Captain Keith Lambert discusses many of the programs and services that UTPD offers free of charge to members of the UT community. As Captain Lambert says, “Our goal is to make campus safe. Anything that we can do to help contribute to a safer campus is great for us.”

More information on campus safety can be found on the following websites:

Campus Safety Guide— safety.utk.edu
UTPD— web.utk.edu/~utpolice/

UT Knoxville students, faculty and staff can sign up for UT Alert, UT’s emergency text messaging service, here— https://www.utk.edu/utalert/

The UT Minute staff talks with two on-campus faculty experts, Mark Sangster and Paul Erwin, about the current outbreak of H1N1, or “swine flu,” virus, and what the University community should know about the disease.

Visit safety.utk.edu for more information and updates regarding the situation.

Faculty Senate President and professor of philosophy John Nolt speaks with the UT Minute staff about UT’s efforts to create and maintain a sustainable campus.

Mara Naylor, who composed a poem about her life and interests, is the winner of the “What’s Your Story?” video contest.

“What’s Your Story?” is part of Ready for the World, the campus’ international and intercultural initiative. The goal of “What’s Your Story?” is to celebrate the diversity of UT Knoxville’s faculty, staff and students by collecting as many of their stories as possible.

Naylor is a junior in public relations from Chattanooga; runners-up in the contest were Cameron Lofink and Dinara Aprymova. Lofink, a junior in logistics from Memphis, talked about moving from the Pacific Northwest to the South and reminisced about being rescued from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Aprymova, a senior in journalism, is from Kazakhstan, and talked about how she and her brother have been exchange students in the United States.

Last month, the “What’s Your Story?” video team stopped at several places on campus to collect as many one-minute video stories as possible from UT faculty, staff and students. The effort yielded 171 videos.

A panel of judges composed of faculty and students watched all of the videos and selected 20 finalists. The finalists videos are posted on the “What’s Your Story?” Web site and, for four days last week, the public was able to view and rate them.

The winner and runners-up were chosen through a combination of public ratings and judges’ comments.

As the winner, Naylor will receive $200 on a preloaded credit card; Lofink and Aprymova will receive cards worth $100 each. A short video about “What’s Your Story?” — including Naylor’s video — was shown during pregame at Sunday’s men’s basketball game. That wrap-up video, along with all of the finalists’ videos, can be viewed on the “What’s Your Story?” Web site.

Earlier this week,  Smokey stopped by the “What’s Your Story?” video booth to tell us how he is Ready for the World (and the Georgia Bulldogs).  All members of the campus community were invited to make one-minute videos telling the world who they are and what makes them unique.

Filming took place Feb. 10-13. A panel of judges will select the best videos, which will be posted on the Ready for the World/”What’s Your Story?” Web site in March. A winner and two runners-up will be selected based upon the judges’ comments and public voting. Winners will be announced in mid-March. Cash prizes will be awarded: 1st place, $200; 2nd and 3rd places, $100 each.

UT’s “Ready for the World: The International and Intercultural Awareness Initiative” seeks to transform the campus into a culture of diversity that best prepares students for working and competing in the 21st century. The initiative involves diversifying the university community, altering the curriculum, encouraging faculty to incorporate international and intercultural aspects in all of their courses, expanding study-abroad and work-study opportunities, and encouraging students to take advantage of all of these opportunities. To learn more, visit the Ready for the World Web site.

Get your coupon good at all UT Starbucks locations.

Transcription

Welcome to the UT Minute. In light of the recent temperature changes to conserve energy here at UT, we thought we’d share with you a few Dos and Don’ts of how to stay comfortable during the winter months. Let’s check them out.

When the temperature is as variable outside as it is inside, it’s all about layered clothing. Make sure you have a sweater or sweatshirt at hand, so you can warm up if things get chilly inside.

Make sure not to wear TOO many layers, though, as this can impact productivity.

If a sweatshirt or jacket just isn’t taking the edge off the cold, you can always get up and take a walk around the office.

We do not, however, recommend doing your best Usain Bolt impression.

Another great way to beat the cold is to grab a warm beverage from the nearest campus Starbucks. And with the buy 5, get one free coupon that came in your e-mail, it’s a great time to do so!

Just remember it’s NOT ok to relocate your office permanently to any Starbucks location.

[woman on phone: I can't hear you. No, I can't hear you. I'm in Starbucks.]

Here’s one more thought to keep you warm: Thanks to our new energy policy, UT Knoxville is saving more than two million dollars every year.

So switch your thinking and make a difference.

That’s your UT Minute.