Visions, Fall 2012: The Tennessee Tech University Alumni Magazine

TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY | FALL 2012

A Time for Service and Growth President Bob and First Lady Gloria Bell

Civil Engineering professor wins 2011 Caplenor Award

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THE INNOVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES Tennessee Tech University professor Faisal Hossain has made in civil engineering have earned him the 2011 Caplenor Faculty Research Award, one of the university’s highest awards. He has researched the effects of dams and reservoirs on local climate; developed new models for using satellites to monitor and improve the prediction of rainfall; and raised awareness of the international transboundary flood problem.

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TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY | FALL 2012

Highlights | 2 Features | 8-15 • The Life of Bob Bell • She’s a Lady 3

Athletics | 16 Alumni | 20 Class Notes | 26

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR Karen Lykins MANAGING EDITOR Dewayne Wright CONTRIBUTORS Queena Jones, Lori Shull, Rob Schabert DESIGN Meredith Purcell ‘07, Lorie Worley, Dewayne Wright PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Carothers ’75, John Lucas, Brenda Taylor, Rob Schabert TENNESSEE TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Julie Mills Galloway ’92, ’95 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tracey Narrie Duncan ’88 ADVISORY BOARD Todd Blandin ’92; Alan Guinn ’75; Randy Keifer ’85; Becky Roberson Magura ’80, ’81; Betty Lawson Mcdowell ’51; Lem Mcspadden ’71; Tammy Hayes Reynolds ’97; Eddie Roberts ’85; Bedelia Hicks Russell ’97; Don Welch ’63; Randy Wilmore ’82 Visions is published by Tennessee Technological University for alumni and friends. Correspondence welcome: Mail to Office of Communications & Marketing, Box 5056, Cookeville, TN 38505-0001, call 931-372-3214, or e-mail visions@tntech.edu.

Advertising rates available on request. Tennessee Tech’s website is located at www.tntech.edu. Visions is online at www.tntech. edu/visions. For the most up-to-date information on alumni activities, visit www.ttualumni.org or call 1-800-889-8730.

Tennessee Technological University is one of 45 institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest system of higher education in the nation. The TBR governs six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 area technology centers. TBR schools enroll more than 200,000 students in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. 080-PDF-13/An AA/EEO/Title IX/Section 504/ADA university.

HIGHLIGHTS

Faisal Hossain, a civil engineering professor, received one of the university’s highest awards for his work on researching the effect of dams and reservoirs on local climates.

Civil engineering professor wins 2011 Caplenor Award THE INNOVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES Tennessee Tech University professor Faisal Hossain has made in civil engineering have earned him the 2011 Caplenor Faculty Research Award, one of the university’s highest awards.

Hossain joined the TTU faculty in 2004. Since then, he has researched the effects of dams and reservoirs on local climate; developed new models for using satellites to monitor and improve the prediction of rainfall; and raised awareness of the international transboundary flood problem.

“The research conducted by Dr. Hossain since joining our faculty is truly cross-disciplinary and offers potential to fundamentally change the civil engineering profession,” said David Huddleston, professor and chair of TTU’s civil and environmental engineering department.

“His contribution to the body of knowledge also stands to benefit the impoverished people of developing nations adapting to a changing climate of increasing water scarcity, natural hazards and insurmountable hydro-political hurdles.”

Hossain’s work has led to $1.75 million in grants and led to more than 100 publications and professional presentations.

“It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Faisal – he is an energetic, personable, extremely knowledgeable and excellent researcher,” said C.K. Shum, a professor and distinguished university scholar at the Ohio State University. “He has demonstrated his effectiveness in conducting high-caliber research in hydrology and has attracted significant amounts of external funding from various funding entities including NASA,

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the National Science Foundation and industry.”

The Caplenor Award, first presented in 1984, is TTU’s premier research award and is named in honor of Donald Caplenor, former associate vice president for research and dean of instructional development. Caplenor died in 1979.

In his seven years at TTU, Hossain has published 85 peerreviewed papers and led 30 technical seminars or presentations.

He also reviews proposals for the National Science Foundation, and serves or has served as a regular reviewer for more than 20 journals. He was the associate editor of the Journal of American Water Resources Association from 2006-10. Hossain is chief editor for Water Encyclopedia, and he recently served as a guest editor for the book, Satellite Rainfall Applications for Surface Hydrology.

“Faisal Hossain is an innovative researcher and outstanding teacher,” said College of Engineering Dean Joseph Rencis, who also holds the Clay N. Hixson Chair for Engineering Leadership.

“Among other recognitions, he presented to the U.S. Congress on how dams impact water supply, irrigation and hydropower.”

In that presentation, Hossain recommended the drafting of a policy to allow more flexible management of the nation’s dams.

During his time at TTU, Hossain has received other awards, including the 2010 Education Excellence Award from the National Association of Environmental Professionals and the 2009 Outstanding New Faculty Research Award from the American Society of Engineering Education.

TTU students re-engineer items to make everyday tasks easier Engineering students at Tennessee Tech have modified some common, everyday items to give children and adults with physical limitations the means to exercise, eat, study and work.

A Livingston teenager is getting into the habit of exercising now that she has a stationary bike at home. Ivy Grace Linder, a seventh-grader at Livingston Middle School, rides the bike a few miles every day. For motivation, she said she sometimes imagines going out for a Diet Coke or traveling to a fun destination on “Clyde,” the nickname she has given to the bike.

Ivy Grace Linder, a blind teenager, uses ‘Clyde,’ her stationery bike which was customized by TTU engineering students.

Ivy Grace is blind, so her family welcomed the idea of having TTU students customize a bike for her.

Christopher Bowman of Bradyville, Ryan Choate of Madison, Aaron Hamilton of Jackson, Brandon Jones of Oak Ridge and Brandon Garrett of Jamestown put in several 10hour days to modify the bike. They added a guide bar, redesigned the pedals to support her ankles, and put the adjustable seat on a turntable so she can get off and on easily.

The students altered the control panel so Ivy Grace can connect an MP3 player. The music only plays if she pedals at a continuous speed, so the change helps her stay motivated. The bike is electromagnetic, so there are no power cords to tangle in the foot pedals. With magnets powering the bike, Ivy Grace determines the resistance according to how fast or hard she pedals.

Each semester TTU partners with the Tennessee Department of Education to select projects for teams of junior and senior engineering students to help people of all needs and abilities. In return, students get real-world design experience.

One team designed a desk, mouthpiece holder and mouse stand to enable a woman with limited mobility to operate a computer with a mouthpiece, using only slight neck movements.

Sean Gilbert of Hendersonville, Ashley Jaeger of Chattanooga, Chase Ray of Harriman and Dustin Ryion of Waverly built a new table that raises and lowers easily and is supported by jack stands and powered by gas shocks.

Through student effort, a three-year-old girl with cerebral palsy is riding a pink tricycle that she can steer with one hand. The child has mobility limitations, but Jeremy Cook of Pikeville,

Jeb Stuart of Hilham, Jay Hannan of Murfreesboro and Jake Moultrie of McEwen modified a tricycle that suits her perfectly.

With limited strength in her left foot and hand, pedaling and steering were difficult on a standard tricycle. She can operate her new motor-powered bike using only her right hand. Since the motor only runs with continuous pressure from the rider, it powers down quickly for safety.

TTU students Zachary Demko of Oak Ridge, George Gulas of Chattanooga, Jonathan Bentley of Lebanon and Devin Johnson of Tracy City built a feeding device for a young man who is unable to grasp things like silverware. On the device, he taps a button and a spoon lowers into a bowl, scoops the food and raises the spoon to his mouth.

“The best benefit is it gives him more independence, with the ability to eat by himself,” said Demko.

Stephen Canfield, professor of mechanical engineering at TTU, directs the students on the projects, which provide a direct link between classroom theory and the challenges of solving realworld problems.

“Students are placed in the role of a practicing engineer, with the job of designing, developing, building and delivering an assistive technology device for someone with special needs,” Canfield said. “My hope is that the projects will help students better understand the positive impacts they can have on society throughout their engineering careers.”

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 3

Livingston native named Student Regent to Board of Regents FOR THE SECOND TIME in three years, a Tennessee Tech University student spoke for the more than 200,000 students in the Tennessee Board of Regents system.

Gatts

Junior Lee Gatts was appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to the 18-member board as student regent. He held the position for the 2011–2012 academic year.

“I was honored to fulfill the position as Student Regent for the TBR and to represent the 200,000-plus students in Tennessee this year,’” the political science major said.

As Regent, the Livingston native had a vote on all issues facing the board. At the start of his term, he said he looked forward to weighing in on key issues of funding and administration, but he also hoped to reach out to as many students as possible and let them know they have a voice.

“Serving as a member of student government for the past two years has really shown me what an impact students can really have,” Gatts said. “I wanted to broaden my horizons and reach out to more students to try to improve the college experience for all of us.”

The son of Tim and Angie Sells of Livingston, Tenn., and Donnie Gatts of Algood, Tenn., Lee served as president of TTU’s student government association, video coordinator of the football team and a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduation, he plans to go to law school.

In 2009-10, Sean Ochsenbein also served as Student Regent of the TBR. Ochsenbein graduated in May 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

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TTU receives $1.1 million NSF grant to train STEM teachers TENNESSEE LACKS GRADE SCHOOL TEACHERS, especially in math and science, but two professors at Tennessee Tech University are doing their part to offset the shortage.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded TTU physics professor Steve Robinson and mathematics education professor Holly Anthony a $1.1 million grant to encourage TTU science, technology, engineering and math majors to get their teaching licenses.

“There are some school districts that don’t even offer some of the sciences,” Robinson said. “We need to have the best teachers we possibly can in our schools and this is a way of producing wellprepared teachers in these subject areas.”

The grant, to be issued over a five-year period, will create 24 teachers to help fill the void in the state’s classrooms. The money will go to scholarships, internships and memberships to professional organizations to help TTU students transition to teaching after graduation. The program will partner with schools in Fentress, Jackson, Overton, Pickett and Putnam counties to give TTU students experience in the classroom.

Students in the program will work on their STEM bachelor’s degrees, then return to TTU for a one-year post-baccalaureate program in education. During the last year of the program, they will sit for the state’s teacher certification exams.

“Students’ success in STEM begins with their teachers,” Anthony said. “The training of STEM teachers is crucial in this era of rigorous standards and high accountability.”

Opportunities to help with programs at TTU’s Millard Oakley STEM Center also will be available to STEM majors who consider enrolling in the program. TTU sophomores, juniors and seniors will be eligible for the program.

