The first recipients of the Tennessee Fellowship for Graduate Excellence have been chosen.
The new $4 million fellowship program, administered by the Graduate School, was designed to help UT recruit top graduate students from around the world.
The fellows come from 31 states and nine countries. Fifteen completed prior studies at UT. They will receive $10,000 each year for four years of study—amounting to $40,000 on top of their college-funded graduate research assistant or graduate teaching assistant stipends.
Dixie Thompson, dean of the Graduate School, said the program, which phases out the Graduate School’s old top-off program, is part of the strategic plan to enhance graduate education.
“This new program provides game-changing awards,” Thompson said. “By the 2020–21 academic year, the Tennessee Fellows program will have helped us recruit an elite group of 400 graduate students.”
Here is the list of the first Tennessee Fellows, along with their course of study and previous institution:
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
- Amanda Lee, PhD student in animal science, University of Kentucky
- Robert Pellegrino, PhD student in food science and technology, University of Arkansas
- Cristina Maldonado, PhD student in natural resources, UT
College of Architecture and Design
- Suehyun Choi, Master of Landscape Architecture student, Centre College (Danville, Kentucky),
- Kristia Bravo, Master of Architecture student, UT
- Mary Pruett Smith, Master of Architecture student, UT
College of Arts and Sciences
- Hayden McKee, PhD student in anthropology, University College of London (England)
- Katharine G. Ryan, PhD student in anthropology, University of Cambridge (England)
- Katharina Holand, PhD student in chemistry, University of Wuerzburg (Germany)
- Andrew Chancellor, PhD student in chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Gavin McCarver, PhD student in chemistry, Utah State University
- Breana Wilson, PhD student in chemistry, Coastal Carolina University (Conway, South Carolina)
- Claire A. Mondro, PhD student in geology, Pennsylvania State University
- Paula J. Perilla, PhD student in geology, University of Oklahoma
- Rachel Swenie, PhD student in ecology and evolutionary biology, UT
- Claire Winfrey, PhD student in ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oklahoma
- Allison Davis, PhD student in English, Ohio State University
- Caroline Jansen, PhD student in English, Western Michigan University
- Karen Norwood, PhD student in English, University of Nevada, Reno
- Daniel Allen Burow, PhD student in geography, University of North Dakota
- Laura Gayle Smith, PhD student in geography, Frostburg State University (Frostburg, Maryland)
- Thomas Maurer, PhD student in history, Western Michigan University
- Jacob Nelson, PhD student in history, University of Alabama in Huntsville
- Samantha Peters, PhD student in life sciences, South Dakota State University
- Kelly Buch, PhD student in mathematics, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Samantha Clapp, PhD student in mathematics, Georgia College and State University
- Sean Keeler, PhD student in mathematics, Georgia State University
- Andrew Steven Wagner, PhD student in microbiology, Bowling Green State University (Kentucky)
- Anastasia Allan, PhD student in modern foreign languages, University of Rhode Island
- Klayton Tietjen, PhD student in modern foreign languages, UT
- Michael Ebling, PhD student in philosophy, Vanderbilt University
- Zack Elledge, PhD student in physics, Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan)
- Chinmay Mishra, PhD student in physics, Stony Brook University (New York)
- Shree Neupane, PhD student in physics, Central Michigan University
- Olugbenga Olunloyu, PhD student in physics, Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria)
- Tianjing Liao, PhD student in political science, University of Texas at Dallas
- Marcia Chavez, PhD student in psychology, California State University San Marcos
- Alisa Garner, PhD student in psychology, Midwestern State University (Wichita Falls, Texas)
- Elena Schuch, PhD student in psychology, University of Florida
- Angelina Parrino, MFA student in art, University of South Florida
- Dana Potter, MFA student in art, University of Northern Iowa
- Tara Jordan, Master of Music student, Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina)
- Jade Arnold, MFA student in theatre, University of North Carolina Wilmington
- Kristina Zeinstra. MFA student in theatre, Cleveland Institute of Music (Ohio)
College of Communication and Information
- Brandon Boatwright, PhD student in communication and information, Clemson University (South Carolina)
- Charli Kerns, PhD student in communication and information, Boston University
