Topics

In 1992, X-Men: The Animated Series took the world by storm, and three UT alumni were the creative forces behind its success.

It’s hard to imagine Gay Street without the magnificent Tennessee Theatre sign illuminating the night, but that’s what nearly happened in 1977 when the theatre closed. If it hadn’t been for a UT professor and a few young alumni, the theatre may never have become the showplace it is today.

Two simple words tweeted by alumnus Patrick Wells on behalf of MoonPie vaulted the classic brand into internet superstardom.

As 2017 winds to a close, let’s take a look back at the top five, most-read stories from Torchbearer magazine—just in case you missed them!

For most people, murder, arson, and violent crime are the stuff news stories and urban legend. But UT researchers who specialize in forensic work stare down death and sift through the ashes every day to help law enforcement solve mysteries and bring justice to victims. In this collection of stories, you’ll learn about the beginnings of the Body Farm, catch up on Forensic Anthropology Center research, and meet an alumnus who is the world’s leading expert on fire investigations.

Joy beckons just outside Chancellor Beverly Davenport’s office window. In the moments when she needs a break, she rides down the elevator of Andy Holt Tower and walks through campus where she sees students hurrying to class or taking breaks to study and socialize.

In just 10 minutes in August of 1967, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote a song that would endure through generations to become the university’s unofficial fight song.

Bill Bass had an idea. A big idea. One that would change the face of forensics forever.

When Bass came to UT’s anthropology department in 1971, that idea had already taken root in his mind. His goal was to have the means and resources to estimate the time since death for deceased individuals—something on which very little research was available.

General Mike Holmes, named commander of the US Air Force’s Air Combat Command in March, first came to UT as a student when he was only five years old—but not as the youngest freshman ever.

For more than 35 years, the Forensic Anthropology Center has been accepting donations of bodies to be placed at the outdoor research facility. More than 100 donations are received every year, the remains of which become part of the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection.