Tag: CEHHS
Grant Kobes

Honors Leadership Program Student Leads Vex U Robotics Team to World Championship and International Community Service Award in its First Year

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It is common to find Leadership Studies minor students in the traditionally recognized student leadership positions and honors. Each graduating class of the Leadership Studies minor, since its inception in Fall 2015, has included at least one TorchBearer and Chancellors Honors Award recipients including 2 Extraordinary Campus Leadership and Service recipients. By its 4th graduating class in Spring 2019, the LSM alumni will include 5 student government executive officers (including 2 presidents and 2 vice presidents) and a President of the Panhellenic Council. It might be helpful to share that in addition to our students graduating as exemplary student leaders, this year a freshman pursuing the honors leadership studies minor and a member of the inaugural Honors Leadership Program shows what our students can do with a little support and nudge.

Grant Kobes – a first year Honors Leadership Program student completing an assignment for his first foundations of leadership course within the minor – created a strategic leadership plan to found and serve as the chief engineer for UTK’s Vex U Robotics Team, YNOT.  Grant secured a team mentor and started a new student organization after writing a budget, constitution, holding interest meetings/ individual member skills evaluations/ and officer elections.  His team spent the fall serving as volunteer referees and judges at high school events in order to gain experience with game strategy.  With no sponsor or work space, Grant and his teammates created their first robot iteration in the floor of his dorm room!  Team YNOT had an amazing first season, ranking 5th in world in autonomous programming and driver skills, and competing at the 2018 Vex Robotics World Championship.

One of Grant’s top leadership goals is reflected in Team YNOT’s mission statement: a focus on mentoring younger teams in the Knoxville community. Their work last year included creating an alliance of more than 15 area high school teams, all of which were personally coached by UTK’s team members.  The impact of this collaboration was recognized and praised by judges, resulting in team YNOT receiving the prestigious Community Award at this year’s World Championship.  This award is presented to the university level team that has demonstrated the most meaningful leadership and influence toward promoting STEM education in their local community.  Grant’s goal is to use competitive robotics to recruit the most talented high school students from the Knoxville area to the Tickle College of Engineering in the coming years.

Grant was also honored with an invitation to attend the 2018 Vex Robotics Event Partner Summit in Greenville, Texas.  This all-expense paid trip allowed leaders in Vex robotics from around the world a chance to meet at Vex headquarters to discuss the coming season.  As the youngest attendee in Vex history, Grant connected with many key individuals at both the state and national level.

This summer, Grant recruited over 50 new members while promoting his team at 11 of 13 orientation sessions.  His leadership philosophy focuses on personally getting to know each perspective student’s strengths and interests so that he can help them become a valued team member.  Grant invites anyone interested to contact him at gkobes@vols.utk.edu or the team Instagram @YNOTrobotics.

Kenneth Carrico

V.O.L.S. Lead Graduate Kenneth Carrico is New Farragut High Director of Bands

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Kenneth Carrico completed the V.O.L.S. Lead online program, along with his principalship license, and graduated in May of 2018 with a Masters in Educational Administration.

Knoxville News Sentinel article: Click Here

(Photo courtesy of Michael Patrick/News Sentinel)

Chandra Harris-McCray, 2018 WPI Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Recipient

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Congratulations to Chandra Harris-McCray, PhD student in Higher Education Administration, who is the recipient of the 2018 Women’s Philanthropy Institute Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. This fellowship will help Chandra complete her dissertation at the University of Tennessee Knoxville on African American alumnae philanthropy to institutions of higher education.

Chandra’s argument, informed by research as well as a decade of personal and professional experience, has led her to the premise that Women of Color, and in particular African America women, are often ignored and overlooked for their philanthropic potential. The implications for her findings go beyond identifying a new donor source, speaking more specifically to influence. Philanthropy and giving lends voice and authority which in turn can ignite change. As Chandra’s proposal demonstrated, diverse voices are missing from the perspectives of many organizations and agencies. Chandra’s study, framed in cogent theory, has the transformative potential to facilitate change.

Big Orange Family Campaign

ELPS, PERC, & CEL Honored at Big Orange Family Campaign Celebration

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The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, including the Postsecondary Education Research Center and the Center for Educational Leadership, were honored at the Big Orange Family Campaign Celebration for achieving 100 percent participation among its faculty and staff.

The Big Orange Family Campaign is an annual month long initiative to enhance philanthropy among faculty and staff.  Last year, donations helped provide 6,148 undergraduate and graduate students with scholarships.  This year the Big Orange Family Campaign reached 59.56% participation, a full 5.5% higher than the campus-wide goal of 54%.

Read more about the Big Orange Family Campaign here

April 2018 Promising Practice

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PERC publishes another Promising Practices for 2018 discussing results of results for Chattanooga State Community College’s “Focus on Completion.”

