Mathematics

Home

Archives

Board of Visitors Spotlight: Thomas Chappell

by

Tom Chappell was a founding member of the Board of Visitors (BoV) for the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2018. He served as its inaugural president and is currently the past president. Chappell played a pivotal role in re-establishing the enlarged BoV during 2022-2023. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from UT in 1966, majoring in mathematics and physical sciences. He then embarked on a successful business career in information technology, starting with State Farm and IBM. His IT career continued with NLT Corporation, where he managed software developers and participated as a team member implementing software to support a homeowner’s insurance line of business. During his time at NLT, he furthered his education, earning a Master of Arts degree in economics and finance from Middle Tennessee State University in 1975. 

He expanded his role in IT pursuits and in technology management with the Coastal Corporation in Houston. While working at Coastal, he won election to the Alief Independent School District school board, where he honed public entity leadership skills. He was then recruited from Coastal by HMSS for his management skills in bringing about the successful integration of divergent departments within an organization and creating a high-functioning group. While at HMSS Inc. Chappell transformed an IT organization that was failing into a progressive department that significantly contributed to the success of the company. 

For the remainder of his business career, he formed and managed his own consulting company. He consulted with multiple national and international companies, including performing organizational and technical reviews for the Texas comptroller and the Texas legislature budget board reviewing Texas public school districts, local county governments and appraisal districts, and several independent school districts, helping them improve their business management and IT departments. 

Chappell retired from active business and technology consulting in 2010 and subsequently has spent most of his time creating and working with non-profit organizations. 


Math Board of Visitors Expands

by

After more than a year’s preparation, an expanded, diverse 23-member Board of Visitors (BoVs) was established in fall 2023 to serve as ambassadors and strategic partners for the Department of Mathematics. 

The board assists with formulating the department’s long-term development plans and strengthening its reputation nationally and internationally.

In 2024, the BoV established a full leadership team, including Jeremy Mitchell, Renee Fister, and Kirill Yakovlev. Tom Chappell, a founding member of the board, became the past president.

The BoV works to highlight the department among businesses, the general public, alumni, and the University of Tennessee. Board members also foster relationships with businesses and government labs, paving the way for contractual agreements and internships that benefit the department’s students. 

The BoV also actively seeks funding opportunities that can fuel new initiatives and short-term projects. 

Visit https://math.utk.edu/give-to-math/ to support the UT Department of Mathematics’ students, faculty, research, and Board of Visitors initiatives.

2023-2024 Academic Year in Review

by

The “Program Assessment Conference for Mathematics [P.A.C.-Math]: Tools for Math Departments to Self-Assess GTA Professional Development Programs” was held on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, from October 20-21, 2023, and was organized locally by faculty member Jeneva Clark with assistance from the departmental staff. Rosario Dow was instrumental in its success. The conference was partially supported by the National Science Foundation and the math department. About 30 people from around the country, plus one international guest, attended the workshop.

The “103rd Annual MAA-SE (Mathematical Association of America-Southeastern Section) Section Meeting took place on the UT campus from March 14-16, 2024. It was locally organized by Jeneva Clark with assistance from several faculty and staff members, as well as graduate students. More than 500 people attended the meeting, and the conference was a terrific success according to MAA. One former section chair wrote, “All our meetings are great, but this one truly goes down in history.” A special event of the meeting was honoring MAA member and civil rights hero Bill Brodie. Please see the August/September issue MAA FOCUS for the detailed story.

The 52nd Barrett Lectures took place on the UT campus from May 20-22, 2024. The topic of the lectures was “Stochastic Analysis and its Applications,” and it was organized by the probability group.  Eleven invited one-hour talks were delivered, and about 40 people attended the lectures. The 52nd Barrett Lectures were supported by the National Science Foundation, the research office, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Mathematics.

The math department underwent a comprehensive Academic Program Review (APR) in 2023-2024. Such a review occurs roughly once every ten years. The department’s last APR was done in 2014-2015. The APR process consists of four steps. First, the department prepared a comprehensive self-study report, which requires a lot of time and effort. Second, an external APR committee, invited by the Office of Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, came to UT for a site visit, from March 31-April 2, 2024. The APR committee submitted an evaluation report about various aspects of the department and made constructive recommendations. The report was then shared with the department, which provided a response to the APR committee’s report. Finally, the department head met with the college and university administrations to discuss the APR report and the department’s response, resulting in a specific action plan.

The 2024 Math Department Honors Day was held in the Student Union on Monday, April 8, 2024. This was the first time the ceremony was live-streamed on the internet. It was a great gathering and celebration of the achievements of the faculty, staff, graduate students, and math majors.

Department Honors and Awards

by

Group photo from awards ceremony

In addition to the many departmental awards and scholarships presented at 2024 Honors Day, below are awards and honors received by the faculty, staff, and graduate students from other organizations.

Chancellor’s Professor Suzanne Lenhart delivered the prestigious J. W. Gibbs Lecture at the Joint Math Meetings in San Francisco on January 6, 2024. 

Associate Professor Olivia Feldman (formerly Prosper) received the 2024 Chancellor’s/Provost’s Professional Promise in Research and Creative Achievement Award. 

Professor Abner Salgado received the 2023-2024 College Arts and Sciences Mid-Career Research Award and the Outstanding Graduate Research Mentor Award from the Graduate Student Senate. 

Distinguished Lecturer Jeneva Clark received the 2023 Mathematics Association of America (MMA) Southeastern Section Distinguished Teaching Award and delivered a plenary talk at the 103rd MAA-SE Sectional Meeting.

Professor Vasileios Maroulas was named the assistant vice chancellor and deputy director of the AI Tennessee Initiative in January of 2024. 

Dahkota Debold received the Student Disability Services Accessibility Champion Award and the Graduate Student Senate Excellence in Service Award. 

Melissa Pulley and Margaret Knight received the Graduate Student Senate Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching Award. 

Juvy Melton received the 2024 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Financial Support Award at the Summer Jam Staff Appreciation Event.

Ben Walker was awarded the 2024 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Technical Support Award at the Summer Jam Staff Appreciation Event. 

Tina Murr received the 2024 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Academic Support Award at the Summer Jam Staff Appreciation Event.

Rosario Dow, Tina Murr, Pam Armentrout, Nicole Crombie, Calvin Wong, and Carson Wright received the College of Arts and Sciences Kudos recognition.

On May 7, Pam Armentrout, Juvy Melton, and Ben Walker received service awards for working at the University of Tennessee for 40 years, 30 years, and 25 years, respectively.

Alumnus Kevin Farmer an Actuarial Analyst

by

Math major Kevin Farmer graduated in May with a concentration in applied math. He is a veteran and a first-generation college student who is pursuing a career as an actuary. 

Farmer completed an actuarial internship while a student at UT and successfully passed the first two actuarial exams, which cover material in probability and financial mathematics. 

After graduation, he began working as an actuarial analyst at MassMutual Life Insurance.

“My time at UT was memorable because of the support I received from staff and other students,” Farmer said. “I have also enjoyed being able to help others through math tutoring and by sharing my career journey and experiences.”