Robinson and Anthony are working with individual academic departments so the extra courses will count as electives toward a STEM major to keep students’ graduation dates on schedule.

After five years, the pair said they hope to renew the grant and continue the program.

“TTU is a great place to do this work because we have a large pool of people in these disciplines from which to draw,” Robinson said. “We are the tech school of Tennessee.”

Robert Mann, a U.S. Air Force veteran, donated 18 boxes filled with documents, photos, videos and manuals about B-29 bombers.

Veteran donates World War II B-29 collection to TTU WITH THE INFORMATION CONTAINED in 18 boxes of documents, photos, videos and manuals housed in the Jennette and Angelo Volpe Library archives at Tennessee Tech University, a good mechanic could probably build a B-29.

The boxes are a new archival acquisition, donated by U.S. Air Force veteran Robert Mann, of Cookeville. Mann has spent more than three decades tracking down and collecting B-29 memorabilia. His collection includes the serial numbers, aircraft names and ultimate fate of most of the more than 3,900 B-29s that were built during World War II. “One day, I said to myself, ‘I wonder what happened to 4462094?’ That was my airplane,” Mann said. “I started digging around and it grew like Topsey.”

Mann joined the Air Force after he graduated high school. He spent two years in the early 1950s in Guam, part of a ground crew for a B-29 converted for weather reconnaissance. During that time, his squadron also tracked typhoons and radiation from the nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific. He left the Air Force in 1952 as a sergeant.

“I loved the airplane,” he said. “The engines, I don’t feel the same way about the engines. They were oil leakers, you’d have a few leaks that you’d have to fix after every flight.”

After working the flight lines for three years and his years of research, Mann can give all the reasons why the plane and engines had problems. The plane’s production was rushed; they were mass produced without prototype testing and each plane came off the assembly line with a list of modifications that had to be made because of engineering design changes.

Boeing submitted the first XB-29 to the Army in 1939, before the U.S. entered World War II. Among the B-29’s innovative features were guns that could be fired remotely and pressurized crew areas. The earliest B-29s were built before testing was finished, and the first flight of a B-29 was Sept. 21, 1942, according to Boeing. All of the B-29s were built in the U.S. at factories in Atlanta; Renton, Wash.; Wichita, Kan.; and Omaha, Neb.

Production ended in 1946.

Mann’s collection lists where each plane was made, which modification center it went to and how long it spent there, which base it went to for overseas deployment and the date it left the U.S. He has written five books about the B-29s and their history.

“If it exists and it’s about a B-29, we probably have – if not the actual thing – at least a reference to it,” said TTU archivist Mancil Johnson. “With the stuff that’s in these boxes and a decent machine shop, you could probably build a B-29.”

The B-29 was the heaviest production plane, grossing up to 140,000 pounds because of its 5,000-mile maximum range and 20,000-pound bomb load. With a top speed of more than 300 mph, the bomber had an 11-member crew, 12.50 caliber machine guns and one 20 mm cannon.

The U.S. used B-29s in the China-Burma-India and Pacific theaters during World War II. As many as 1,000 B-29s at a time bombed Tokyo from the Marianas Islands, and the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Three days later a second B-29, Bockscar, dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered.

“It’s the airplane that basically caused Japan to surrender. Not just the atom bombs, there were no strategic targets left in Japan

by June of 1945,” Mann said. “There was nothing but ashes; they burned the country to the ground. And they were starving them to death with the aerial mining all of the shipping lanes coming into the islands.”

After the war, B-29s were adapted for several functions, including in-flight refueling, anti-submarine patrol, weather reconnaissance and rescue duty. The B-29 saw military service again in Korea between 1950 and 1953. The last active B-29 was retired from service in September 1960.

The collection fits well with Tennessee Tech’s history. During World War II, TTU offered training for young men who wanted to be in the Air Force but needed some basic training before attending bombardier school or pilot training.

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 5

Engineering students join effort to find missing pilot in Venezuela Bob Edwards (far right) speaks to TTU engineering students about their designs for the search mission.

BOB NORTON, a medical aviation missionary, and six other people went missing three years ago in the jungles of the Gran Sabana in Venezuela, more than 2,000 miles from Cookeville.

Despite the distance, Tennessee Tech University engineering students are developing technology to help TTU alumnus Bob Edwards find his missing friend.

In their mechanical engineering senior capstone design course, six TTU students designed and built a launch and recovery system for a small, unmanned plane that can be used to search dense jungle or forests.

“It was a fairly successful prototype; these things are never perfect,” said Darrell Hoy, TTU professor and chair of the mechanical engineering department.

“We’ll have to do some test launches.

We’re not going to give it to them unless we know it works.”

Norton, his wife Neiba and five Venezuelans went missing in February 2009. Norton was flying an emergency medical mission and had eight years experience as a bush pilot. The small plane he was flying hit bad weather and he tried to send a radio message that was garbled. The plane and its occupants disappeared without a trace.

Edwards, ’89, has returned to his alma mater over the years to give guest lectures about his work with the Roper Corp. in La Fayette, Ga. He has also served on TTU’s mechanical engineering department advisory board. After his friend went

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missing, he started talking about the search and asking TTU students – and corporations nationwide – to help in the mission.

“This became a second job for me, trying to find my friend. I spend 10 to 20 hours a week on it,” Edwards said. “We’ve been working on sensor pods and the unmanned search plane and it came to mind to see if students would work on this kind of thing, and TTU has been great about giving students credit for working on it.”

The six students designed a small rail system to launch the unmanned search plane. The system uses bungee cords to launch the plane, like an oversized slingshot. A large net will catch it. The unmanned plane is equipped with sensors and will be controlled from the ground, once its design is completed.

One or two students will work on the refinements over the summer during a special topics course. The latch that releases the drone plane needs alteration, and the entire system needs to be lighter so one or two people can transport it and set it up.

The Norton search team recently returned to Venezuela to discuss with officials ways to bring sensors and cameras into the country to try to find the crash site, while work on the unmanned plane is still in development.

Beyond aiding in the search in Venezuela, the work of the TTU students may have repercussions with other search and rescue missions.

“I have a personal interest in search and rescue. I plan to keep in touch with Bob and I want to see the system they end up using,” said Dickson native Neil Brunett, who was one of the students who worked on the designs. “I want to see the technology involved in search and rescue missions.”

In addition to Brunett, TTU students Ben Ellis of Allardt, John Petry of Winchester, Jordan Jozwik and Ryan Schewe of Hendersonville and Will Owens of Linden worked on the project.

Several groups in the U.S., including Hamilton County Special Tactics and Rescue Services, are interested in the technology being developed by the Norton search team and see the application here in the U.S. for assisting with searches in the future.

In the capstone design course, TTU students may create their own project or work on one for an outside company.

Often, there are more outside proposals than there are student groups, but Hoy said he was not surprised students chose to work on the Bob Norton search.

“These kinds of projects are always popular,” he said. “Students these days seem more motivated than ever before to do service. They’re looking to do something to help people.”

For more information about the search mission and progress, visit www. findingbobnorton.org.

TTU reinvigorates RN to BSN program THE TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY Whitson-Hester School of Nursing is making it easier for registered nurses to earn a bachelor’s degree.

To make it easier for working professionals to continue their education, the school is moving required courses online. All of the courses will be online by fall.

“This is something our community needs because students working on this degree are going outside the Upper Cumberland for it,” said nursing professor Barbara Jared. “Part of Tennessee Tech’s mission is to serve the needs of the Upper Cumberland, and this is a growing need.”

More nursing students are enrolling in the online master’s degree and Regents

Online Degree programs, and faculty wanted to offer a similar course for a bachelor’s, Jared said.

TTU has had a program to allow registered nurses to get their bachelor of science degree for years, but the classes have been offered during the traditional school day. That schedule is not flexible enough for working nurses, and enrollment in the program has been low.

Eventually, nursing faculty plan to recruit nationwide for the program. They are already in discussion with several Tennessee community colleges about concurrent enrollment agreements, so RNs will need two additional semesters of coursework before completing a four-year degree.

“The majority of these nurses want to come back for a baccalaureate degree,” said Sherry Gaines, director of the school.

“Sometimes, it’s their employer who encourages them, sometimes they do it on their own.”

The advanced degree allows nurses to advance in their careers.

“More facilities and their management structures in nursing will be requiring a bachelor’s or a master’s,” Jared said. “It’s not everywhere, but we’re seeing it more and more.”

The change will not affect full-time nursing students who are working toward their bachelor’s degrees at TTU.

TTU to offer environmental and sustainability studies degree IN FALL 2012, Tennessee Tech University plans to offer a bachelor’s degree in one of the fast-growing sectors of the job market in the state.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission recently approved an undergraduate degree in environmental and sustainability studies at TTU. TTU already has a doctoral program in environmental studies, and the new programs are expected to be popular with current and incoming students, according to Dennis George, director of the

programs and the university’s Center for the Management, Utilization and Protection of Water Resources.

“When you look at the major issues facing not only Tennessee but the United States and the world, environmental issues are going to be at the forefront of where jobs are going to be available,” George said. “We have strength in this area and we’re going to offer degrees in this area.”

Nearly two years in development, the program combines disciplines and

courses already in existence at TTU, including economics, engineering, sociology, biology and chemistry. Additional classes in environmental law are in development. George said he expects at least 100 undergraduates to be enrolled in the program within the first five years.

“It is meant to merge the sciences with environmental technology, leadership, sociology and communications to work together to solve real life problems,” said George, who also chaired the curriculum development

committee. “It’s our philosophy that through interdisciplinary approaches, you get better answers.”

Tourism is one of the biggest sectors of the state’s economy and preserving the natural resources that bring in billions of dollars every year is an everpresent issue.

“Tennessee is one of the highest diversity states in the nation; Tennesseans have a lot to protect,” he said. “We’re looking to produce people who are aware of these issues and can do something in the future to protect it.”

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 7

Bob & Gloria Bell, the recently retired president and first lady of Tennessee Tech.

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for the outdoors that led to a lifelong commitment to scouting, hunting, conservation and preservation.

THE LIFE OF BOB BELL BEGAN SIMPLY, but his dedication to education, quality and community led him through an enviable career.

Bell became the eighth president of Tennessee Tech University on July 1, 2000. He had served as a professor and dean of the TTU College of Business since 1976.

There were many moments during his youth that shaped the man who would one day lead a state university in a rural community, a university with strong programs in engineering, education and business.

Bell’s commitment to excellence in education and business began with family

ties. He was born September 23, 1945.

His mother, Bessie Bell, was a teacher, and his father, Alvah Bell, owned several small businesses. Other relatives were teachers, a chemist and a NASA executive, a research assistant and gardeners. All played a role in nurturing Bell’s varied interests from nature to space travel.

