Torchbearer: Spring 1997

Still Excellent after All these Years

Little more than a dozen years ago, Chairs of Excellence and Centers of Excellence were unheard of. UTK today has 16 Chairs and four Centers, made possible by funding from the state of Tennessee and by gifts and grants.

Since their founding in 1984&shyp;86, the Chairs and Centers have helped recruit and retain eminent faculty who teach and do research. The Chairs and Centers also have attracted funding from corporations and foundations, as well as providing service to University constituents.

The Centers are designated to receive special funding from the state. The statewide University has 10 Centers. The four at UTK are: Materials Processing, which conducts research to improve and strengthen materials such as those used in hip and knee replacements and in industrial tools; Livestock Diseases and Human Health, which works to protect the health of livestock and researches animal models for human disease; the Science Alliance, which combines resources of UTK and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in such efforts as heavy ion research, nuclear structure physics, and parallel computing; and Waste Management Research and Education, which finds solutions to problems of pollution and hazardous waste disposal as well as developing environmental policy.

The Chairs of Excellence were established by the state, which provides $500,000 toward each $1 million chair; the University matches the state contribution with private gifts. Throughout the UT statewide system, there are 49 Chairs. Sixteen of those are at UTK:

Racheff Chair in Ornamental Horticulture, held by Dr. Peter Gresshoff

Racheff Chair in Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Peter Liaw

Hodges Chair in English, Dr. J. Richard Finneran

Condra Chair in Computer Integrated Engineering and Manufacturing, Dr. Raymond Kreig

Condra Chair in Power Electronics Applications, Dr. Bimal Bose

Pilot Chair in Management, Dr. Lawrence James

J. Fred Holly Chair in Political Economy, Dr. Paul Davidson

Bernadotte E. Schmitt Chair in History, vacant

Chair of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Medical Writing, Dr. Mark Littmann

Shumway Chair in Romance Languages, Dr. Patrick Brady

Goodrich Chair in Waste Management and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Mriganka Ghosh

Clayton Homes Chair in Finance, Dr. James Wansley

College of Business Administration Chair in Policy Studies, Dr. John Mentzer

Benard Blasingame Chair in Agricultural Policy, Dr. Daryll Ray

Willis Lincoln Chair in Physics, Dr. John Quinn

Nancy Gore Hunger Chair in Environmental Studies, Dr. Daniel Simberloff