 |
Honors Leadership
Director Dan McDonough I became formally associated with Honors programs with my appointment as Assistant Director in 1997 and have served as Director since May 2005. My experience as Assistant Director for eight years under Bill Zachry and in teaching courses in the University Scholars Program under Ernie Blythe, the first Director of Honors Programs, left me with a sense of the history of the program. While continuing the ideals and spirit of the program as it existed under Drs. Blythe and Zachry, I think it important to take advantage of current opportunities and to place our programs in a position in which they can continue to thrive in a constantly changing world. As such, an emphasis is upon analytical and critical thinking, challenging students to challenge themselves in a pursuit of excellence in which high-achieving students can reach their full potential. As the world becomes increasingly smaller and globalization takes an increasingly prominent position, Honors Programs is placing an emphasis upon expanding the horizons of our students, both through increased cultural awareness and through travel, both domestic and abroad. Finally, I believe strongly in retaining the honor in Honor student, and insist that character and integrity are an essential part of effective leadership. It is my hope that we produce intelligent and motivated graduates, with the confidence, talent and vigor to meet and surmount challenges, assuming leadership roles in an increasingly diverse world. Perhaps the greatest compliment I’ve received came from one of our recent graduates who thanked me for demanding “that we be anything but ordinary.”
I was born and raised in suburban Chicago, living almost all of my first twenty years in the town of Hinsdale. After graduating from Hinsdale Central High School, I worked and spent my first two years of college at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. This was a great experience, as, with most of my friends away at college, I earned money for school, developed good study habits, and made plans for my future. I finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving a B.A. in History. For good measure , I stayed on at Illinois and earned my MA and PhD there, as well. I loved my years in Champaign, as I explored the academic and social opportunities to the fullest. Under a faculty that took interest in me as both student and individual (rare at a major research university), I developed as a teacher, scholar, and human being. After winning several teaching awards at Illinois, I began my professional career at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. While this was a temporary position and I knew I would be leaving soon, I very much enjoyed the experience, made some great friends, and met my wife ! After one year at MTSU, I was hired into my current position at the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1992. My area of specialization is American History from 1750 to 1800, with emphasis upon the American Revolution. I teach courses in Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National United States, as well as British History and Military History. I’ve published several articles, many reviews, and two books: Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens: The Parallel Lives of Two American Patriots and a co-edited work with my good friend Kenneth Noe of Auburn University, Politics and Culture of the Civil War Era: Essays in Honor of Robert W. Johannsen. I am currently working on two projects, which are essentially related. One is a study of the Boston radical William Molineaux, a leader among the Sons of Liberty who died in 1774, before the formal fighting with the British began. The second study follows up the story, as I’m studying the town of Boston from the Tea Party of December 1773 through the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. After this, I plan to take on George Washington.
Personally, I married the former Alesia Davis in 1994 and we have one son, Dan, Jr., who was born in 1997. I love sports, both to watch and to participate in, though age is reducing my ability to do much more than watch. I love most of the Chicago teams, but not the Cubs ! In baseball, I’m a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Don’t ask, it’s a long story how that happened. But I live and die with the Chicago Bears (though my son roots for the Green Bay Packers and has pictures of Brett Favre all over his room !), the Chicago Bulls (I used to go to games at the old Stadium before Michael Jordan, when you could get any seat in the house, cheap), and even the Black Hawks. In college sports, it is the Illini and Notre Dame. I like to travel and see new places, though I’ve never been more than five miles outside of the borders of the United States (this will change with our new international travel program). My wife turned me on to hiking in the Smokies and now I’m looking forward to hiking in the Rockies. When young, I could think of nothing more beautiful than the shores of Lake Michigan, the Chicago skyline, and the bustling streets of the city. I’m still partial to cities and am particularly fond of Chicago, Boston, New York, and Washington. But I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of oceans and mountains. I’ve turned from vacationing by visiting historical sites to relaxing on a beach or in the hills. While I like traveling with students, the best times are when I can go away with just the family. Of course, the best times are just relaxing at home with family and friends.
Associate Director Lionel Crews 
Lionel Crews was born in Nashville, TN along with 3 brothers. His dad joined the military when he was 4, and thus began his trek across the globe. He lived in Mississippi, Texas, California, and ended up going to high school in Germany at Ramstein American High School. He then came back to the states to get a bachelors, masters, and doctorate in Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University. During his undergrad years, he met his future wife Lori. They were married in 1996, and she worked at an actuarial firm while he finished his doctorate in 2000. He then took a term appointment position at UT Martin, and was finally upgraded to tenure-track in the spring 2005 semester. In 2003, his twin daughters Emma Elizabeth and Amelia Ann were born, and then in 2005 his son William Jackson was born.
Highlights of his career so far include participating in a $1 million+ grant program to improve middle school science education, traveling to Belize to develop a travel study course including astronomy, traveling to Kitt Peak National Observatory and Las Campanas Observatory in Chile to obtain data for his research, being appointed assistant Honors director for UT Martin, successfully mentoring two University Scholars, Brian Stiles and Dustin Lambert, working as an associate curator at the Pink Palace Museum system in Memphis, acting as an advisor to the Tennessee Earth Science Teachers association, being a regular invitee at the MidSouthCon Science Fiction conference in Memphis, and being dubbed "Lionel Crews the science dude" for talking on the local radio station about science.
Crews enjoys traveling, being a father, spending what little time he can with his wife in between being a father, basketball, volleyball, playing and listening to all sorts of music, discussing anything interesting, and getting to know the University Scholars and Honors students.
Assistant Director Amy Simmons
Currently, Dr. Amy Simmons is Assistant Professor of Music and Assistant Director of the Honors Program at The University of Tennessee at Martin where she teaches studio clarinet and saxophone. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she conducts and coaches the clarinet choir and woodwind chamber ensembles. Prior to this appointment, Simmons taught for three years at the University of Evansville, Indiana. While pursuing graduate work in Arizona, she served as principal clarinet of the Arizona Opera Orchestra for two seasons. She has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Austria, England, Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and is an avid performer of new music.
Simmons, born and raised in South Carolina, began her formal music training while attending Winthrop University as an undergraduate music student. Upon graduation, she began work under Dr. Robert Spring at Arizona State University where she completed a Master's Degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree. At Arizona State University, she was a winner of the Contemporary Music Society competition and the annual Concerto Competition, performing the John Corigliano Concerto with the Symphony Orchestra. Simmons has recorded on Summit and Centaur labels. Her first solo cd, The Clarinet Music of Russell Riepe, was released in 2006. She is married to Dr. Mark Simmons, Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities at UT Martin. In her free time, Simmons enjoys running half marathons all over the country with her husband.They have two adorable beagles, Henry and Phoebe.
|