At every opportunity, the young Bell explored the woods near his childhood home in St. Francisville, Ill., or rode his bike along the unpredictable Wabash River. He developed a love

It is no wonder Bell found his place on a university campus in rural Tennessee, surrounded by scenic mountains and waterways and bustling with economic activity and academic endeavor.

Bell’s family moved from Illinois to Florida when Bell was a junior in high school. His father sold a silver dollar collection to pay the relocation expenses.

“The ’60s were an exciting time in Cocoa Beach,” said Bell. The region was the epicenter of the nation’s booming space program, and Bell had opportunities to watch Mercury launches and to patch in to astronauts’ radio conversations.

Bell worked summers at Kennedy Space Center. He touched Gemini and Apollo, the only spacecraft ever to land on the moon. Like many youth in the ’60s, he wanted to be an astronaut. He once majored in engineering, then found that the math and operations analysis of business administration suited him better.

Bell began his studies at Brevard Junior College in Florida, where he played tennis and was a member of Sigma Pi Kappa. He earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in 1969 at the University of Florida, where he received his M.B.A. in 1970 and a doctorate in organizational leadership in 1972.

TENNESSEE TECH and THE BELLS 1976-1981 Bell chairs TTU department of business management

1978 Undergraduate business programs earn AACSB accreditation

1981 Bell becomes assistant dean of the College of Business

1982 MBA program earns

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reaccreditation

Examiners for the Malcolm

2003 2+2 partnership begins

1985 Accounting program earns

1997 Names of 70,000 TTU

Baldrige National Quality Award

with Roane State Community

accreditation

students, alumni and friends go

July 1, 2000 Bell becomes the

College

1989 Bell becomes interim dean

into orbit aboard space shuttle

eighth president of Tennessee

2003 The Governor’s School

Columbia with TTU alumnus and

Tech University

for Information Technology

scientist Roger Crouch

2002 TTU named a top public

Leadership opens at TTU

regional university by U.S.News;

2003 First lady Gloria Bell leads

Commerce recognizes Bell

listed in nine of the next 10

TTU to create a university flag

for his work on the Board of

years

2004 TTU opens New Hall South

AACSB accreditation

of the College of Business

1990 – 2000 Bell becomes dean of the College of Business

1996 College of Business earns

1998 U.S. Secretary of

Bell set his sights on teaching at a nondoctoral college, and he joined the faculty of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 1972. While there, he met and married TTU’s first lady, Gloria Bell.

He helped launch the M.B.A. program at UNF and helped the business school earn accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

business management in 1976. His immediate goals were accreditation, faculty development and increased scholarly publications. Bell said TTU staff regarded him as sort of a change agent at the time.

The changes soon resulted in AACSB accreditations that put TTU in the top 10 percent of accredited programs in the country.

In an oral history of the University of North Florida in 2006, Jim Parrish, founding dean of the College of Business, talked about the best faculty of those formative years.

In addition to his faculty duties, Bell later became associate dean and took responsibility for directing the college’s foundation and building external relations. He joined the Southern Business Administrators Association and began to network with the AACSB, serving on the accreditation board and as a national accreditation reviewer.

“Bob Bell would be right in there with the best of them. It turned out he had marvelous skills at administration. He is an outstanding university president. He was good in the classroom, good everywhere.

Bob was just first class.”

Bell’s experience and accomplishments at the University of North Florida were what motivated former UNF colleague Bill Arthur to lure Bell to TTU. Arthur was dean of TTU’s College of Business at the time.

Before his interview with TTU, Bell mentioned “a job in Cookeville, Tennessee” to Westinghouse recruiter B.A. Grubbs. Grubbs said, “That’s Tennessee Tech – best damn engineering school in the South. You ought to go look at it.”

The rest is TTU history, as Bell accepted an offer to chair the department of

“These two association affiliations were an important part of keeping Tech’s reputation high,” said Bell.

Bell grasped the importance of community relationships during his early years in the College of Business. He became dean in 1990, and he continued to broaden TTU’s partnerships across the Upper Cumberland and the state.

In time, Bell’s ability to build teams and relationships enabled him to garner funding support for TTU. In 1996, the Tennessee Valley Authority gave the College of Business $800,000 to set up distance learning labs, establish the BusinessMedia Center and purchase lab and faculty computers.

for more than 350 students

Leadership Award for

2004 Vince Gill homecoming

Performance Excellence from

concert raises $130,000 for Nursing and Health Services

the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence

building

2005 TTU receives

2004-2005 Bell chairs Vision of

Congressional funding for STEM

Teaching Excellence committee

education efforts

for TBR

2005 Bell establishes the

2005 Bell wins Ned McWherter

President’s Academy for

Through community interactions, people in Cookeville and the region saw me in a leadership position, but more importantly, I hope they saw me as a friend.

ROBERT BELL

Emerging Technologies

2006 U.S. Women’s Sports

Buys; listed for six consecutive

2005 Bell testifies before the

Foundation, founded by Billie

years

Jean King, recognizes TTU

2007 Tennessee Tech Tuba

U.S. House of Representatives on methamphetamine abuse in the Upper Cumberland

2005 The Princeton Review names TTU a Best Southeastern University; listed for eight consecutive years

as “Best in the South” for exemplifying gender equity in

Ensemble plays Carnegie Hall

its sports programs and being

2007 TTU opens a $17.4 million

a leading model in integrating

building for the Whitson-Hester

women’s sports

School of Nursing

2006 TTU named one of

2007 TTU BAJA team wins the

America’s 100 Best College

Dayton Cup and gets group’s

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“That was a landmark accomplishment,” said Bell, who worked with TVA director Johnny Hayes (’61, political science) and associate dean Virginia Moore to secure the grant.

“Without that grant, there was no funding for computers. We had just had a halfmillion dollar budget cut. For a program facing reaccreditation, new technology was essential,” said Bell. “That grant made our entire business school team breathe easier.”

The university’s outreach grew as Bell continued teambuilding efforts across the state and around the world, both as dean and then as president of the university.

Bell worked internationally to establish quality standards for corporations, governing bodies and non-profit organizations. He was an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality

Award, which is given by the president of the United States and is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence a U.S. organization can receive. The Baldrige program’s mission is to improve the competitiveness and performance of U.S. organizations.

Closer to home, Bell testified before the U.S. House of Representatives about methamphetamine abuse in the Upper Cumberland. He presented TTU’s research that proved “street methods” of meth production had 90 percent efficacy. Those findings led to restrictions on purchases of over-the-counter drugs and other items commonly used to make meth.

An ensuing grant from the Department of Justice brought half a million dollars to the Upper Cumberland to educate and equip law enforcement personnel and public workers to combat meth production and abuse.

“Community activity is a significant part of the presidency,” Bell said, and his work with the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence, AACSB and other organizations supported those efforts.

As part of TTU’s global outreach efforts, Bell travelled to Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico, to chair the accreditation review for the school of 92,000 students.

Throughout his presidency, Bell stayed involved in the state’s industrial recruitment and economic development efforts. He served as chairman of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and worked on state trade missions to Japan.

When Volkswagen announced it would build a plant in Chattanooga, TTU was positioned to partner with the corporation

TENNESSEE TECH and THE BELLS (continued) and Universities

2008 TTU BAJA team hosts

local K-12 students talk to

2009-2011 TTU makes President

2007 Gov. Phil Bredesen

2008 Bell represents Tennessee

Dayton Cup competition, with

an astronaut in space, TTU

Obama’s Higher Education

teaches the inaugural class

at a commemoration ceremony

about 90 international teams

alumnus and Atlantis pilot Capt.

Community Service Honor Roll

of The Governor’s School for

for Sgt. Alvin C. York in

participating

Barry Wilmore

Normandy, France

2009-2011 TTU hosts the TSSAA

November 2009 Dixie College

2010 TTU opens the Millard

Emerging Technologies at TTU

2007-2012 Bell co-chairs

2008 Bell chairs the

football championships, bringing

Day marks 100th anniversary of

Morris Hall

a council for rural-serving

accreditation review of

about 28,000 people to campus

the founding of the college that

Monterrey Tech in Mexico, a

and Cookeville each fall

became Tennessee Polytechnic

2010 Golden Eagles football

universities for the American Association of State Colleges

school with 92,000 students

November 2009

Institute, then Tennessee

photo on a Wheaties box

12 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

Bell and

Technological University

Oakley STEM Center in Ray

team wins the York trophy for being undefeated in the OVC

1. The Bells often held university functions in Walton House, the presidential residence at Tennessee Tech.

2. Bob Bell shows tulips outside of Bryan Fine Arts to one of his grandchildren 3. The Bells entering into their first commencement ceremony as president and first lady.

4. One of Bob Bell’s last events as president was to kickoff the Last Lecture series, a new yearly series where a retiring faculty member will address the campus one last time.

4

to prepare a skilled workforce.

When the plant was completed, TTU had 13 students interning at the facility, more than any school in Tennessee or Georgia.

About a year later, TTU committed to support Volkswagen’s continuing education and training efforts through a special partnership with VW and Chattanooga State Technical Community College.

Throughout his career, Bell has proven a Mohandas Ghandi observation to be true: “Leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people.”

From Cookeville to points around the world, Bell’s influence in education and business has been based on years of relationships.

“Through community interactions, people in Cookeville and the region saw me in a

leadership position, but more importantly, I hope they saw me as a friend,” said Bell.

“Nothing is done by an individual. Today, it is all about teams and relationships. You have to work with people, and you should have fun doing it.”

Throughout his years at TTU, Bell not only modeled such behavior, he tried to instill the same virtues in students, alumni and partners. He especially encouraged students to volunteer for service and to be good citizens.

“Relationships are the most important thing we do at Tennessee Tech. Not just the president, I’m talking about everyone, students and employees. It’s our culture.

People can feel our culture of caring.”

Those relationships, coupled with Bell’s passion to serve and teach others, have been the driving force of Bell’s successful

career in higher education.

The man who once wanted to be an astronaut granted a state university’s first honorary doctorates to a space shuttle pilot and a NASA scientist.

A boy who loved the outdoors helped secure and preserve the Latimer High Adventure Reservation, a 1,550-acre wilderness area in Middle Tennessee for scouts.

A son of an entrepreneurial father and a teacher went on to teach hundreds of future business leaders and to advocate the best practices in international business.

Bell’s aspirations, coupled with experience, planning and partnerships, have placed Tennessee Tech University in a position of local, state and global influence and given the university a reputation as one of the best universities in the South.

