business briefs
• The University of Tennessee Medical Center has named Dr. Brian Wiseman as vice president of the Brain & Spine Institute, one of the medical center’s seven Centers of Excellence. Wiseman replaces retired leader, Dr. J. Russell Langdon, who had worked at UTMC since 1984.
• Beginning June 1, Staffing Solutions, Medical Solutions and Resource Accounting in Knoxville operated as RemX, The Workforce Experts. RemX is the professional division of parent company EmployBridge. This change allows the brands to expand their access to the RemX branch network and leverage the strength and stability of a national brand.
• EXIT Real Estate Professionals Network, 9821 Cogdill Road, Suite 1A in Knoxville, announces Carol Bush, Joe Presz, Michelle Anderson and Tony Anderson have joined its growing team of real estate sales professionals.
• Susan Hamilton, the recently retired director of the UT Gardens, recently received the American Public Gardens Association Award of Merit for 2020, which will be presented at the American Public Gardens Association 2020 virtual conference held online through July 9. The award recognizes an APGA member who has performed with distinction in the field of public horticulture and excelled as a public garden professional. The award is a career capstone Hamilton.
• Pellissippi State Community College recently honored its faculty and staff members with a virtual awards ceremony. Recipients are: Roger Crowe Excellence in Teaching Award, Kathleen Affholter, a full-time physical and environmental sciences professor; Innovations Award, the team of professor Minoo Askari, professor Susan McMahon, laboratory technician Kristen Kover, instructional media technician Leslie Owle and instructional media technician Gary Hinshaw, who created an online accessible microbiology lab manual; the Gene Joyce Visionary Award to instructor Cristina Carbajo, program coordinator for Pellissippi State’s Water Quality Technology program; and Jennifer Cozart, career specialist for the Universal Pathways to Employment Program, who took home the Staff Excellence Award.
• Roane State Community College recently joined with a select few higher education institutions to receive the National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education designation. Roane State is the only community college in East Tennessee to receive the designation, which has been only bestowed on five other higher education institutions statewide.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has designated The University of Tennessee Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for five specialty service lines: cardiac care, bariatrics, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery and maternity care. The Blue Distinction Center recognition is presented to healthcare facilities and providers for their expertise and efficiency in delivering specialty care.
• UT president Randy Boyd recently selected six UT faculty and staff members to honor with the 2020 President’s Awards: Educate honoree Richard Robinson, UT Martin professor of communications; Discover honoree Robert Williams, UT Health Science Center professor and chair of genetics, genomics and informatics and UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair in Computational Genomics; Connect honoree Karen Armsey, director of UT Institute of Agriculture’s Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee (HABIT) outreach program; Support (Exempt) honoree Ashlie Czyz, UT System executive recruiter and director of human resources programs; Support (Non-Exempt) honoree David Rash, UT Martin senior heating, ventilation and air conditioning specialist; and Diversity honoree Michael Alston, UT Health Science Center assistant vice chancellor for equity and diversity and Title IX coordinator.
• UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center recently announced plans to develop a training program to minimize biased-based policing in the law enforcement community. Rick Scarbrough, LEIC executive director, stated in a press release that LEIC began discussions with the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles in early June to create a national certification program for law enforcement agencies across Tennessee and nationwide.
