business briefs
• Jon Smith recently joined The Christman Company as senior conceptual estimator in the construction management and real estate development firm’s office in Knoxville.
Smith already has contributed his expertise to projects led by The Christman Company, including at Smith & Wesson in Maryville. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Presbyterian College and has worked in construction since 2011. He has completed training with California Occupational Safety and Health Administration and is Basic Safety Plus Certified by the Health and Safety Council.
• Professor and H. H. Arnold Chair John Schmisseur recently took on the role of executive director of the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma.
• The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture recently received an endowment to create the Jerry L. Gibbs Professor of Practice, a multifaceted position designed to prepare students at the Herbert College of Agriculture for careers in the business world. Bill Johnson, retired Farm Credit Mid-America chief executive officer, began to pilot the program Monday, Aug. 1.
• UT recently was named one of two recipients of Gallup’s 2022 Don Clifton Strengths for Students Award, which recognizes colleges, universities and districts that “enable students to learn what they naturally do best and apply their strengths to thrive in school and all areas of their lives.”
UT and the Denton (Texas) Independent School District were selected from more than 1,000 schools that partner with Gallup on their strengths-based strategy.
• University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville recently received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for spring 2022 for UTMC’s achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization that assigns a grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures.
• UT, Knoxville, recently was recognized as one of America’s best employers for women by Forbes magazine. UT was ranked sixth among businesses with headquarters in Tennessee and ninth among higher education institutions.
• The graduate supply chain programs in UT, Knoxville’s, Haslam College of Business rank first among programs in North America, according to a report from Gartner Inc., a leading industry research organization.
As a hub for supply chain management thought leadership and talent development, UT is known for its industry-relevant curriculum, groundbreaking research, and top-ranked faculty.
• Knoxville Bar Foundation will recognize the following 12 esteemed members of Knoxville’s legal community at its annual reception Thursday, June 9: Catherine W. Anglin, Paine, Tarwater | Bickers, LLP; George R. Arrants Jr., Kramer Rayson LLP; John G. Brock, Brock Shipe Klenk; William J. Carver, Kramer Rayson, LLP; William D. Edwards, Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C.; Robert B. Frost, Jr., Arnett, Draper & Hagood, LLP; Lisa J. Hall, Hodges, Doughty & Carson, PLLC; Raymond G. Lewallen Jr., Baker, O’Kane & Thompson, PLLP; Magistrate Jill E. McCook; U.S. District Court; Eric J. Morrison, Lipsey, Morrison, Waller & Lipsey, P.C.; Jennifer B. Morton, Jennifer Morton Law, PLLC; and L. Caesar Stair, IV, Bernstein, Stair & McAdams LLP.