2011 U.S.News reports that

2010 Payscale.com names

Greenbriar Classic and returns

Library & Media Center

success and football

TTU’s 2010 graduates finished

TTU a best public university in

to TTU to raise more than

Tennessee, with the best salary

$19,000 for TTU golf teams

2011 U.S. Department of

championship

school with the lightest debt load in the region

potential of graduates

2011 TTU has more students

2010 TTU opens the $22 million

2011 TTU baseball team wins the

New Hall North

2010 TTU Foundation acquires

Education notes increasing

2012 TTU awards first honorary

popularity of TTU for

doctorates to TTU alumni and

interning with new Volkswagen

Tennesseans as admission of

astronauts Barry Wilmore and

regular season championship;

plant in Chattanooga than any

in-state freshmen increases 23

Roger Crouch

four players drafted by pros

other university

percent

2011 TTU alumnus Scott

2011 Learning Commons opens

2012 State Legislature honors

June 30, 2012

former Prescott Central Middle School property

Stallings, ’07, wins the

at Angelo & Jennette Volpe

softball players’ academic

President Bob

and First Lady Gloria Bell retire

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 13

SHE’S A LADY AS PART OF THE COOKEVILLE COMMUNITY FOR DECADES, Gloria Bell knew all the residents of Walton House, but she never imagined she would one day be first lady Tennessee Tech University.

1

“When I moved to Cookeville, I never dreamed I would be first lady,” she said. “Knowing the outstanding ladies who preceded me, I thought there was no way I could live up to their standards.

I decided the only thing I could do was just be myself.”

“I stood on the front porch of Walton House by the columns and remembered that dream,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is my dream,’ and I felt completely at ease. I felt God had led me to be here, and I have relished every minute of it.”

Though she never dreamed of being a university president’s wife, shortly after moving into the stately brick home on North Dixie Avenue, Mrs. Bell remembered another dream, one from her childhood.

At ease in her new home, she set about making it a gathering place for the larger Cookeville community. Gifts from TTU alumni and friends made the renovations possible, and Mrs. Bell credits their generosity and advice for the changes to Walton House.

In it, she stood next to a white column on a porch looking out on a wide, green lawn.

Where the two-story home used to contain only two paintings, now there are more than a dozen on the first floor alone. Many were painted by Tennessee Tech University faculty, students and

14 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

2

1. Gloria Bell displays the rose garden at the Walton House, the presidential residence at Tennessee Tech.

The garden is a point of pride for the former first lady.

2. Gloria Bell was behind the creation of the TTU flag.

2

Joan Derryberry, the first resident lady of Walton House.

An alumnus donated the upstairs carpeting, university cabinetmakers made a cabinet in the family room, and Mrs. Bell designed the drapes. Derryberry’s son, Walter, donated the grand piano in the formal living room.

Beyond furnishings and accommodations, Mrs. Bell’s welcoming demeanor transformed the home from a private residence to a gathering place for Cookeville.

“My slogan has been, ‘Welcome to Walton House,’” TTU’s first lady said. “I think it’s been good to strengthen the ties between town and gown. There’s always been a very close relationship there, and I’ve wanted to build on that strength and enhance it, if I could.”

The young and the old, students and alumni, community groups and national and state politicians have passed under the guardian stone eagle that sits over the front door.

The Bells have had the children from the First United Methodist Church over for annual Easter egg hunts, and they host a brunch for the 50-year reunion class, the Golden Grads, during alumni weekend. The YMCA, Cookeville Rotary Club, Master Singers, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, CityScape and many other university and community events have been hosted there. The Bells have welcomed several state governors and U.S.

Congressmen as well, including Bob Dole, Al Gore, Bart Gordon, Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam.

Of all the groups, one of the couple’s favorites is Kappa Delta sorority. Every year, the young women bring fresh-baked cookies and milk to the house and sing a lullaby to President Bell.

“We have the greatest students in the world at Tech. They come here for an education, and they take that seriously, but they still have fun and build great memories along the way,” Mrs. Bell said.

“One of my greatest joys has been all of the different people we’ve had here at Walton House.”

Many of those groups have spent time in the rose garden, which is the first lady’s pride and joy.

A rose garden was planted on the Walton House grounds during President Arliss Roaden’s administration in the 1970s and 1980s, but it died after he retired.

When Mrs. Bell’s friends Joe and Patricia Glasser moved to Florida in 2001, they donated their award-winning bushes to establish the existing rose garden.

Wanting to be a good steward of yet another gift to Walton House, Mrs. Bell had to learn to take care of roses quickly. Sarah Johnson and members of the Rose Society were invaluable with their information and directions on transferring and planting the roses to Walton House and caring for them in their new home. The first lady has worked with

the university groundskeepers and Greg Haynes, TTU’s horticulture technician, to maintain the blooms. Her favorite rose, Jema, has won a blue ribbon.

Often described by her husband as the hardest working unpaid employee of the university, TTU’s first lady has been the university’s ultimate ambassador. The door to Walton House has always been open, and Mrs. Bell takes pride in upholding the values of Southern hospitality.

Away from home, she has attended countless events and given numerous speeches. The Bells have travelled to visit alumni, support student athletes and to represent the university around the world.

“Wherever I go, whatever I’m doing, I represent the university,” she said. “I’ve tried to be that support person for Bob and always have the university at the forefront.”

As she has always represented the university, so will the university always use a piece of her to represent itself. The purple and gold flag that flies outside Derryberry Hall, at athletic events and at commencement is her creation.

Mrs. Bell suggested several designs, and staff from the Office of Communications and Marketing helped her with the project’s final details. It was unveiled at the 2003 Homecoming game.

As first lady, Mrs. Bell has filled the traditional support role and made Walton House a home befitting Tennessee Tech University’s president.

The final, bittersweet, year in the house has been full of farewells. Mrs. Bell looks forward to seeing what the new occupants will make of Walton House and what it will become under a new president.

“We’ve made it a year of celebration, and we’ve been savoring it all,” Mrs. Bell said.

“I was able to make Walton House my home, and I hope the Oldhams coming in will be able to feel comfortable and enjoy it as much as I have.”

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 15

The 2011 Golden Eagles football team won its first OVC championship in 36 years.

ATHLETICS

A football championship to remember THE 2011 TENNESSEE TECH FOOTBALL SEASON was filled with milestones, records, honors and awards, memories and one shining, gleaming Ohio Valley Conference championship trophy.

It was certainly a long time coming, but the 36-year drought made the Golden Eagles’ 2011 OVC title -- clinched with a 49-7 rout of rival Austin Peay in Tucker Stadium on the final day of the regular season -- that much sweeter.

It was a roller-coaster ride for the Golden Eagles and their fans, who twice saw narrow losses appear to snuff any title hopes, but the team endured back-to-back home losses by a combined three points.

After falling to Tennessee State, 42-40, Tech bounced back with a stunning 21-14 win at pre-season favorite Jacksonville State. The euphoria of that road win was smashed by a one-point, 38-37 Homecoming loss to Murray State.

It was the school’s first league football title since 1975, and pushed the Golden Eagles into the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time.

But, once again, the Golden Eagles picked themselves up and found a way back into the title hunt. Tech pulled off a 28-21 win at Eastern Kentucky, leaving Austin Peay as the lone remaining obstacle.

A crowd of 9,142 reveled in the celebration along with their team. Students swarmed the field in the game’s closing seconds and Tech was presented the OVC championship trophy on the field. Tech fought its way through a first-half in which it lost three fumbles but still managed to lead 14-7 at the break. The Golden Eagles took firm control early in the second half, scoring four third-quarter touchdowns on the way to the 35-point win.

On the way to re-writing Tech football history, the 2011 squad also did some re-writing of the school’s record books.

The Golden Eagles tied or set 25 school records. Beyond that, a large number of entries will also appear in future record books for the second- and third-best marks in many additional categories.

A total of nine team records and 16 individual records have new names or

16 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

numbers, nearly all by senior wide receiver Tim Benford, senior runningback Dontey Gay and junior quarterback Tre Lamb.

Watson Brown was named the OVC Coach of the Year and Benford was voted the league’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Those were just two of the dozens of postseason honors that were heaped on the Golden Eagles. Among those were nine all-OVC selections, All-America honors for Benford and guard Scott Schweitzer, plus academic success as James Normand and Corey Watson were named CoSIDA Academic All-District and Watson earned FCS ADA Scholar All-Star status.

The team finished the year with a 7-4 overall record, and was ranked in all three final polls ranging from 16th to 21st.

The Cookeville City Council honored the team with a resolution in early March, and the finishing touch to the season came in mid-March when Brown, President Bob Bell and members of the team visited the Tennessee State Capitol where they were recognized with resolutions in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Athletics facilities enhanced under Bell’s direction THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, under the leadership of President Bob Bell and Director of Athletics Mark Wilson, have seen a much-needed facelift for many of Tech’s athletic facilities. Not only have there been upgrades and improvements to existing facilities, a couple of new, state-ofthe-art facilities are quickly paying dividends for Golden Eagles student-athletes.

A slam dunk contest, 3-point shootouts, a chance to meet all of the players and coaches, and drawings for exclusive prizes. Those are some of the highlights planned for the first Purple Palooza, a tip-off celebration of Tennessee Tech basketball and introduction to the Golden Eagle men’s and women’s teams.

Purple Palooza — similar to Midnight Madness but earlier in the day — is set for Thursday, Oct. 25, in Tech’s Eblen Center. Admission is free, and all Tech basketball fans, students, faculty and staff are invited to take part in the festivities.

Tech students are invited to enjoy free pizza and sign up for prizes on the concourse of the arena beginning at 6 p.m. In the Eagles Nest, season ticket holders and Athletics Association donors will enjoy a reception and chance to meet and mingle with players and staff.

Out on the arena floor, the action begins at 7 p.m. with introductions of the Tech cheer and dance teams. The Golden Eagle women’s team, under first-year coach Jim Davis, will take the floor for introductions and a 10-minute, intrasquad scrimmage as fans will view the 2012-13 edition of the squad for the first time in action. The roster features eight returnees and five new faces.

After the scrimmage, drawings will take place for exclusive women’s basketball gear.

Coach Steve Payne’s men’s team will then begin its portion of the evening with introductions and a 10-minute intrasquad scrimmage. Fans will have their first opportunity to watch eight newcomers mix it up with the team’s four returnees.

Another drawing will take place, where fans can win exclusive gear from the men’s program.

The fun will continue with a 3-point shootout among four long-distance sharpshooters from each team. As soon as the snipers determine a winner, a drawing will be held for Tech students to win prizes.

The highlight of the night could be the slam dunk contest, featuring four Golden Eagle players and judged by a panel including students, alumni and faculty.

Another drawing will give students the chance to win valuable gift cards, followed by an on-court autograph session with both teams.

For more information, please call the Athletic Marketing Office at 372-3669.

Most recently, the university opened a 25,000-square foot Athletic Performance Center on the western edge of campus.

Shortly before that, a Basketball Coaching Complex opened in the upper level of Eblen Center overlooking the court, along with all-new décor in the Eagles Nest.

Improvements have been evident at Tucker Stadium, making it one of the most aesthetically vibrant venues in the Ohio Valley Conference. The stadium has also been host the past three years for the TSSAA state football championships, thanks to the generous support of the City of Cookeville and other partners.

Changes were made to the soccer field, a new floor and design in Eblen Center, and modern additions to dressing rooms and meeting rooms for several teams.

A second Athletic Training facility opened inside Eblen Center, while the training room and physical therapy facilities in Tucker Stadium were updated.

Additional upgrades and new facilities are also in the planning stages, including a new tennis facility that will include six indoor and eight outdoor courts and team building that will have team locker rooms and coaches offices. Fundraising continues for those efforts. For information on how to support Tech’s Athletics upgrades, please contact Kevin Bostian, associate athletics director for Development. He can be reached at (931) 372-3929 or via email at kbostian@tntech.edu.

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 17

Kevin Murphy in action against the University of Miami Hurricanes last season.

This summer, he was drafted by the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

Hoops Review: Post-season visits for basketball teams THE BASKETBALL SEASON went into overtime at Tennessee Tech during the 2011-2012 season, as both the women’s and men’s teams reached post-season play.

Eagles fell on the road at Georgia State. Tech was 9-7 in OVC play, ending its run in the OVC tournament with a loss to eventual champion Murray State.

The Golden Eagle women were invited to play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, where they played a spirited road game and led for 35 minutes before losing to Bradley, 74-71, in Peoria, Ill. Coach Sytia Messer’s team won 11 of 13 games down the stretch before falling in the OVC Tournament Championship game. Tech finished 17-17 overall and 11-5 in OVC play.

Senior Kevin Murphy and junior Jud Dillard both earned firstteam all-OVC honors and also captured NABC All-Region selections. Murphy was invited to play in the Reese’s All-Star Game and the Portsmouth Invitational, while seniors Zach Bailey and Bassey Inameti received invitations to play in the Music City All-Star Classic.

Senior Tacarra Hayes and junior Jala Harris earned post-season honors. Hayes was a three-time first-team selection and won her third consecutive team MVP award. Harris earned a spot on the second-team and the All-Newcomer team.

One of the highlights of the year came on the final day of the regular season when enthusiastic Golden Eagle fans packed into Eblen Center for an OVC doubleheader against Murray State.

The first game drew a women’s record crowd of 6,512, while the attendance for the men’s contest was 9,021. The roaring atmosphere of the full house left a lasting impression, and hopefully left Golden Eagle fans anxious to get back next year and carry on their tremendous support.

Coach Steve Payne’s first year at the helm of the men’s squad netted a 19-14 overall record and an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Basketball Tournament where the Golden

18 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

Tech student-athletes earn second-highest GSR TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY student-athletes received high marks in the 2011 Graduation Success Rate (GSR) Report released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Tech student-athletes earned a combined GSR of 78, which ranks as the second-highest mark among all of Tennessee’s public universities. The grade for TTU is up one point from last year, when TTU had the highest mark among Tennessee public universities.

In addition, Tech’s studentathletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body.

Annually among the national standard bearers in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) report – which measures eligibility and retention – Tennessee Tech also ranks among the nation’s best in GSR. “This most recent GSR report continues to be good news for Tennessee Tech Athletics, one that we can take a great deal of pride in,” said Mark Wilson, TTU director of Athletics. “It verifies in numbers that we are successfully fulfilling our mission of graduating our studentathletes.

“The results of this most recent NCAA report speaks to the diligence of our student-athletes,” Wilson said. “Our students are coming in better prepared when they enter Tennessee Tech, and they are staying on track to earn their degrees.”

Four Tech programs – tennis, volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball – not only ranked among the nation’s best, they paced the Ohio Valley Conference in GSR within their respective sports.

Two of those teams – tennis and volleyball – recorded perfect GSR scores of 100, including a third consecutive year with a perfect score for coach John Blair’s volleyball team.

The latest GSR report reflects several other positive recent trends by Tech’s student-athletes, including the upward growth of the total numbers on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the record-breaking combined grade point average by Golden Eagle student-athletes.

During the past year, Tech’s student-athletes have posted the highest combined GPA ever achieved at the university, earned a combined 3.0 GPA six times in the last seven semesters, and filled the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll with more than 200 names in four of the past five semesters.

“These kinds of numbers point out that our student-athletes and our staff continue to take seriously our goal of stressing the importance of academic success,” Wilson said. “This latest GSR is another gauge in how we’re doing, and it says we’re doing well. Our coaches, our academic support system and personnel, and our student-athletes are doing a good job.”

Junior Syrym Abdukhalikov was named first-team All-OVC.

Tennis team sweeps OVC THE TENNESSEE TECH tennis team completed a sweep of all eight Ohio Valley Conference opponents, wrapping up the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record to capture another championship.

It was Tech’s first OVC tennis championship since the 2008 season, and sent the Golden Eagles into the conference tournament on a nine-match winning streak after starting the year with a 1-7 mark.

The Golden Eagles made it 10 straight with a win in the semifinals, before losing the championship match to Eastern Kentucky.

Junior Syrym Abdukhalikov was named first-team all-OVC, while freshman Alejandro Augusto was a second-team selection as well as winning the coFreshman of the Year honor.

Kenny Doyle was named the conference Coach of the Year.

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 19

ALUMNI

TTU’s favorite astronauts receive honorary doctorates WHILE CONGRATULATING 1,271 GRADUATES as its newest alumni, the university also honored two distinguished alumni and its favorite astronauts with TTU’s first honorary doctorates in May. Presiding over his final commencements, TTU President Bob Bell presented an honorary doctorate in science to scientist and astronaut Roger Crouch and an honorary doctorate in engineering to U.S. Navy pilot and astronaut Capt. Barry Wilmore.

Before conferring the degrees upon Crouch and Wilmore, the TTU Brass Ensemble played “Fanfare for the Common Man,” composed by Aaron Copland. Copland wrote the piece in 1943 for the veterans of World War II, Bell explained.

“Today, that piece pays tribute to two common men who have distinguished themselves through uncommonly exceptional service to our nation and to our space programs,” Bell said.

“We are most proud of these outstanding TTU alumni and their contributions to society, and I can’t think of any two individuals who are better suited to receive this university’s first honorary doctorates.”

20 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

During two spring commencement ceremonies, Tennessee Tech awarded degrees in 41 areas of undergraduate study and 20 areas of graduate study. Eight individuals received doctoral degrees.

Graduates represented 75 Tennessee counties, 31 states and 14 other countries.

Crouch encouraged the graduates at the morning ceremony to take responsibility for themselves and to be persistent when pursuing a goal.

“You are responsible for the world in which you live. It is not the responsibility of the government, the church, a social club or your fellow citizens, it’s solely up to you,” Crouch said. “If you want something to change, you personally have to do something different to bring about that change.

“If you think small things can’t affect the quality of life, just recall a time when you were in bed and there was a mosquito or a fly in the room.”

The secret to making a difference, Crouch said, is to not be afraid to try new things.

“There may be many false starts and do-overs, but as long as you never quit, you are not a failure,” said Crouch. “Some NASA folks are famous for saying, ‘failure

is not an option.’ But in the case of Apollo 13, there were failures. What was not an option was quitting.”

Crouch jokingly added that along with persistence you must have flexibility. “You can never catch a fish in a pond with no fish,” he said.

“I wanted to be a fighter pilot and then eventually be an astronaut and go to the moon,” said Crouch. “I am colorblind, so the regular pilot and astronaut routes were not available to me. But I kept trying, and when I was almost 56 years old and after nearly 35 years of rejections, I was selected to fly into space.”

Crouch went on to log 471 hours in space.

He spent four days on his first mission, which was cut short because of a fuel cell issue, then 16 days on his second.

A native of Jamestown, Tenn., Crouch said, “there’s no one here more common than me.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from TTU in 1962 and master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Virginia Tech. His mother, Maxine Crouch, lives in Jamestown. His wife, Anne, is from Baltimore, Md., and the Crouches live in Washington, D.C.

(Far Left) Wearing the academic regalia and doctoral hood over his Naval officer’s uniform, Wilmore said, “I stand before you now, never dreaming I would wear something like this.”

(Left) Crouch gives a thumbs up on receiving an honorary doctorate in science from Bell.

As chief scientist at NASA, Crouch established the space shuttle and International Space Station research programs during the ’80s and ’90s.

He served as program scientist on five Spacelab flights in the ’90s. Selected for flights on the Microgravity Science Laboratory Mission in 1997, he carried out research aboard space shuttle Columbia on the STS 83 and STS 94 missions.

During the afternoon ceremony, graduates from the Colleges of Engineering and Education heard from Wilmore, who will return to space in the fall of 2014 as commander of the International Space Station. He will spend two and a half years training for the mission, learning Russian and all the systems of the station.

Wilmore challenged the graduates to live life by what they can give, not what they can get, and to serve others.

He spoke of the bravery of Pfc. Gary W. Martini, a U.S. Marine who died in combat in April 1967 during the Vietnam War. Entrenched enemy forces attacked Martini’s platoon, killing 14, wounding 18 and pinning the remainder of the platoon behind a low rice paddy dike. Martini left the sheltered position twice to drag two injured comrades to safety. Martini was mortally wounded during the second rescue.

“Stouthearted and indomitable, Pfc. Martini unhesitatingly yielded his life to save two of his comrades and to insure the safety of the remainder of his platoon. His outstanding courage, valiant fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty reflected the

highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country,” said Wilmore.

Martini was 18 years old when he died; the United States of America presented him with the Medal of Honor.

“From time to time, it is very beneficial for us to focus on the details of how our freedom has been preserved,” said Wilmore. “It’s a great reminder of what selflessness truly looks like.”

“You may not be asked to give your life for someone, but love them as if you would,” he said.

Born in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Wilmore grew up in Mt. Juliet, where his parents, H. Eugene and Faye Wilmore, still reside.

Wilmore earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering at TTU in ’85 and ’94. He received a master’s degree in aviation systems from The University of Tennessee in 1994, and he is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School.

