Freeberg Takes Program Reins

September 29, 2020 by bharve20

Todd Freeberg became the new director of the College Scholars Program August 1, 2020. He is a professor and associate head of the Department of Psychology and a joint faculty member in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Freeberg is a husband, father of a sixth grader, dog person, and a music lover (and a HUGE fan of Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival).

Freeberg has been at UT since 2002, after obtaining his PhD in biology from Indiana University and postdoctoral work in biological sciences and audiology and speech sciences at Purdue University. He regularly teaches classes in animal behavior, responsible conduct of research, and various topics in First-Year Studies. He loves Knoxville and East Tennessee, but being a winter person, he still does not handle summers here all that well.

Freeberg is in the neuroscience and behavior research area in the Department of Psychology, where he studies animal behavior with a focus on communication. His main area of research involves testing how variation in complexity and diversity of groups of animals affects their communicative, and broader social, behavior.

Animal behavior is an inherently integrative and often interdisciplinary field of study. Interdisciplinary approaches to research questions was one of the key reasons he was interested in the College Scholars program, where scholars excel at such approaches. He is thankful to Professor Kovac for all of his help and advice in making this transition. He will be a very tough act to follow.

Although much of the fall semester will likely still be online, Freeberg is hopeful that College Scholars work can be back to a face-to-face community as soon as possible. His key goals include increasing the diversity of students in the program, increasing the sense of inclusion and community among College Scholars, and increasing the voice and recognition of the program at the university.

Message from Retiring Program Director Jeffrey Kovac

September 29, 2020 by bharve20

When I was appointed director of College Scholars in the fall 2011, my predecessor, Professor Christopher Craig, told me it was the best job at the University of Tennessee. After nine years as director, I think that was an understatement. Working with the most talented and creative undergraduates at UT and interacting with the amazing alumni of the program is challenging, stimulating, and rewarding. Building on the solid foundation laid down by Chris Craig and the other previous directors, we have had quite a few successes over the past several years.

In 2013, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of College Scholars with a reunion event in Knoxville, a publication celebrating
40 years of the program (Van-Griner Publishing), and the printing of a beautiful College Scholars poster by alumna Kelsey Roy.

Following a discussion at the reunion, we created a searchable, password-protected online alumni directory on the College Scholars website that allows alumni to reconnect with each other and with the program. To add your profile, please visit scholars.utk.edu/alumni_form.php. We created a College Scholars Facebook page where we regularly post news about current scholars and alumni. We welcome all our alumni to follow us.

In 2014, we established the alumni advisory board, which meets annually to review the program and assist the director. Board members are eight of our distinguished alumni.

We relocated the College Scholars office to a large room in Alumni Memorial Building where we have records of the program and a gallery of photos, posters, and art that illustrate the history of the program.

Three new scholarship endowments have been established since 2011: the Andrew Hoover Scholarship, the Jay and Cindy St. Clair Scholarship, and the Harry C. Jacobson College Scholars Scholarship. The first awards from the Hoover and St. Clair endowments were made in 2018-2019.

As part of the Jacobson Endowment, the top graduate in College Scholars is given the Professor Harry C. Jacobson Memorial Award for Academic Excellence. A special medallion has been created that the winner wears at commencement. The first three winners were Kimberly Bress (’18), Patrick Sonnenberg (’19) and Natalie J. Campbell (’20).

Alumni have been very generous in contributing to the College Scholars Excellence Fund. Since 2014, the average annual contribution has
been more than $13,000, which has allowed us to support senior projects, internships, and travel to conferences. All of these are important experiences and the Excellence Fund allows more students to take advantage of them.

College Scholars continue to excel, winning prestigious national awards including Goldwater Scholarships, Fulbright Scholarships, Critical Language Scholarships, and the Torchbearer Award. Two Scholars, Morgan Hartgrove and Natalie Campbell, have been elected as SGA President.

My last year as director, 2019-2020, was eventful. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university shut down after spring break and all activities were conducted online. We had to adapt. The usual interviews of applicants were conducted via Zoom, as were the last few meetings of the seminar and senior project defenses. Sadly, the usual end-of-semester celebrations, including
the graduation reception for seniors and their families, had to be cancelled. One bright spot was that we invited
14 new Scholars to join the program during the spring semester, bringing the annual total to 18. At least two new Scholars have been added this summer. Discussions with prospective students continue using email and Zoom.

