Etcetera
News Briefs from the UT Institute
of Agriculture
Gossett Announces Retirement
Dr. D.M. Gossett, vice president for agriculture since
1987, has announced he will retire from UT, effective June 30, 1998.
A native of Benton, Tennessee, Gossett began his career
at UT with the Agricultural Extension Service in 1965. He was dean of the
Agricultural Experiment Station before becoming vice president, succeeding
Dr. W.W. Armistead.
UT President Joe Johnson has appointed a search committee
to name Gossett's successor. A complete report on Gossett's career at UT
will appear in the summer issue of UT Agriculture.
Two Interim Department Heads Named; Superintendent
Appointed
Dr. Dan McLemore and Dr. Charles Pless have been named
interim department heads in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology and
Entomology and Plant Pathology, respectively.
McLemore, who has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from
Clemson, has been on the faculty at UT since 1976. He replaces Dr. Handy
Williamson, who is currently serving in an administrative internship at
the University of California, Davis.
Pless takes over for Dr. Carroll Southards, who retired
in June after 23 years as department head. A faculty member at UT since
1966, Pless has a Ph.D. in entomology from Clemson.
Dr. Blake Brown has assumed the superintendent's position
for two branches of the UT Agricultural Experiment Station. Brown, who received
his doctorate in plant and soil science from UT in 1993, will manage Experiment
Station branches at Milan and Martin. He replaces John Bradley, who resigned
in April to accept a position with Monsanto. Brown was formerly a researcher
for DuPont Agricultural Products.
Extension Redraws District Lines
Because of budget cuts, the Agricultural Extension Service
has reorganized the state into four districts instead of five, effective
October 1, 1997.
Most counties involved in the redistricting are on the
Cumberland Plateau and in East Tennessee.
With the restructuring, district offices in Chattanooga
and Cookeville will be closed, and a new office will open on the grounds
of the Clyde York 4-H Center in Crossville.
Dr. Ivory Lyles, supervisor for District III (Chattanooga
district), will become supervisor for the newly created Cumberland District
on January 1. Dr. Rural Peace, supervisor of District IV (Upper Cumberland),
retired in December 1997.
Dr. Linda Byler, a program leader in District IV, will
be program leader for family and consumer sciences in the new district.
Dean Northcutt, formerly Extension leader in Coffee County, will be the
acting program leader for agricultural programs for the new Cumberland district.
Alumni E-mail Directory -- Another Way to Stay
in Touch
Have e-mail? Want to talk with old friends?
Join our UT alumni e-mail
directory for graduates in agriculture, natural resources, and veterinary
medicine. We'll list your e-mail address online by class and by major-at
no charge, of course.
Send us e-mail with the information listed below; then
visit the alumni web page to check your listing and look for old friends.
Please allow us a few days to enter new addresses. If you want to be removed
from the list at any time, just send an e-mail or call us at (423) 974-1928.
One restriction: we respectfully request that the listed addresses be used
for personal correspondence only and not for unsolicited marketing.
Please include the following information: Name, maiden
name or name you went by at UT, class year (or last year attended), degree
you received from UT (may list multiple degrees), your major(s), your e-mail
address. Also include your home address and phone number for our office
use only, in case we have questions. E-mail to: Lgary@utk.edu. We'll send
an e-mail reply to confirm your directory listing.
The Tag that Brags About Ag
If you still don't have one of Tennessee's new Ag Tags,
it's not too late to get one.
Designed by Richard Maxey, graphic artist for the UT Agricultural
Extension Service, the Ag Tag costs $25 plus the usual tag fees. To get
yours, contact your county clerk's office.
It's a Dirty Job... And the Soil Vols know how
to do it right.
The UT Department of Plant and Soil Science's collegiate
soil judging team placed third in the 1997 Southeast Regional Soils Contest
in October, qualifying for the nationals in April 1998 at the University
of Georgia.
The team's nine seniors also won third and seventh place
individual honors in the American Society of Agronomy-sponsored event. In
all, 75 students from 11 universities took part, with only Virginia Tech
and Auburn finishing higher than UT.
UT's participation was made possible by the alumni-supported
UT  Soil Judging
Fund, said coach Dr. J.T. Ammons. |