He began working on his master’s degree at TTU in the late ‘80s, but he set that work aside when the Navy requested he enroll in Officer Candidate School. He had completed that training and started work on the master’s degree at UT when his mother reminded him of his commitment to finish his master’s degree at Tennessee Tech. After a seven-year break, Wilmore returned to finish his second degree at TTU.

the most to me,” Wilmore said.

His mother’s encouragement to finish the degree at TTU is just one reflection of the family’s intense Purple Pride. Nearly everyone in Wilmore’s family is a TTU alumni. Wilmore’s wife, Deanna Newport Wilmore from Helenwood, Tenn., earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from TTU in 1984. Wilmore’s father earned his degree in industrial management in 1958.

Wilmore’s brother Jack (’84, industrial technology), Jack’s wife, Selena Counce Wilmore (’85, clothing merchandising), and their son, Lucas Wilmore (’10, biology), are a TTU family as well. Their daughter Beth Ann is a nursing student at TTU. Barry Wilmore also played football at TTU and was inducted into the TTU Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Wilmore piloted his first Atlantis flight to the International Space Station in 2009, and he has logged more than 259 hours in space. He will serve as commander of Expedition 42 on the ISS in 2014. The expedition will launch aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket, and Wilmore will spend about six months in space aboard the station.

While Crouch and Wilmore are the only two of the nearly 73,400 alumni of Tennessee Tech to go into space, there are TTU alumni from every state in the U.S., along with 112 other countries and territories.

“The degrees from Tennessee Tech mean

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 21

Long-time TTU faculty member among 2012 Outstanding Alumni SIX TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY ALUMNI were recognized for their significant impact on their career fields and their personal accomplishments as the 2012 Outstanding Alumni.

Charlene Groce Mullins College of Agricultural and Human Sciences B.S. Home Economics, 1950 CHARLENE GROCE MULLINS has dedicated her life to children and families, first of all preserving an agricultural heritage for her children, Ralph and Deborah, and as a TTU faculty member, advocating excellent care for expectant mothers and promoting high education standards for preschoolers.

One of the longest-serving TTU faculty members, Mullins received her bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1950 at TTU and went on to complete a master’s degree in home economics in 1953 at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

In 1953 she joined the TTU faculty in the department of home economics to expand offerings in human development and relationships.

Her life’s work has focused on early childhood development. She established the Tech Nursery School, now the Child Development Lab. Mullins showed nursing, education and home economics majors how to conduct preschool in an orderly fashion at a time when there were no state standards for daycares or preschools in Tennessee.

To create those standards, she chaired the governor’s Committee on Day Care Standards and served on the task force to organize Head Start centers throughout the Upper Cumberland. She also

22 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

spearheaded the movement to establish kindergartens in Tennessee.

In the early 1960s, TTU President Everett Derryberry tapped Mullins to chair a curricula sub-committee on educational programs. It was TTU’s first self-study in preparation for accreditation.

Her extensive career prompted the School of Human Ecology to name her 2008’s Outstanding Alumna.

Since the early ’60s, Mullins’ research and instruction has advocated the importance of good prenatal care, citing the dangers of drug use, prolonged emotional stress, poor maternal diet and diseases such as diabetes and influenza as having detrimental affects on infant development.

Bertram received his bachelor’s degree from TTU in 1966 and completed his medical degree at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 1968. He completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at City of Memphis Hospital. He became board certified in internal medicine in 1973 and in gastroenterology in 1976, and his latest recertification in gastroenterology came in 2011.

Bertram credits TTU as the foundation of his career. TTU gave him a well-rounded education for what was certainly a good value at that time, and his TTU degree and faculty recommendation helped to ensure his admission to medical school.

When Mullins retired in 2007, Dr. Bell presented her a certificate of appreciation for 54 years of service. She had served with five TTU presidents.

Bertram was among five TTU classmates to finish medical school together. He has endowed a scholarship to honor one of those classmates, Dr. Stanley Erwin. He also has endowed a scholarship named for his parents, Marshall and Thelma G. Bertram. The scholarships are for students majoring in mathematics and the liberal arts — favorite subjects of Erwin and the Bertrams.

Dr. Phillip Bertram

Bertram also married a TTU alumna. His wife, Jennifer Jones Bertram, completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at TTU in 1982.

A Pickett County native, Charlene Mullins was valedictorian of the county’s high school in 1943. Her parents were Herbert Turney Groce and Nina Belle Rich Groce.

College of Arts and Sciences B.S. Pre-med, 1966 DR. PHILLIP BERTRAM is a Cookeville gastroenterologist who readily admits he would not be the person he is today if not for Tennessee Tech University.

TTU professors who influenced Bertram were Howard Ashburn, chemistry, Clement Eyler, English, and Nolan Fowler, history. Bertram said, “They enjoyed seeing people learn. They broadened my horizons and opened my eyes to the world.”

Bertram serves on the Board of Visitors for the TTU College of Arts and Sciences.

He said he champions the university as an excellent choice for pre-professional

majors because its professors have a personal interest in student success, and the rigors of the TTU chemistry and biology courses are excellent preparation for medical school.

Bertram is an adjunct TTU faculty member. For five years, he has taught the Humanism in Medicine course. He is also an associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University. Bertram has served as governor of the Tennessee chapter of the American College of Physicians and has a mastership with the American College of Physicians.

For Bertram, the outstanding TTU alumni award is as important as any he has ever received, and he said he is humbled and honored by the recognition.

Bonnie McIntyre College of Business M.B.A., 1980 BONNIE MCINTYRE was among the first 50 graduates of Tennessee Tech University’s MBA program, and the seventh woman to complete the rigorous program.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and accompanied her husband, William Noonan, to Cookeville when he took a position at Fleetguard. She agreed to come only after hearing about the strength of the MBA program at the TTU College of Business.

After graduating from TTU, she joined Fleetguard/Cummins as well and stayed with them for nearly two decades, moving to Belgium and Mexico City as part of their corporate team.

She then went to Grainger, an international corporation that works to provide businesses around the globe with the supplies they need to thrive.

At Grainger, she was responsible for leading 200 people in the international development division. She was also responsible for opening the company’s China division. McIntyre retired in 2010 as the vice president of international marketing development.

Being one of the first women to complete a master’s degree in business administration, she believes it is important for women to have high aspirations. In her retirement, she said she hopes to find time to mentor young, professional women and to volunteer internationally to help people, men and women, start their own businesses.

McIntyre credits Tennessee Tech for teaching her to write well and to make sure her work was correct before she sent it to another person. Her desire to mentor and help aspiring women motivates her to maintain her connections with her alma mater, despite her busy career and global travel schedule.

McIntyre was the first speaker in the College of Business’ inaugural Women in Business series in the Heidtke Training Room in Johnson Hall. She will return to campus this fall to join other prominent College of Business alumnae, including Ann Massey, the College of Business’ Outstanding Alumna in 2011. The series will give prominent TTU business alumnae like McIntyre a chance to connect with and mentor current women business students. .

Carolyn Livingston College of Education B.A. Music Education, English, 1959 As a young child, Carolyn Livingston knew she wanted to study at Tennessee Tech. She never expected to find her life’s work there.

bachelor’s degree in the late 1950s from TTU and went on to get her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Florida. On the lookout for a topic for her dissertation, she stumbled across an article in The Tennessean about Charles Faulkner Bryan, the composer responsible for getting TTU’s music program on its feet.

That article sparked a lifelong interest in Bryan and music education that continues to this day. Throughout her career, which included teaching in Maryland, Tennessee and Florida, Livingston wrote two books and a large number of articles about Charles Faulkner Bryan. She has given presentations at state, regional, national and international conferences.

Livingston, who is married to Burton Zitkin, worked in the University of Rhode Island’s music department from 1987 until she retired to become an emeritus faculty member in 2008. There, she taught 24 different undergraduate and graduate courses, including a women and music course that she designed. She was founder and director of the university’s Children’s Chorus, coordinator of music education and director of music graduate studies.

She has served on the editorial committee of the Journal of Research in Music Education, and she still serves on the committee of the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education.

A premier musical historian, she was one of four researchers invited to present a commemorative centennial special session at the National Association for Music Education’s conference in 2006.

That year, she received the organization’s History Special Research Interest Group’s Biennial Award for outstanding service and research.

Throughout her career, Livingston has been instrumental in raising the reputation of Charles Faulkner Bryan and in raising awareness of Tennessee Tech University’s music program nationally and internationally.

An Algood native, Livingston got her

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 23

Clayton Clem College of Engineering B.S. Civil Engineering, 1979 CLAYTON L. CLEM grew up in Athens, Ala., and Hixson, Tenn., and graduated from Hixson High School in 1975.

He is married to Quebec native and family physician Diane Fortier, and they live in Ooltewah, Tenn.

Clem graduated summa cum laude from Tennessee Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1979 and went on to receive a master’s degree in engineering with a concentration in applied mechanics from The University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 1985.

A registered engineer in the state, Clem has held various positions in the Tennessee Valley Authority since 1979, with responsibilities including design and construction of telecommunications, transmission line and substation facilities.

He oversees the electric system project, which engineers and constructs power system facilities across the seven states and 80,000 square miles that belong to the TVA. Clem has helped develop several industry guidelines and standards over his career, including the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Guidelines for Electrical Transmission Line Structural Loading and the National Electrical Safety Code.

He has been named TVA’s Engineer of the Year and has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Federal Engineers by the National Society of Professional Engineers. In the late 1990s, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave him the Innovations in Transmission Line Engineering award.

Last year, TTU recognized him as the university’s Engineer of Distinction.

When he is not involved with the power business, Clem serves on the advisory board of TTU’s electrical engineering department and is a member of the

24 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

President’s Club Eagle Society. He has served as the president of the Chattanooga chapter of the TTU alumni association and is a past member of the university alumni board.

Despite a busy and demanding career, the strong relationships he formed on campus have inspired him to stay involved with his alma mater. Memories of the campus community’s dedication to him prompted Clem to make a similar investment in today’s students.

Pepper Owens College of Interdisciplinary Studies B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, 2007 Master’s Mental Health Counseling, 2011 PEPPER OWENS could tell you a thing or two about work-life balance.

For years, she worked full time and took college courses during her lunch break, all while raising nine children. She ran out of courses before she accumulated enough credits for a bachelor’s degree. She had about 80 hours of credit, across a variety of disciplines. No one discipline had enough hours for a degree. She gave up.

In 2004, TTU’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies reached out to her. Owens enrolled in interdisciplinary studies through the Regents Online Degree Program and finished her degree in the fall of 2007.

Then she lost her job just as the economy was starting to turn sour.

In 2008, she went on to start a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She got her second degree from Tennessee Tech in May 2011.

