm.edu.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR – Cathy Whitehead, a UT Martin alumna, has been named the 2016 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. The Chester County resident will visit UT Martin and speak to future teachers on Dec. 3.

University earns Level I Arboretum statusThe Tennessee Urban Forestry

Council has declared the UT Martin campus an official Level I Certified Arboretum. The announcement was made during a ceremony Nov. 19 in the garden area between Brehm Hall and the Hall-Moody Administration Building.

Established arboretum sites educate the general public on types of trees and their names, uses and benefits to the environment and the local community. Property owners

and institutions must apply with the TUFC to be considered for arboretum status.

A Level I distinction indicates that a property has 30-60 different species of trees identified and labeled for public viewing.

The Level I certification will be active for the next five years. The official Tennessee certified arboretum sign can be viewed in the garden area where the announcement ceremony was held.

Dr. Eric Pelren, wildlife biology professor in the Department of Agriculture, Geosciences, and Natural Resources, was joined by members of the Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Interim Chancellor Bob Smith, Martin Mayor Randy Brundige and others for a brief program to celebrate the achievement. Dr. Roberto Mancusi, associate professor of music, added a special touch to the celebration by performing the “Trees” poem by Oscar Rasbach.

Pelren, who also serves as adviser to the Wildlife Society chapter, recognized the students’ work and also thanked the Tree Board of Martin, Inc., and tree board president Carmen Pendergrass for their support.

The city of Martin is certified by Tree City USA, a program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. UT Martin is also working toward certification by a similar program for colleges and universities called Tree

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Charley Deal will be promoted from assistant to associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and annual giving effective Jan. 1, 2016. Deal guides UT Martin’s alumni and annual giving operations and has been employed at the university since 1992. He assumed alumni relations responsibilities in 2004 in addition to serving as executive director of the WestStar Leadership Program. Deal earned both his bachelor’s and MBA degrees from UT Martin.

Dr. Sean Walker, assistant professor of management, Department of Management, Marketing, and Information Systems, will present his papers titled “The Low (Wo)man on the Totem Pole–The Importance of Organizational Members Involvement on the Subsistence of Workplace Bullying” and “The Impact of Workplace Rhetoric on Prevalence of Workplace Bullying” at the Academy of Business Research Spring Conference in New Orleans, La., on March 23-25, 2016.

Dr. Mahmoud Haddad, professor of finance, Department of Accounting, Finance, Economics and Political Science, accompanied 15 students to the Student-Managed Investment Fund Consortium Conference on Nov. 5-6 in Terre Haute, Ind. The students presented a report describing their management of the TVA investment fund, which totals approximately $600,000. Pictured above are (l-r, front row) HanJing Jia, Christopher Mullins, Blake Parham, Houston Cozart, Dimitric Brown, Haddad, Mohammed Alyousef, Mohsin Aleirani, Ashley King, (l-r, back row) ) Ryan Stevenson, Andrew Terrell, Jonathan Kelly, Casey McNeil, Mark Graubner, Ahmad Almaloogi, Mohammed Alamro.

Walker’s work “Expectations versus Performance: Which One Impacts Perceptions of Job Satisfaction?” has also been accepted for publication in the “Academy of Business Research Journal,” volume II, 2016.

Rally held Nov. 24 in support of physical plant workersUT Martin students organized a rally Nov. 24 to voice concerns about the possible outsourcing of university facilities management jobs

to a private company by the state. The rally began at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Hall-Moody Administration Building and was attended by more than 40 students, faculty,

staff and others. The peaceful rally was covered by campus, local and area media. Public higher education has an option to “opt out” of outsourcing facilities management if doing so would not make financial sense for

colleges and universities.

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Campus USA.Flint Perkins, a senior natural

resources management major from Scotts Hill, was among the Wildlife Society chapter members who participated in the project. He and his fellow chapter members “located, identified and tagged 32 species of trees” in the quadrangle to fulfill certification requirements Perkins said in a subsequent interview.

The locations of the trees were saved to GPS receivers and placed on a computer program known as Arc GIS. Dr. Sandy Mehlhorn, associate professor of agricultural engineering, helped the students geo-reference the locations onto a base map of Tennessee. “Doing this will greatly help future students when they seek next levels of arboretum (certification),” Perkins said.

Achieving the next three levels of Arboretum certification requires 30 additional species of trees to be identified, located and tagged each time. The highest certification, Level IV, requires 120 trees. “After this level (Level I), each level requires that a map be made to be able to find each tree so people can make self-guided tours around campus to locate the trees,” Perkins said.

The educational value of the work is evident, but Perkins also sees another reason to celebrate the achievement. “Well, the certification in a nutshell is recognition for a lot of hard work that the grounds-keeping staff, students and faculty have put into gaining the certification,” he said. “… It (the certification) brings pride to our campus.”

For more information, contact Pelren at 731-881-7263 or by email at epelren@utm.edu.

A NEW ARBORETUM – Dr. Eric Pelren, wildlife biology professor, explained the importance of the new arboretum status.

POETIC TOUCH – Dr. Roberto Mancusi, associate professor of music, performed the poem “Trees” by Oscar Rasbach.

GROUP EFFORT – A number of students helped with the identification and mapping process which allowed the campus to qualify for arboretum status. More than 30 species of trees on the UT Martin main campus have been labeled and added to a mapping site so that interested visitors can easily locate and examine each type. Pictured around the certified arboretum sign are (standing, l-r) Colton Barber, Dalton Smith, Baylee West, Interim Chancellor Bob Smith, Brandon Weber, Andre Delcalzo, Madilyn Peay, Jocee Blanton, Austin Parsley, Brant Luker, Will Lindsey, Flint Perkins, Dylan Enochs, Jonas Cothren, Gunner Boucher, Dr. Eric Pelren, Martin Mayor Randy Brundige, (kneeling, l-r) Emmie Donaldson and Lauren Taylor.

