Alumni News

Two CCI Alumni Establish Endowed CCI Scholarship for Appalachian Students

Hunter Quillen Gresham (’98) knows a kindred spirit right away, just by hearing how they pronounce Appalachia (she says it’s “app-uh-LATCH-uh”). As natives to the Appalachian region, both Gresham and her partner Steven White (’93) take pride in their heritage and their accents. It was one of the things they bonded over when they met—and…
Judge Kyle Hixson’s Law Career Lands Him on 40 Under 40

All throughout law school and even after Judge Kyle Hixson (’05, ‘08) earned his law license and began working at the Knox County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor, his love for sports broadcasting persevered. He was a lawyer by day, but on some nights and weekends, he was a broadcaster working to cover various…
40 Under 40 Recipient Rachel Rui Found Family and Destiny at UT

Rachel Rui never expected a small city in East Tennessee to become her home sweet home, but that’s exactly what happened. As she put it, “we bloom where we are planted” and that’s exactly what she did at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville—and now she is being recognized for all she has done for the…
Nine CCI Alumni Make the 2023 Volunteer 40 Under 40

Every year, the University of Tennessee’s Alumni Foundation honors 40 alumni under the age of 40 who have excelled in their professions and communities in exemplifying the Volunteer spirit. This year, the College of Communication and Information boasts nine alumni on the distinguished 40 under 40 Volunteer list for 2023. “We are incredibly proud to…
Knoxville News Anchor Beth Haynes Reflects on 20 Years at WBIR-TV

For the last 20 years, Beth Haynes (’98) has elevated the people, stories, and community of Knoxville through her platform as a news anchor at WBIR-TV. Haynes has an aptitude for looking at a topic or issue and seeing the people first, and handling even the most difficult stories with deep compassion and respect. Recently,…
UT Alum Establishes First SIS Endowed Scholarship as a Gift to His Parents

Just before Thanksgiving, Todd Lamar (’85) headed from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to his parents’ house in Memphis to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. There was much to celebrate with family, but Lamar wanted to make Tommy and Nicki Lamar’s six decades together extra-special with an unusual gift: the establishment of the Lamar…
Recent Master’s Grad Kylie Julius Celebrates Successes in Research

Throughout her time as an undergraduate and graduate student at the College of Communication and Information, Kylie Julius has pulled much of her strength and inspiration from the faculty she says “took a chance” on her. But their investment in her paid off when Julius not only graduated with her master’s from CCI this past…
Endowed Professorship, Terrace Established in Honor of Patty Williams

Patty Williams always enjoyed sitting and reading out on the third-floor patio of the Communications Building when her husband, John Williams (‘71) would attend College of Communication and Information Board of Visitors meetings. Both of them knew their lives wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t been for their time at the college—John as…
Comm Studies Alum Gives Back to the College That Felt Like Home

As a freshman, School of Communication Studies alumnus Drew Griggs (’12) was ready to follow through with his plan to eventually become a pastor. He figured the combination of communication studies classes plus religious studies would be the right precursor to a master’s in divinity, but the divine guided him in a different direction—and he…
Claire Jordan: SIS Alum and Library of Congress Research Librarian

Finding a job that fuels multiple passions is rare. But Claire Jordan (’22) successfully did just that when she accepted a position working for the Library of Congress as a research librarian for the Congressional Research Service. After completing the master’s program at the School of Information Sciences, she returned to her old stomping grounds…