Finishing her degrees was a step-by-step process. She said she was never sure whether she would be able to finish the work required each semester, let alone the next one or the one after that.

But her persistence paid off and enabled her to begin a career as a therapist for foster children with Camelot Care Centers.

Before she lost her job and discovered her new career, Owens held a variety of jobs in the Cookeville area in advertising, marketing and graphic design.

Owens has an appreciation for her earlier work but a passion for her counseling career. Working with foster children who are having trouble resonates with Owens.

There was a time in her life when she needed extra help with life’s problems herself. She was the recipient of Putnam County Habitat for Humanity’s first home, and even after raising nine children, she still questions the best ways to handle difficult situations, especially those that arise as a result of mental illnesses.

Owens has overcome adversity and worked against the odds to achieve personal, professional and educational success. Completing her degrees at TTU means more to Owens than finding a rewarding career she loves. Her academic achievements have made her an exemplary role model to encourage her children and her foster children to finish college as well.

ESTATE & FINANCIAL

PLANNING UPCOMING SEMINARS

November 13 Life Insurance in Estate Planning

(rescheduled from October 23)

COMPLIMENTARY dinner and seminars will be held at 6 p.m. in the Noble Cody Executive Suite in the Roaden University Center, Second Floor.

PLEASE contact the Office of Planned Giving at (931) 372-3055 or tiffrector@tntech.edu for more information.

tntech.edu/giving/deferred

From the Craft Center to the Smithsonian THE SMITHSONIAN American Art Museum recently acquired three furniture pieces from former Appalachian Center for Craft student Chris Shea.

The museum wanted the forged iron and cast glass works for its permanent collection of notable American craft and decorative arts. The two cafe chairs and arthropod side table by Shea are on exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Shea

According to Shea, “The two and a half years I spent at the Appalachian Center for Craft gave me a great foundation of skills and knowledge that I still draw on every day. I’m grateful to have studied metal and blacksmithing under Professor Bob Coogan, worked in wood with Professor Graham Campbell, and for the many hours spent in the glass shop with Professor Curt Brock.”

“Objects in the Renwick Gallery have been a source of great inspiration to me for many years, living and working as I do in the Washington, D.C, area. I’m very honored and excited to have my work included in the nation’s premier craft collection.”

Smithsonian curator Nicholas Bell commented, “Over the past 15 years, Chris Shea has developed a compelling design language that combines traditional furniture forms, muscular ironwork and luminous cast glass in ways that are at once unexpected and oddly organic.”

The cafe chairs have become a signature piece for Shea, with a form derived from traditional bentwood furniture but executed in hot-forged steel, with joinery details more common to large architectural ironwork than fine furniture. The seats are cast in thick contoured slabs of translucent green glass set directly into the iron. The table is of similar design, with the name “Arthropod” referring to the phylum of creatures such as insects and crustaceans known for their hard, segmented organic structures.

Shea designs and creates furniture, sculpture and architectural metalwork at his forge and studio outside Washington, D.C. In addition to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Galllery, his work has been shown at Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia, Woodson Art Museum, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the National Ornamental Metals Museum and at SOFA Chicago with Maurine Littleton Gallery. A native of Marblehead, Mass., Shea studied at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Tennessee and at Penland School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University. Shea’s glass work is created in association with the Washington Glass Studio.

JOIN THE CLUB

“I have worked with graduates of the most famous, top ranked universities in America, but I can tell you that Tennessee Tech has consistently produced people with a higher quality of life and competitive professionalism than any MEMBERS SINCE 2005 of them. Tech gave me directions and strengths that I could have gotten nowhere else; I’m very grateful.”

JIM KNIGHT

(MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ‘67)

“In my 30 years as a business owner, I have consistently found Tech graduates to be exceptional individuals.”

SHERRY KNIGHT

M

embers of the President’s Club come from all walks of life with one common pledge: to the continuation of Tennessee Tech’s rich traditions and to help further the university’s commitment to future generations. They understand the importance of higher education and the impact the university has on its students, the community and the economy. And they recognize the need for private support of the university in its drive for educational excellence.

Tennessee Tech is pleased to be able to offer certain courtesies to members of the President’s Club. Things such as campus parking privileges, university publications, recognition in published donor lists, along with discounts at the university bookstore and for oncampus dining or catering are just some of the courtesies extended to members. There are increasing amounts of courtesies for members as you move up the club’s five societies.

HOW DO I JOIN THE PRESIDENT’S CLUB? Membership eligibility may be attained through either cumulative gifts, pledges, or the sum of cumulative gifts plus pledges. In all cases, the gifts and/or pledges must meet the dollar values required within a 10-year period. Matching gifts count toward membership eligibility.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT AT (931) 372-3055

CLASS NOTES

Kimbrough, ‘69

1963

DALLAS SMITH, civil engineering (M.S. ’67), recently published his second book, Going Down Slow: The Times of an Old Man Who Runs (Nightengale Press 2011). Dallas, professor emeritus of civil engineering at TTU, is an avid long-distance runner and writer. His first book, Falling Forward: Tales from an Endurance Saga, was published in 2004. His blog can be found at dallasfallsforward.blogspot.com.

1967

GLEN STEWART, mathematics, ran the Clarksville Half Marathon in 1:42.16, a state record for 67-year-old men.

1969

Ashworth, ‘77

1972

1986

WILLIAM THOMPSON, secondary education, is the chief, manpower & classification, with the Missile Defense Agency in Hunstville, Ala. He resides with his wife, Teresa, and their youngest daughter, Taylor, in Rogersville, Ala.

1974

JOE RECTOR, secondary education, published his first novel, Baseball Boys.

Joe retired from teaching high school English in 2008. He writes a weekly column for the Karns/Hardin Valley Shopper News in Knoxville.

1971

1985

26 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

Neubert, ‘97

Board of Advisors for TTU’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

1977

LOUISA ROBBINS MESICH, biology, was selected as one of the 2012 recipients of Girl’s Inc. ‘Unbought and Unbossed’ Awards, honoring 10 women in the greater Chattanooga area who have had a significant impact on improving the lives of girls and women. Louisa is a teacher (exceptional education/gifted) at

Vann, ‘88

the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences.

R. CALVIN AND NELIA (TRIPP) KIMBROUGH, history (M.A. ’71) were named two of Emory University’s “175 Makers of History,” part of the university’s 175th anniversary. The couple earned their master’s degrees in divinity at Emory’s Candler School of Theology and was included in the list for their humanitarian work in Evansville, Ind., and Atlanta.

Dohoney, ‘86

GAIL VAUGHN ASHWORTH, music education, was named to the 2012 edition of “Best Lawyers.” Gail has been named to this list since 1995. It is the oldest lawyerrating publication in the U.S. and is compiled through peer-review surveys. She was listed for her personal injury defense practice.

SANDRA DUDLEY, chemical engineering (M.A. ’88, curriculum & instruction; Ph.D. ’91, engineering), has been selected as the new Director of Water Resources for Tennessee. Previously, Sandra served as the Executive Director of the Water Authority of Dickson County.

She currently serves as the chair of the

PAULA DOHONEY, health and physical education, has been named interim dean for Augusta State University’s College of Education. From 2009-2011, Paula served as the college’s associate dean. Before this move, she had served four years as chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science at ASU, and joined the university’s faculty in 2001. She holds a master’s from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and a doctoral degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

1988

BARRY VANN, secondary educationsocial studies, recently published two books, The Forces of Nature: Our Quest to Conquer the Planet (Prometheus Book 2012) and Puritan Islam: The Geoexpansion of the Muslim World (Prometheus Book 2011). Barry is a professor of geography and higher education at the University of the Cumberlands. He holds a master’s degree from Western Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in geography/divinity from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

1989

BETSY (MARTHA E.) DUNN, sociology/criminal justice, recently testified about children of methamphetamineaddicted parents before the U.S. Congress.

She is currently child protective services

Barnes, ‘00

case manager with the State of Tennessee.

“This was the opportunity of a lifetime for me! I was invited to testify about drugendangered children. I was able to tell Congress about my ‘babies’ and actually cried on CSPAN! I am truly blessed.”

1990

RHONDA BREWSTER, journalism, is celebrating the third anniversary of KidVenture, a family entertainment and party facility she designed and opened in Hunstville, Ala. She has two children.

1993

ANDRÉ (A.J.) BAHOU, civil engineering, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation for a four-year term. A.J. is a registered patent attorney.

He is currently vice president and chief intellectual property officer at Prism Technologies. He also holds an M.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University and an LL.M. from the Franklin Pierce Law Center at the University of New Hampshire. He is married to the former Margaret Clift, human resources ’93.

1997

EUGENE NEUBERT, accounting, has been appointed deputy commissioner for operations for the Tennessee Department of Health. He previously served as assistant commissioner for the department’s Bureau of Administrative Services. Eugene has worked in various capacities within Tennessee state government for more than 13 years.

Barber, ‘06

Gibbs, ‘06

Rhinehart, ‘09

2000

2009

2006

2009

2006

2011

ERIKA BARNES, world business & cultures and foreign languages (M.B.A. ’01), has joined the Nashville office of regional law firm Stites & Harbison.

She also holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University. Erika is a member of the firm’s Business & Corporate Services Group and the Business Litigation Service Group.

TIM BARBER, mechanical engineering, currently a graduate student at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, placed first in an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics student conference master’s division paper competition. The paper, co-authored by Tim and his graduate adviser, introduces a unique mathematical model for describing the motion of a reversing vortex within a conical chamber.

DANIEL GIBBS, mechanical engineering (M.S. ’09), has achieved Professional Engineer distinction.

A LEED Green Associate, Daniel is currently an engineer with Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon’s Industrial and Buildings division.

He also presented a technical paper at the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning annual conference. His research and presentation was part of a larger project to improve energy efficiency in building systems.

Moore, ‘11

GREGORY RHINEHART, geosciences/GIS, has joined the Environment Services group of engineering and architectural firm Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon. He is a GIS and CAD Specialist. Greg currently lives in Hendersonville, Tenn.

JAMES TRAVIS ROBBINS, mechanical engineering, is an engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division. He is the recipient of the division’s Technology-to-Sea Excellence Award, which is given to an individual whose science and technology work has made a notable impact on the Navy’s fighting capability. His work has improved accuracy and simplified procedures, while reducing costs, related to the service’s mortar system.

ZACH MOORE, civil engineering, is a civil designer with Civil Site Design Group. He is also a master’s degree candidate at Vanderbilt University.

ALUMNI: Log-in to update your information at tntech.edu/visions, or send news and photos to visions@tntech.edu, or to Visions, TTU Box 5056, Cookeville, TN 38505-0001.