- Kevin Mallary, PhD student in communication and information, Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina),
College of Education, Health and Human Sciences
- Lauran Gieske, PhD student in child and family studies, UT
- Ashlyn Schwartz, PhD student in child and family studies, UT
- Aubrey Ray, Doctor of Public Health student, Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, North Carolina)
- Anisha Singh, Doctor of Public Health student, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India)
- Collom Gresham, PhD student in higher education administration, University of Wisconsin (Whitewater)
- Elizabeth Garcia, PhD student in education, Hollins University (Roanoke, Virginia)
- Nicholas King, PhD student in education, Tennessee Tech University
- Alexander Price, PhD student in school psychology, Lipscomb University
- Brenna Berry, PhD student in educational psychology and research, Pennsylvania State University
- Paula-Marie Martinez Ferrara, PhD student in kinesiology and sport studies, University of Delaware
- Lauren Schroeder, PhD student in kinesiology and sport studies, UT
- Zachary Smith, PhD student in kinesiology and sport studies, Western Michigan University
College of Law
- Heather Bosau, JD student, Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania)
- Sean Bright, JD student, Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Virginia)
- Kathryn Haaquist, JD student, Hofstra University (East Garden City, New York)
- Sallie Papajohn, JD student, Louisiana State University
- Yasmin Stiggons, JD student, University of Florida
College of Nursing
- Sandra Cobb, PhD student in nursing, East Tennessee State University
- Altheria Davis, PhD student in nursing, East Tennessee State University
- Adaya Troyer, PhD student in nursing, UT
College of Social Work
- Stephanie Armstrong, PhD student in social work, UT
- Shannon Cain, PhD student in social work, University of the Pacific (Stockton, California)
- John Elliot, PhD student in social work, University of Memphis
- Allison Lloyd, PhD student in social work, Ohio State University
Haslam College of Business
- Xi Ai, PhD student in business administration, University of Arkansas
- Yu (Jade) Chu, PhD student in business administration, University of Arkansas
- Amanda Olsen, PhD student in business administration, Kaplan University (Davenport, Iowa)
- Mohammad (Mike) Saljoughian, PhD student in business administration, Isfahan University (Iran)
- Guanhuan (Jack) Wang, PhD student in business administration, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas)
Tickle College of Engineering
- Oghosa Akenuwa, PhD student in chemical engineering, Washington Lee University (Lexington City, Virginia)
- Nolan Hayes, PhD student in civil engineering, UT
- Sa’ad Rafie, PhD student in civil engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Bangladesh)
- Peter Talley, PhD student in civil engineering, Tennessee Tech University
- Alan R. Grant, PhD student in computer science, Indiana University (New Albany)
- Matthew Benjamin Olson, PhD student in computer science, UT
- Jared Michael Smith, PhD student in computer science, UT
- Spencer Cochran, PhD student in electrical engineering, UT
- Andrew Foote, PhD student in electrical engineering, Auburn University (Alabama)
- Ruiyang Qin, PhD student in electrical engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
- Tianwei Xia, PhD student in electrical engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Jonathan Schrock, PhD student in industrial engineering, UT
- Andrew Ervin, PhD student in materials science and engineering, UT
- David Garfinkel, PhD student in materials science and engineering, Oregon State University
- Kaycee Gass, PhD student in materials science and engineering, Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina)
- Lauren Nuckols, PhD student in materials science and engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology
- Grace Pakeltis, PhD student in materials science and engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Colin Basham, PhD student in biomedical engineering, University of South Carolina
- Dylan Hoskins, PhD student in mechanical engineering, UT
- Ashley Rice, PhD student in mechanical engineering, College of Charleston (South Carolina)
- Devin Kimball, PhD student in nuclear engineering, Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah)
- Travis Smith, PhD student in nuclear engineering, University of Michigan
- Stephanie Spittle, PhD student in chemical engineering, Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina)
- Emily Stirrup, PhD student in nuclear engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, New Mexico)