The Pacer

The first of five finalists for UT Martin's vice chancellor of Student Affairs position-all from universities other than UTM-will be on campus this week for meetings with administrators, students and the media. Samuel T. Miller will visit Martin on Wednesday, and Diane R.… Post the First Comment

Herbert Smith Jr., a UT Martin student whom friends remember as an outstanding athlete and gospel singer, has died. He was 25. Smith, a senior from Grand Junction, Tenn., studying health and human performance, died unexpectedly last Thursday while playing basketball near his home in Bolivar, his father said Wednesday.… 2 Comments

UTM fraternities and sororities made significant improvements to their overall GPAs from Fall 2007 compared to Fall 2006, while UTM's athletics teams saw a slight drop in their combined average GPA from Fall 2007 to Spring 2007. Fall 2006 GPAs for the athletics teams were not immediately available for comparison.… Post the First Comment

UNION CITY - Prosecutors and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say they will investigate an animal rights group's complaints of animal cruelty and employee misconduct at a Tyson Foods chicken processing plant here. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals posted a video on its Web site late last week outlining what it said was an extensive undercover investigation into how chickens are kept and killed at Tyson's plants in Union City, Tenn.… 6 Comments

Global climate change has become the focus of national and international attention recently as the world becomes more environmentally conscious. Climate change discussion is coming to Martin next week as the focus of the next Academic Speaker Series, Jan. 28 in Watkins Auditorium at 7:30 p.… Post the First Comment

Teresa Woody, Director of Minority Affairs, greeted students, faculty and members of the Martin community last Tuesday in the UC to begin a celebration of the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr with a candlelight service memorial. Jolline Downey of the Interfaith Center spoke about poverty and how even small things can affect everyone-not just poor people.… Post the First Comment

Corey Perry's race was far from his mind when he was elected president of his fraternity last semester. But his election to the top leadership spot for an Interfraternity Council group represents one of the first times a black man has led the group of eight fraternities nearly wholly dominated by white members.… Post the First Comment

UT Martin Professor Daniel Pigg doesn't just believe in learning-it's his calling. In addition to teaching English courses, Pigg has three master's degrees (and he's working on his fourth) and two doctorates. "I have always been happiest teaching when I was also a student," Pigg said.… Post the First Comment

Warm brown eyes, grinning faces and wagging tails await animal lovers at Weakley County's newest animal shelter. Red Fern Animal Shelter, located at 1487 Miles Road in Dresden, is a newly-formed nonprofit, no-kill shelter situated on 100 acres. Family owned and operated by sisters Kim Hawks and Anne Oliver, Red Fern provides temporary care for surrendered, lost, abandoned, or abused animals until a permanent home becomes available as well as a permanent home for any animal deemed unsuitable for adoption.… 2 Comments

COOKEVILLE, (AP) - Tennessee Tech officials say the school can't find a flash drive that contains records of nearly a thousand students - including their Social Security numbers. The university notified 990 students Monday who live in Capital Quad and Crawford dormitories on the Cookeville campus, saying their personal information could be at risk.… Post the First Comment

KNOXVILLE (AP) - University of Tennessee officials are investigating reports of hazing at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. UT spokeswoman Karen Collins says the university received a report Monday that three students at the Knoxville campus were under hospital care for what Collins described as "fairly serious illnesses.… 11 Comments

NEW YORK (AP) _ Study-abroad programs at 15 colleges and universities, including Harvard and Columbia, are being scrutinized by the New York attorney general's office to ensure that business deals are not cheating students, a top investigator said Monday. Investigators are focusing on the schools after a probe of more than a dozen companies worldwide that arrange for students to study overseas for as long as a year identified questionable practices.… Post the First Comment

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Israel looks powerless to stop the barrage of rockets from Hamas-ruled Gaza. The Islamic militants, choked by a blockade of their territory, find it increasingly difficult to hold on to power. And moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is facing growing pressure to suspend peace talks because of Israel's strikes in Gaza.… Post the First Comment

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Several people were beaten and hacked to death with machetes in a Nairobi slum Sunday in renewed ethnic fighting over Kenya's disputed election, residents said. Police managed to quell more than two days of fierce fighting around a Catholic monastery that killed 22 people and left 200 homes burned in the Rift Valley, 190 miles northwest of the capital Nairobi, officials said.… Post the First Comment

CAMDEN (AP) - Benton County Mayor Jim Wiseman and two county employees have been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after several animals were found dead at the county animal shelter last week. Camden Police Chief George Smith said Wiseman was charged with one count, and shelter employees Jacqueline Boyett and Gilbert Jourdan III were charged with four counts each.… Post the First Comment