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 27

FRIENDS REMEMBERED JOHN AGEE JR., mechanical engineering ’54 | Aug. 26, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

EVVA J. ENSOR, human ecology ’52 May 8, 2011; Cary, N.C.

JAMES D. LAY, health and physical education ’56 | June 7, 2011; Oneida, Tenn.

HASSAN M. ALNASSER, finance ’11 Nov. 11, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

WAYNE EVANS, civil engineering ’70 May 8, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

STEPHANIE AUGSPURGER, industrial engineering ’78 | Jan. 5, 2012; Loveland, Ohio

HARDY B. FERRELL, animal husbandry ’57 | Dec. 24, 2011; Mulberry, Tenn.

TIM E. LINDSEY, mechanical engineering ’91 (M.B.A. ’04) | July 28, 2011; Fairview, Tenn.

JIM E. AVARITT JR., nursing ’89 | Oct. 12, 2011; Murfreesboro, Tenn.

ROBERT C. BAKER, electrical engineering ’57 | Jan. 13, 2012; Manchester, Tenn.

ROBERT P. BANKS, elementary education ’63 | Jan. 15, 2012; Corsicana, Texas DAVID A. BARTLETT, agriculture ’60 April 1, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

KEEBLE BELL, elementary education ’74 Jan. 29, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

KAYLA C. BIDDY, business management ’11 | Feb. 25, 2012; Cleveland, Tenn.

JOE L. FINLEY JR., history ’69 | Aug. 26, 2011; Sparta, Tenn.

PETER B. FLAVIN, industrial technology ’68 | June 14, 2011; Clemson, S.C. BERRY W. FUSSELL III, social sciences ’53 | June 3, 2011; Castalian Springs, Tenn.

DEBORAH D. GARRETT, music education ’79 | Aug. 22, 2011; Harriman, Tenn.

H.B. GARRISON, agriculture ’50 | June 9, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

SYBOL S. GENELLA, administration and supervision ’80 | Jan. 5, 2012, Hixson, Tenn.

ED GENTRY, agriculture ’47 | Oct. 24, 2011; Chicago, Ill.

LESTER E. BLAIR, electrical engineering ’77 | Dec. 16, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

PAUL GIBSON, secondary education ’71 (M.A. ’72) | July 22, 2011; New Philadelphia, Ohio

JOHN R. BOLING, industrial management ’59 (M.A. ’84) | May 22, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

C.V. GORDON, special education ’79 Oct. 26, 2011; Powell, Tenn.

TAMMY D. BRIGHT, technical communication ’87 | Jan. 26, 2012; Knoxville, Tenn.

MICHAEL T. BYROM, industrial technology ’88 | March 24, 2012; Forest, Va. TIMOTHY D. CAMPBELL, civil engineering ’83 | Oct. 21, 2011; Viper, Ky. JOHN M. CARMACK, civil engineering ’03 | June 28, 2011; Hendersonville, Tenn.

HUGH E. CASTELLAW, marketing ’60 Feb. 6, 2012; Franklin, Tenn.

MICHAEL P. CATES, mechanical engineering ’92 | Jan. 1, 2012; Newport, Tenn.

HAROLD W. COKE*, social sciences ’47 Dec. 11, 2011; Antioch, Tenn.

WALTER F. COLLINS, business management ’40 | Jan. 9, 2012; Naples, Fla. WALTER H. CORDELL JR., accounting ’58 | May 16, 2011; Chattanooga, Tenn.

DAVID K. COX, biology ’70 (M.S. ’72) Nov. 15, 2011; Oak Ridge, Tenn.

HARRY G. GRISHAM, mathematics ’43 March 5, 2012; Sevierville, Tenn.

EUGENE L. HALFACRE, agricultural science ’47 | March 8, 2012; Granville, Tenn.

MARY H. LUNA, elementary education ’52 (M.A. ’68) | May 8, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

MORRIS K. LYNCH, educational counseling and guidance ’71 | June 30, 2011; McKenzie, Tenn.

LEROY MACKIE, social sciences ’57 June 26, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

ROY C. MASON JR., business management ’72 | Feb. 18, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

CHARLES E. MCBROOM, accounting ’48 Jan. 23, 2012; Columbia, Tenn.

BARBARA MCKENZIE, human ecology education ’68 | Jan. 2, 2012; Murfreesboro, Tenn.

RICKY P. MILBURN, industrial technology ’69 | Jan. 22, 2012; Manchester, Tenn.

CLAYTON H. MILLER, marketing ’57 Sept. 1, 2011; Lawrenceville, Ga. TOM MILLER, business management ’76 Sept. 17, 2011; Smithville, Tenn.

WILLIAM E. HARRISON, pre-medicine ’70 | Jan. 18, 2012; Knoxville, Tenn.

LARRY D. MITCHELL, electrical engineering ’64 | May 28, 2011; Kingston, Tenn.

MEVOLYN DELONG HASTON*, elementary education ’69 (M.A. ‘73) March 30, 2012; Sparta, Tenn.

SUE R. NORD, mathematics ’48 | Nov. 6, 2011; Jacksonville, Fla.

RACHEALL L. HITCHCOCK, sociology ’92 | May 10, 2011; Sparta, Tenn.

ARTIS E. HODGES, curriculum and instruction ’57 | Nov. 4, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

DONALD B. HOLLOWAY, curriculum and instruction ’53 | July 12, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

JOHN L. HUTCHINS, business management ’68 | Dec. 16, 2011; Cleveland, Tenn.

REBECCA KENNEDY JENSEN, English ’51 | June 5, 2011; Stow, Ohio

ED DAVIS, music education ’77 Feb. 12, 2012; Knoxville, Tenn.

THOMAS S. JOHNSTON, industrial technology ’60 Nov. 8, 2011; Knoxville, Tenn.

BOB J. DAVIS, social sciences ’50 Aug. 9, 2011; Maryville, Tenn.

MITCHELL D. JUDD, mathematics ’47 Dec. 30, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

DONALD L. DOUGLAS, mechanical engineering ’70 | Feb. 21, 2012; Stephenville, Texas

HELEN HENDERSON KEENEY, business management ’50 | March 12, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

ELISE COOPER ELLISON, human ecology ’36 | May 15, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

NAN KINGSLEY, social sciences ’50 Feb. 22, 2012; Fairfield, Texas

28 | VISIONS SUMMER 2012

VANESSA R. LOFTIS, sociology ’96 (M.A. ’02) July 12, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

FRANK KURZYNSKE, civil engineering ’49 | Oct. 8, 2011; Madison, Tenn.

BILLY J. OWNBY, industrial technology ’62 | Nov. 18, 2011; Sevierville, Tenn.

FREDA J. PATE, secondary education ’63 Feb. 20, 2012; Lebanon, Tenn.

CAYWOOD PEMBERTON JR., health and physical education ’58 | Sept. 13, 2011; Crossville, Tenn.

Ohio CARLYLE L. RUTTLEDGE, mathematics ’44 | May 19, 2011; Titusville, Fla. DAVID L. SHELTON, animal science ’77 Nov. 15, 2011; Brownsville, Tenn.

LAURIE SLUDER, early childhood education ’91 | April 4, 2012; Knoxville, Tenn.

ALTIE HAYES SMITH, business management ’37 | May 19, 2011; Estill Springs, Tenn.

LOWELL SMITH, business management ’62 | June 25, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

DOUG SMITH, mechanical engineering ’66 | Sept. 8, 2011; Red Boiling Springs, Tenn.

ROBERT O. SMITH, animal husbandry ’58 Sept. 21, 2011; Olivehill, Tenn.

CHARLOTTE WILEY SMOTHERMAN, human ecology ’41 | June 18, 2011; Clemson, S.C. DALE R. STAPP, business management ’81 | May 19, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

TONY STONE, industrial technology ’60 (M.A. ’67) | Sept. 3, 2011; Cookeville, Tenn.

DONALD D. TAYLOR, marketing ‘82 March 30, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

PAMELA D. THOMAS, educational psychology and counselor education ‘91 Dec. 15, 2011; Loudon, Tenn.

MADISON S. TREWHITT II, civil engineering ‘70 | Dec. 9, 2011; Cleveland, Tenn.

RALPH W. UNDERHILL, health and physical education ‘64 | Sept. 8, 2011; Erlanger, Ky. CAROL ANN VADEN, elementary education ‘69 | July 21, 2011; Gordonsville, Tenn.

RODGER VAUGHAN* Jan. 22, 2012; Palmer Lake, Colo.

BILLY PERRY, chemistry ’59 (M.A. ’61) June 30, 2011; Gallatin, Tenn.

JOHN VUKELICH, industrial arts ‘49 | Oct. 17, 2011; Nashville, Tenn.

RON PURKEY, civil engineering ’71 | Oct. 25, 2011; Ooltewah, Tenn.

JACK C. WALKER, mechanical engineering ‘57 | Nov. 21, 2011; Huntsville, Ala.

GARY QUARLES, mechanical engineering ’68 | Dec. 20, 2011; Wilmington, N.C.

BEULAH ERWIN WELCH, human ecology ‘39 | June 23, 2011; McMinnville, Tenn.

STEPHEN E. REAGAN, criminal justice, sociology ’88 | June 21, 2011; Livingston, Tenn.

ROGER N. WILLIAMS, electrical engineering ‘80 | Oct. 5, 2011; Corinth, Texas

SONNY REYNOLDS, animal husbandry ’59 | Nov. 20, 2011; Murfreesboro, Tenn.

MARTHA S. WILLIS, human ecology education ‘72 | March 17, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

REMA L. ROBBINS, history ’32 | Dec. 3, 2011; Signal Mountain, Tenn.

KATHLEEN RODGERS, plant and soil science ’84 | Feb. 19, 2012; Cookeville, Tenn.

DONALD J. RUELLE, business administration ’78 | Oct. 16, 2011; Bryan,

* Visionaries Society

Welcome

Dr. Phil Oldham accepts a Tennessee Tech T-shirt from Awesome Eagle at a campus introduction event. Oldham was named the ninth president of the university this past spring.

Prior to joining TTU, he served as provost and senior vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a position he had held since 2007. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Freed-Hardeman University in 1980 and his doctorate in analytical chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1985.

SUMMER 2012 VISIONS | 29

VISIONS

Tennessee Technological University Box 5111 1000 N. Dixie Ave. Cookeville, TN 38505-0001

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

President Phil Oldham accepts the Tennessee Tech mace from former President Bob Bell. The mace symbolizes the authority of the university to carry out its mission, especially the granting of degrees. Designed and executed by Alf Ward, the mace is approximately forty-five inches in length and constructed in sterling silver, gold and purple heart.