The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences is proud of our faculty, staff and students. Several were named as recipients at the 2021 Chancellor’s Honors banquet.

Excellence in Advising

Excellence in Advising is bestowed by the Office of the Chancellor and the Teaching Council of the Faculty Senate to honor outstanding work in advising.

Megan Haselschwerdt

Megan HaselschwerdtMegan Haselschwerdt is an associate professor in child and family studies. She studies intimate partner violence and teaches about child and family diversity, families and stress, and qualitative research methods. She strives to join her colleagues and students in pushing for a more equitable university and field of family science. She wouldn’t be able to do all of this without the love and support of her partner, David, or the love and joy that her toddler and two wild dogs provide.

What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?

Being a Volunteer means working hard to create a physical and virtual world in which all students, faculty, and staff are treated equitably and historical and contemporary wrongdoings are acknowledged and eradicated through collective work. UT has given me access to a wealth of knowledge from all sorts of disciplines and communities.

Hardy Liston Jr. Symbol of Hope Award

The Hardy Liston Jr. Symbol of Hope Award goes to a faculty member, staff member, or friend of the university whoDorian McCoydemonstrates a commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, and appreciation of the differences in people and cultures on our campus.

Dorian L. McCoy

Dorian L. McCoy is the director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. He is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, coordinates the College Student Personnel master’s program, and co-directs the UTK-Project GRAD Knoxville Summer Institute.

Excellence in Teaching

Excellence in Teaching is bestowed by the Office of the Chancellor and the Teaching Council of the Faculty Senate to honor outstanding work in the classroom.

Robert Richardson

Robert RichardsonRob Richardson is a clinical faculty member in educational psychology and counseling, where he helps train school psychologists and directs the University-Assisted Community Schools, which leverages university and community resources to support the work of public schools. Rob teaches classes on Special Education, assessment, and implementation in schools.

What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?

University of Tennessee has fantastic students, and excellent support for teaching. I was especially impressed by the quality of the support that I received from the university to pivot to online instruction during the pandemic. Great people and great community, that’s what makes being a Volunteer uniquely wonderful!

LGBTQ Advocate Award

The LGBTQ Advocate Award recognizes a faculty member, staff member, or student who demonstrates a commitment to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues on campus.

Mitsunori Misawa

Mitsunori MisawaMitsunori Misawa, PhD, is associate professor and associate head of the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is also the chair of the Chancellor’s Commission for LGBT People.

Misawa’s major areas of research center on social justice and encompass the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation, academic and workplace bullying, policy and leadership studies, human resource and organizational development, social sciences research methodologies, and adult learning in professional settings.

LGBTQ Student Leadership Award

The LGBTQ Student Leadership Award is given by the Commission for LGBT People to a student who demonstrates a commitment to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues on campus.

Will Martinez

Will MartinezWill Martinez (he/him/his) is a second-year master’s student in the College Student Personnel program and the Pride Center graduate research assistant. Will is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion; interpersonal violence prevention; and research in higher education. In the fall, he will begin his PhD journey in public health sciences here at UT.
What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?

Having been born and raised in Knoxville, moving away for years, and now returning for my master’s and doctorate, I consider myself a Vol for Life. Being a volunteer is a declaration of servant leadership and committing yourself to Vol Means All in all aspects. It means volunteering yourself to being open-minded, compassionate, and dedicated to making inclusive environments for all of our vols. It means continuing to challenge the place you love to make our home truly home sweet home to everyone.

Torchbearers

Natalie Campbell

Natalie Campbell

Born and raised in Knoxville, Natalie chose UT her senior year, while at an admissions meeting where she was personally handed her letter of acceptance. There, Natalie instantly became a Vol for Life. During her time at UT Natalie has been involved with Ignite, SGA, LKS, Student Ambassadors, and RUF.

What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?

The thing that makes a good leader great, is to have an equal willingness to follow. This is the same when it comes to the Volunteer. Rooted in servant-hearted leadership, being a Volunteer means serving without expectation, giving with no hope of getting in return, and leaving things better than when you found them. To me, being a Volunteer is the greatest gift you can ever give, and helping others is the ultimate gift you can ever receive.

My time at the University of Tennessee has taught me this since the moment I arrived on campus. The idea of going beyond yourself for someone else is powerful and has challenged my way of thinking, on and off Rocky Top. UT has helped me see the impact each person has on the people around them, and then some. In the last four years I have felt empowered to reach beyond myself and grow to value the weight that each person carries with them, simply by being human. Emily Style, a relational scholar in education, in 1988 said, “Education needs to enable the student to look through window frames in order to see the realities of others and into mirrors in order to see her/his own reality reflected.” This is true when it comes to life as well. Being a Volunteer has taught me how to look through the windows of the lives of different people around me, and see them and their story. While also looking into the mirrors of people like me that I can see myself in. Learning this, has been the greatest gift the University of Tennessee could have ever given me, and for that I will always be thankful.

Trey Smith

Trey Smith

Trey Smith graduated in December with a degree in recreation and sports management. An All-American guard and captain of the Tennessee football team, Smith was an active leader on and off the field, organizing donation drives for nonprofit organizations in Knoxville, volunteering at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, and assisting with a peaceful campus march for racial justice. He served on the SEC Football Leadership Council and was a member of the VOLeaders Academy and a two-time SEC Community Service Team representative. Smith is currently preparing for the 2021 NFL draft and hopes to create a foundation to help communities as well as a scholarship in his late mother’s name should he reach the NFL.

 

Top Collegiate Scholars

The Top Collegiate Scholar Awards honor undergraduates who exhibit extraordinary scholarship.

The college has eight students who were recognized as Top Collegiate Scholars.  Those students are:

  • Emma Brooke Altizer
  • Dylan Blanchard
  • Madison Nicole Foster
  • Amanda Joann Herring
  • Anna Kathryn Horn
  • Keely Morgan Houk
  • Lauren Elizabeth Lilly
  • Rebecca Leigh Pettross

Leave a Comment