UTHSC today paid tribute to its military veterans with a breakfast and program in their honor.
“I want to, on behalf of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, thank you for your service,” said Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UTHSC, himself a veteran of the Marine Corps.
Each honoree was given the opportunity to tell his or her branch of service and received a memento from the university.
Cynthia Russell, PhD, RN, associate vice chancellor for Faculty Affairs in the Office of Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs, said military service sets the bar for teamwork and achieving goals. “In the military, you serve with people from different backgrounds, but those differences do not define your work together. In the military, you have to be adaptable and quickly change gears. There is respect for process and procedure in the military. In the military, there is respect for duty and service to a greater good,” she said. “We can learn from you.”
Chandra Alston, EdD, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources, listed the many inventions we owe to the military, including the walkie-talkie, microwave heat, virtual reality, cargo pants, duct tape, and the Global Positioning System (GPS). “But the service you have given has been the most important thing,” she said.
Ann Salina, director of Admissions and Operations in the Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services and the daughter of an Air Force veteran, said the debt to veterans can never be repaid. “Our gathering is one small spark in a flame that burns across the country today,” she said.