business briefs
• Alexander W. Whitaker IV has been named King University’s 23rd president. His tenure will begin in August. Whitaker is chief of staff and secretary to Berry College board of trustees. Whitaker will succeed Dr. Richard Ray, who has served as interim president of King University since 2014.
• Dr. Jack Lacey, senior vice president and chief medical officer of The University of Tennessee Medical Center, has retired. He had nearly four decades of service with the hospital. Besides his physician and administrative roles, he is credited as the physician leader who helped create Knoxville Area Project Access.
• Parkwest Medical Center observed Certified Nurses Day Saturday, March 19, by honoring 85 board-certified nurses working at the hospital. Board certification means a nurse has successfully completed extensive specialized education and made a commitment to excellence.
• U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1.4 billion contract to Oak Ridge Associated Universities to manage Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The initial contract term will run through Sept. 30, 2020. DOE recognizes superior performance through phased extensions beyond the initial term of the contract for up
to five additional years if the contract meets performance criteria.
• Warren Oliver, PhD., Nanomechanics Inc. founder and president, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions in the engineering industry. He was elected “for contributions to the development and commercialization of nanomechanical testing technology. He is one of 80 new members and 22 foreign members elected this year.
• Dr. Jack Lacey, senior vice president and chief medical officer with nearly four decades of service at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, will retire on March 31. He is also credited as the physician leader who helped create Knoxville Area Project Access, a partnership with Knoxville Academy of Medicine and physicians and health systems in the Knoxville area providing free and specialty healthcare services for the uninsured and medically underserved in the region since 2005.
• Visit Knoxville and its board of directors announce the forming of Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and hired Chad Culver as the Sports Commission’s senior director. Culver is a Chattanooga native with a bachelor’s degree in sports management from The University of Tennessee. He has more than 15 years of experience in the sports industry in recruiting and managing events.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture is holding grant-writing workshops from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT, Thursday, April 7, at the Agricultural Information and Technology Building on Tennessee State University campus at 3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville and Friday, April 8, at the Agricenter International Amphitheater, 777 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis. Producers, Extension agents, farmers market managers, local governments and groups interested in connecting agricultural products and consumers through local food systems are encouraged to attend. USDA is making more than $26 million in grant funding available through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. For more information, call Dr. Joseph Donaldson, 865-974-7371.
•Edward Jones ranks No. 32 in 16th consecutive appearance on Training magazine’s “Training Top 125” for training its associates. The Farragut Edward Jones financial advisors are Wendy Schopp, Jim Dickerson, John Gardner, Laura Mollenhour and Betsy Herzog.
• Town of Farragut has registration forms available online at townoffarragut.org/register for the Town’s 29th annual Independence Day Parade. The forms also are available at Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive beginning 8 a.m., Friday, April 1. The parade is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday, July 4, and the deadline to register is Friday, June 17. They will be accepted until the Town receives 95 entries or lineup area is full, whichever comes first.