Promising Practices is an initiative sponsored by the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The series highlights evidence-based practices promoting student success inclusive of access, persistence, retention, and postgraduate success.

Read more about April’s 2018 Promising Practice

Patrick Biddix to Teach NASPA Online Course on March 26, 2018

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Patrick Biddix will join Joseph Levy and Rishi Sriram in teaching an online course hosted by The NASPA Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community.  The course titled, “Assessment versus Research.  What is the Difference?  Why Does It Matter?”, will help students to establish and clarify the language used for assessment and research, expectations of practitioners at multiple levels, and trends in the field.

As a result of attending the course, students will:

  • gain foundational knowledge about the concepts of assessment and research;
  • learn approaches to assessment and research based on definitions and philosophy;
  • apply assessment and research processes to student affairs practice; and
  • articulate the need for assessment and research skill development as professional practice.

The course will take place on March 26, 2018 at 1:00pm est.  It is free for members of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Research KC and $99 for non-members.

Read more about the course here

Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor, Jimmy Cheek, Named 2018 United Way Campaign Chair

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Jimmy Cheek, Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor, will be taking on another new role for the year; the 2018 United Way Campaign Chair in addition to his role within our college. He will replace Ken Lowe, who over the course of 2017, raised almost fourteen million dollars for the organization. The United Way helps people by raising funds and supporting programs that provide opportunity and create lasting change in the community.  His efforts will help ensure a good life for all by funding essential programs.

In Fall 2017, Cheek joined the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (CEHHS) in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. In addition to teaching graduate classes, Cheek has established and oversees the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC). This center identifies, conducts and coordinates research on initiatives and ideas designed to enhance higher education at the institutional, state, and national levels to enhance policy and practice. Through this center, partnerships with organizations such as the Tennessee Board of Regents and the university system as well as several postsecondary institutions across the state will focus on improving higher education in Tennessee.

We congratulate you on this new appointment and wish you every success.

Story and photo compliments of CEHHS

Big Orange College Tour

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Has anyone ever told you to “never judge a book by its cover”? Well, I’m adding to the phrase: never judge an institution by its type.

College Student Personnel Universities VisitLast week, my graduate program of College Student Personnel spent three full days visiting Belmont University, Fisk University, the University of Tennessee at Martin, and West Kentucky Community Technical College to learn about how these institutions worked. While I will probably wait a while before hopping on a bus again, I am definitely thankful for the chance to see my learning in action. Meeting with student affairs professionals, asking questions, and looking behind-the-scenes at how students are served at each location allowed me to build a better picture of this field I’m learning about at the University of Tennessee.

The biggest lesson of the trip, though, was that my preconceived notions of what I thought I’d see were so wrong. My assumption that a small, rural community college wouldn’t be as impactful for students as a large, urban institution was shattered. I realized that, sometimes, tradition and a tight-knit community makes for a group of amazing student leaders. And I’m going to take this lesson into the rest of my career. As I continue my education at the University of Tennessee, I’m going to look for the gems within the University that make this institution amazing. I can’t wait to find them.

Story written by Madison Merrifield, graduate student in the College Student Personnel program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. 

Chris Ndiritu

CSP Student Receive SACSA Graduate Student Award

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The College Student Personnel Program located in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies is proud to share that our 2018 Cohort student, Chris Ndiritu, has been awarded the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA) award for Outstanding Graduate Student for 2017.

Chris Ndiritu, Recipient of the SACSA Graduate Student AwardChris has demonstrated “academic achievement, campus involvement and potential for significant contributions to the Student Affairs profession” per the qualification guidelines for the award.  While working towards his degree, Chris is also an Assistant Hall Director for Hess Hall.

The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences congratulates you Chris!  Read more about the SACSA; an organization “providing cooperative assocation and professional development for professionals engaged in college student affairs work.”

April Partin

Meet April Partin, 2017-18 Leadership Academy Fellow

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The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies would like to introduce you to April Partin.  April is an assistant principal at Green Magnet Academy. Previously, April served as an assistant principal at A. L. Lotts Elementary School. She also taught third- and fifth-grade students as a classroom teacher at A. L. Lotts and served as a lead teacher. April has a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in elementary education from UT, as well as an Education Specialist degree in educational administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University.

April is one of 15 fellows chosen for the 2017-18 Center for Educational Leadership’s Leadership Academy based in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. During this full-time, intensive 15-month fellowship program, April will spend four days a week at a school with an experienced mentor principal and a fifth day in coursework and seminars with professors and expert practitioner partners learning the research and theory behind great school leadership.  Next, all the fellows will lead an action research capstone project that integrates their learning across the many curricular areas of the academy, and complete an electronic portfolio documenting proficiency in school leadership.  Upon successful completion of the program, April will be awarded a master’s or educational specialist degree and will be eligible to earn a license to be a school principal in Tennessee.

Congratulations April for being selected as one of the 2017-18 Leadership Academy Fellows!