In February, Todd Freeberg, professor of psychology, was appointed as the next director of College Scholars. He and I have been able to work together since then, both in person and remotely, to help him learn how the program works. He will bring both enthusiasm and new ideas to College Scholars.

In my letter of application in 2011, I said that I thought that being the director of College Scholars would be the capstone of my career and it certainly has been. It has been a pleasure to work with both talented students and faculty mentors. As noted on page 11 in this newsletter, as my retirement gift to the program, my wife and I are establishing a new endowment to fund an annual visit by a visiting scholar whose research or creative activity epitomizes the mission of College Scholars. This endowment is a way to say thank you for all that the program has given me.

Campbell Selected for Mitchell Scholarship

September 29, 2020 by bharve20

Natalie Campbell, a May 2020 graduate, who served as student body president and has earned accolades for her work advocating alongside people with disabilities, was selected for a Mitchell Scholarship, one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards in the country.

She is the first UT student to be named a Mitchell Scholar and one of only 12 members of the George J. Mitchell Scholar Class of 2021, having been chosen in a highly rigorous national selection process that culminated in interviews in Washington, DC, in November 2019.

As a Mitchell Scholar, Campbell will be returning to Northern Ireland to study. As a rising junior, Campbell was selected to participate in the Fulbright UK Summer Institute at Queen’s University Belfast. She was also the first UT student to be awarded a spot in this prestigious program, where she was initially exposed to Queen’s acclaimed shared education program and inspired to pursue the Mitchell. Campbell said she looks forward to expanding her research on inclusive education as a Mitchell Scholar.

“I am incredibly honored to receive this award—it will be my pleasure to represent UT and Tennessee to the Mitchell Scholarship Program and to Northern Ireland,” Campbell said. “My studies at Queen’s will prepare me for a career reforming the quality and type of education students with intellectual disability receive across the United States.

“I am incredibly grateful to my family, who inspire me and were my first educators in advocacy, as well as my professors, advisors, and friends at UT, who have provided wise counsel and extraordinary experiences that have made my success possible.”

Mitchell Scholars are awarded a year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland. As a Mitchell Scholar, Campbell will pursue a master’s degree in inclusion and special educational needs at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

“We are thrilled to have our first Mitchell Scholar at UT, and even more pleased that the recipient of this prestigious honor is Natalie Campbell,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman. “She is a proven leader on campus and in the greater community, and is committed to helping those around her. We’ve always known that UT students are extraordinary, and it’s wonderful to see them receive international honors. Their success is also a testament to our university’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate scholarship, research, and engagement.”

Andrew Seidler, director of UT’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, which facilitates nomination of UT students for nationally competitive awards, echoed the chancellor’s sentiments: “To have a Mitchell Scholar is a tremendous honor for UT, so it’s fitting that our first Mitchell is Natalie Campbell, who’s made countless leadership contributions to this university and to the disability community in Tennessee. She just has this extraordinary will to instigate important change. I couldn’t be happier for Natalie—she’s absolutely earned this award.”

Campbell, of Farragut, Tennessee, was accepted into College Scholars Program in the fall of 2015 with a program titled Disability Studies. Her mentors were Adam Cureton, associate professor of philosophy, and Juli Sams, lecturer and community outreach practicum coordinator in child and family studies. She also completed a second major in legal and political philosophy. In spring 2020, Campbell was named the third winner of the Professor Harry C. Jacobson Award for Academic Excellence as the top graduate in College Scholars.

Campbell’s advocacy work is inspired by her relationship with her sister, Olivia, who has Down syndrome. Campbell has been advocating alongside people with intellectual disabilities since she was in middle school, when she led a campaign to educate people about the negative impacts of derogatory language regarding people with disabilities and to improve K–12 inclusive education of students with an intellectual disability.

At UT, Campbell has worked closely with UT’s FUTURE postsecondary education program, which helps young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities make a successful transition from high school to adult life.

Campbell was active in UT’s Student Government Association beginning in her freshman year. In spring 2019, she was honored with an award for extraordinary campus leadership and service and was named a Torchbearer in spring 2020.

The George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program, which honors former US Senator George Mitchell’s contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland, is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service. The program provides tuition, accommodations, and a stipend for living expenses and travel.