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Student refunds available starting in January

Several important changes will occur in January in the Bursar’s Office to benefit students, improve office efficiency and increase security for personal credit card information.

Effective January 2016, student refund checks will no longer be available for pickup from the cashier windows in the Hall-Moody Administration Building. Students can either receive their refund check at the mailing address listed in their Banner account or have the check directly deposited into their banking account.

The change will create two benefits: Students will no longer have to wait in line for their

refund checks, and efficiency within the Bursar’s Office will improve.

Also effective in January, the Bursar’s Office will no longer accept credit card payments by telephone. Credit card payments will continue to be accepted online through Banner, and students can still pay by check or cash. This change will improve security for personal credit card information.

Students have been notified about these changes in multiple ways, including the MyUTMartin portal, the Parent Portal, social media and the bursar’s webpage.

CUTTING STIGMAS – Ashleigh Burton, a senior communications student, spoke during the Stigma Cutting Ceremony hosted Nov. 17 by Student Health and Counseling Services. The event was intended to combat social stigmas that may prevent students from seeking help to address mental illness issues. Jenifer Hart, clinical coordinator with Student Health and Counseling Services, addressed various ways faculty, staff and students can help challenge these stigmas, and Phyllis Hammer, student services specialist with the Office of Campus Recreation, discussed the ways in which campus recreation facilities can serve as additional resources for those seeking to maintain mental health.

UT Martin supports local

communityStudents from the University

of Tennessee at Martin animal science program and the university’s chapter of the Student Cattlemen’s Association donated approximately 600 pounds of pork to We Care Ministries before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Jimmy Tosh, of Tosh Farms in Henry, donated eight hogs to the university to give students hands-on experience working with the livestock.

Students enrolled in a variety of animal science courses were able to work with the animals to study their habits and nutritional needs.

The UT Martin Student Cattlemen’s Association donated the money needed to process four of the hogs, which were then donated to We Care Ministries.

“UT Martin is training

employees for the agricultural community in this rural area, so we want to provide the students not only with connections to local farmers and producers, but

also with a sense of community and giving back to those who help support them,” said Dr. Emalee Buttrey, assistant professor of animal science and

faculty adviser to the Student Cattlemen’s Association.

For more information, contact Buttrey at 731-881-7255 or by email at ebuttrey@utm.edu.

GIVING BACK – Pictured at We Care Ministries (l-r) are Julie Smith, a junior from Ramer; Riley Pitts, a senior from Erin; Bobbie House, We Care volunteer; Charles Birdwell, Birdwell Deer Processing; Ray Parker, We Care volunteer; Alicia Sheffield, We Care food bank manager; and Dr. Emalee Buttrey, assistant professor of animal science.

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Martin Kiwanis Club and City of Martin Christmas Parade will be held starting at 7 p.m.,

Monday, Dec. 7.

For entry forms, go to martinkiwanisclub.org or Martin Kiwanis Club on Facebook.

Calendar•Nov. 30 – University orchestra concert; Fulton Theatre; 7:30 p.m.•Dec. 1 – Men’s basketball at University of Missouri-Kansas City; 7:05 p.m.•Dec. 1 – Wind ensemble concert; Fulton Theatre; 7:30 p.m.•Dec. 2 – Retirement reception for Dr. John Overby, chair, Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems; Business Administration, room 100; 3-4:30 p.m.•Dec. 2 – Women’s basketball vs. Alabama; Elam Center; 5:30 p.m.•Dec. 2 – Unspoken concert with JJ Weeks Band and David Dunn; Elam Center following basketball game; approx. 7:30 p.m.•Dec. 3 – Senior engineering poster display; Johnson EPS Building first floor hallways; 11 a.m.-1 p.m.•Dec. 3 – Speaker: Dr. Eric Abraham, “The Coldest

Physics;” Andy Holt Humanities Building, room 121; 6 p.m.•Dec. 4 – Fall 2015 classes end•Dec. 4 – League of Striving Artists Holiday Art Bazaar; Fine Arts Building Gallery; 11 a.m.-7 p.m.•Dec. 4 – Campus master plan presentation; Boling University Center, room 111; 2 p.m.•Dec. 4 – Retirement reception for Dr. Scott Roberts, professor of music; Fine Arts Building lobby; 3-3:30 p.m.•Dec. 4 – Chancellor’s Open House; Boling University Center, room 206; 3:30 p.m.•Dec. 5-11 – Final exams•Dec. 5 – Women’s basketball vs. Samford; Elam Center; 2 p.m.•Dec. 5 – League of Striving Artists Holiday Art Bazaar; Fine Arts Building Gallery; 10 a.m.-4 p.m.•Dec. 5 – Tuba Christmas concert; Fulton Theatre; 3 p.m.•Dec. 6 – Holiday at UTM concert; Fulton Theatre; 3 p.m.

“Questions and Answers” about UT Martin

•Question – Who sets the university’s holiday and administrative closing schedule, and how far ahead is this schedule known?

•Answer – The University of Tennessee sets

administrative holidays and closings for all UT campuses and units. The current holiday and closing schedule is set through 2020. The entire list can be viewed at http://humanresources.tennessee.edu/closing_schedules.html.

Submit your questions to the Suggestion Box link at www.utm.edu.

YoU Tell Me

The University of Tennessee at Martin – Published weekly during the academic year and biweekly during the summer by UT Martin, Martin, TN 38238• Dr. Joseph DiPietro – President, University of Tennessee System • Dr. Robert M. Smith – Interim Chancellor • Nathan Morgan – Addenda Editor

UT Martin is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA employer. E05-0425-00-001-16

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