From the Director
I received my education at Reed College (B.A. Chemistry 1970) and Yale University (M. Phil 1972, Ph.D 1974 Theoretical Chemistry) and have become an interdisciplinary scholar in the true spirit of the College Scholars program. Over the years I have done scholarly work in chemistry, chemical education, philosophy and history. You can find more about my career and publications at http://www. chem.utk.edu/faculty/kovac.html. Being Director of College Scholars is a wonderful job because it allows me to work closely with some of the most talented and interesting students at the University of Tennessee.
Are there changes in store for College Scholars? Of course I will look for ways to improve an already excellent program, but my main focus in the immediate future is to raise the profile of College Scholars on campus so that every student who should be a College Scholar knows about the program. College Scholars must remain the premier honors program at the University of Tennessee which means that we need to continue to attract the best students, pair them with outstanding mentors, provide them with the support they need to achieve academic success and then publicize those successes.
Putting together this newsletter has been a real delight because I can highlight some of the remarkable accomplishments of our current scholars and also feature a few alumni who have gone on to interesting careers. I am eager to hear from alumni and would like to include your stories in a future newsletter. Please send me an e-mail at scholars@utk.edu, or write to this address:
Jeffrey Kovac
Professor of Chemistry
Director of College Scholars
Department of Chemistry
1420 Circle Drive
University of Tennesse
Knoxville, TN 37996-1600