Student killed in Florida bulldozer accident

UTM student Kyle Toon, 19, was killed on July 6 when the bulldozer he was working near ran over him.

He was an engineering major from Union City.

Toon was taking part in a summer internship program at the Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine, Fl. The project centered around beach rebuilding and renourishment. The project’s aim was to distribute 840,000 cubic yards of sand along 2.5 miles of beachfront. It was Toon’s last day on the project when the accident occurred.

Toon was laying down survey stakes along the beach when the bulldozer driver lost sight of him, police say. Toon was about 75 yards away from the water line when the accident happened.

“[Toon] bent over putting stakes in the ground when the bulldozer driver never saw him,” Detective John Olson told WTLV-TV. “By the time the bulldozer driver warned an eyewitness to this thing and backed off it was already too late.”

Summer graduates hear ‘five success strategies’

Ted Welch, UTM alumnus and owner of Nashville’s Ted Welch Investments in Nashville, delivered the graduation address for summer commencement on August 14.

Welch offered five “universal” strategies that graduates can use as they pursue work in the fast-paced world of work. He advised the graduates to have faith in their coworkers, not to worry about things they have no control over, to continue to learn and to “be a positive influence in whatever you wind up being in [their] profession.”

Welch told graduates that by adhering to his five strategies, graduates would be able to live in our high-tech world that requires operating at 100 percent capacity.

Welch graduated from the Martin branch of UT in 1955.

Chancellor Nick Dunagan and UT President John Petersen were on hand to confer degrees.

Gresham named UTNAA ‘distinguished professor’

Dr. Jerry Gresham was named the recipient of a UT National Alumni Association Alumni Distinguished Service professor.

According to University Relations, the professor must “demonstrate effectiveness in teaching and distinction in a subject matter or professional field as evidenced by publications or other appropriate demonstrations of distinction.”

Gresham is the chair of the UTM Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and has been teaching at the university since 1973.

“Jerry gives 110 percent to his teaching and his leadership,” said Chancellor Nick Dunagan.

Gresham also directs the Tennessee Governor’s School for Agriculture, a selective program for high school students held in Martin each summer.

Gresham won the Cunningham Outstanding Teacher/Scholar Award in 2003.

Gresham will receive a $3,000 award as an annual salary supplement until he retires.

UTM graduate to serve as system-wide trustee

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed UTM graduate Joseph Sturdivant to serve a one-year term on the UT Board of Trustees on July 27.

The board oversees four campuses, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and the UT Health Sciences Center in addition to three special research facilities. The UT system enrolls 42,000 students and has a budget of $1.4 billion.

At UTM, Sturdivant earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and graduated summa cum laude.

Sturdivant is currently a medical school student at the UT Health Sciences Center in Memphis. He serves on the medical school’s executive council and on the Biological Science Subcommittee.

Sturdivant will serve with fellow student Amy Prevost, a marketing major from UT Chattanooga.

Student representatives serve one-year terms on the board.