Thomas K. Davis, an associate professor of architecture, has received a national award for his exemplary engagement and outreach scholarship. This was one of eight granted in the nation.

Thomas K. Davis’s program, which focuses on outreach partnerships in greater Nashville, was selected by a panel of university engagement administrators through the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award and the Engagement Scholarship/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award program. The awards program seeks colleges and universities that have redesigned their learning, discovery, and engagement functions to become more involved with their communities.

Davis received a plaque at the National Outreach Scholarship Conference and was recognized during the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ annual meeting.

This is the third consecutive year UT has received an exemplary proposal award.

The first initiative of the partnership was producing “The Plan of Nashville,” a two-and-a-half-year project that developed a community-based vision and design principles for metropolitan Nashville’s urban core. The plan has been extended through Davis’ urban design courses, which, to date, have enrolled more than 200 students in addressing civic design issues in Middle Tennessee. The work was centered through the UT College of Architecture and Design’s partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center.

In Clay County, Kentucky, flooding or ice frequently blocks access to emergency services. If a tornado hit the area, shelter would also be hard to find. A group of UT faculty members and students is trying to change this situation.

The effort known as Appalachia UTK is made possible through a $1.5 million grant over three years from the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Over three years, the group aims to have a comprehensive assessment of the community’s health status, living conditions, and disaster readiness and vulnerability; an enhancement of overall wellness, including structural safety of homes and buildings; and the development of a community that has sufficient disaster preparedness training and resources. The project members will write grants to pay for costly updates and work with UT students and volunteers to implement solutions.

Clay County is an isolated area ranked 119th out of 120 Kentucky counties on major health indicators. Much of the population is ill-equipped to deal with a disaster because of poor housing, few shelters, inadequate sanitation, limited public resources, poverty, and lack of disaster education and essential reserves of food and water.

Participants from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design are John McRae and J. David Matthews.