Oak Ridge Today

Education could be key battleground in Tennessee House race

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Jim Hackworth TEA Endorsement

Clinton High School English teacher DeWayne Emert, left, announces that a Tennessee Education Association organization has endorsed Democrat Jim Hackworth, center, in his campaign for the state House of Representatives. Also pictured is Ryan Mackay, Tennessee Democratic Party deputy field director.

CLINTON — Education could be one of the key battlegrounds in Anderson County’s hotly contested race for Tennessee House of Representatives.

This week, Democratic candidate Jim Hackworth said teachers are unhappy with changes made during the past few years and are “tired of being treated like second-class citizens.

“They want someone who will listen to them and ask them what they think to improve education,” said Hackworth, a former four-term legislator who is trying to take back his old seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

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UCOR donates $250,000 to UT engineering fellowship

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UCOR at University of Tennessee

From left to right are UCOR’s Bob Smith, Leo Sain, Cathy Hickey, Veronica O’Hearn, and Ken Rueter with University of Tennessee assistant professor Jason Hayward in Hayward’s lab. (Photo submitted by UT)

UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, is donating $250,000 to set up an engineering faculty fellowship at the University of Tennessee.

The first award recipient is Jason Hayward, an assistant professor in UT’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, a university press release said.

Leo Sain, UCOR’s president and project manager, announced the fellowship on Friday, June 29, at the East Tennessee Economic Council meeting in Oak Ridge.

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Duke, ORNL plan graduate student education program

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ORNL Duke Agreement

Duke University’s Robert Calderbank, left, and Haiyun Gao discuss a graduate education agreement with Ian Anderson of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

Duke University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an agreement to develop a graduate student education program.

The agreement was signed at Duke on Monday by Robert Calderbank, dean of natural sciences at Duke’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences; Haiyun Gao, chair of Duke’s department of physics; and Ian Anderson, director of ORNL’s Graduate and University Partnerships.

“The program combines the resources of a leading research university and the research capabilities of a major national laboratory to provide expanded opportunities for graduate students in energy-related science and engineering,” Anderson said.

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ORHS math teacher honored with presidential award

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Phyllis Hillis

Phyllis Hillis

Oak Ridge High School math teacher Phyllis Hillis has received the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Hillis, who has taught math at the high school since 1979, was one of 97 U.S. teachers across the country who won the prestigious award.

Winners receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, and they have been honored in a three-day event in Washington, D.C., this week.

The awards are the nation’s highest honor for math and science teachers.

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ORAU hosts first Tennessee STEM leadership academy


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Teachers and administrators from across the state have been invited to the first academy for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics educators in Oak Ridge.

The three-day academy to explore the latest in STEM teaching practices began at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ends at 7 p.m. Thursday at Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

The opening ceremony included guest speakers ORAU Vice President Eric Abelquist and Thom Mason, Oak Ridge National Laboratory director.

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‘Close Encounters’ at Knoxville Zoo Saturday

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This Saturday, the Knoxville Zoo is offering a chance to experience its Close Encounters of the Wild Kind program. This summer program gives visitors the chance to take a behind-the-scenes tour and meet some “residents” at the Knoxville Zoo.

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ORAU awards five $1,200 scholarships

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities has awarded five $1,200 William G. Pollard Scholarships for undergraduate studies during the 2012-2013 academic year.

The scholarship recipients are Julie Davis, Krista Marie Ellis, Carolyn Huppmann, Eric Meissner, and Austin Scircle, an ORAU press release said.

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School board picks superintendent search firm

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously agreed to hire an executive search firm based in Iowa to lead the search for a new Oak Ridge school superintendent.

Ray and Associates Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will help lead the hunt for a superintendent to replace Tom Bailey, who is retiring at the end of the year. The company will charge a base fee of $15,500 plus expenses of up to $6,000.

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Roane State art students earn awards

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Winners from RSCC art show

RSCC art students were recognized at the annual Student Art Show. Front row, from left, are Stephany Huston, Emily Walkup, Susan Rosenbaum, Elizabeth Long, and Breanna Wright. Second row, from left, are Minh Nghiem, Ivan Cornejo, Alli Schatzer, and Elizabeth Findley. (Photo submitted by RSCC)

Roane State Community College art students earned awards for their work in the college’s Student Art Show, according to a press release from the college. The show is held at the end of the spring semester.

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School board picks superintendent search firm Wednesday

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In a special meeting Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Board of Education will pick a company that will help recruit the school system’s next superintendent.

The new superintendent will replace Tom Bailey, who is retiring at the end of the year. Bailey has been superintendent since 2002.

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Officials break ground for Roane State building

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Roane State Groundbreaking

Local and state officials break ground Tuesday for a three-story Health Sciences and Technology Building at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

Several hundred people watched Tuesday morning as local, state, and education officials dug up the first shovelfuls of dirt for a new three-story building at Roane State Community College.

Construction work on the 63,000-square-foot Health Sciences and Technology Building will start next week and could be complete by January 2014, RSCC President Gary Goff said during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Oak Ridge campus.

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UCOR announces education ‘mini-grant’ winners

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UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, has announced the winners of an education “mini-grant” program.

The UCOR Mini-Grant Program was created to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist teachers for certain projects or curricula. This focus is primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math.

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