BRISTOL, Tennessee, May 30 -- Contura Energy, a coal supplier, issued the following news release on May 29: Contura Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CTRA), a leading U.S. coal supplier, announced the end of its connection with the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Effective today, May 29, 2020, two previously wholly-owned subsidiaries of Contura Energy--Contura Coal West, LLC (Contura Coal West) and Contura Wyoming Land, LLC (Contura Wyoming)--have merged with certain subsidiaries of Eagle Specialty Materials  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 29 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: The six-week Medical Student Summer Research program, which is conducted from early May until late June, has become an integral part of the training of many Quillen College of Medicine students. The major goal of the research program is to provide opportunities and support for medical students to participate in research. Initially, when it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would impact ETSU an  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 27 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: Alumni of East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine are on the front lines of research and studies happening across the world to develop treatments for the COVID-19 virus. Dr. Davey Smith ('96) is leading a clinical trial that is currently underway to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 29 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: As the number of COVID-19 cases started rising in New York City earlier this year, two alumni of East Tennessee State University's Cardiopulmonary Science Program, Rayford Johnson and Jessica Burleson, were among a group of respiratory therapists from across the country who decided they wanted to use their professional abilities to help. Johnson and Burleson have never met and they took separate path  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 23 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: A majority of Tennesseans will seek out a COVID-19 vaccine if it becomes available, but not everyone will be "among the first" to get vaccinated, according to the most recent Tennessee Poll conducted by the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University. The poll, which surveyed 618 Tennesseans from April 22-May 1, 2020, asked respondents where they go for news they can trust on the cor  more

HENDERSON, Tennessee, May 29 -- Freed-Hardeman University issued the following news: Freed-Hardeman University has announced the promotion of five individuals within the Division of Academics, according to President David R. Shannon. They will assume their new duties June 1. Dr. LeAnn Davis has been named associate vice president for instruction. She will continue to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Jason Brashier, dean of the College of Business, will also serve as the a  more

HENDERSON, Tennessee, May 29 -- Freed-Hardeman University issued the following news: Freed-Hardeman University's Educator Preparation Program has recently received continuing accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as well as continuing approval of all licensure programs by the Tennessee Department of Education. CAEP has granted full accreditation at the initial licensure level and at the advanced level effective Spring 2020-Spring 2027. The program   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 28 -- Lipscomb University issued the following news: Early in 2020, through a partnership with the Dietetic Internship Program, Lipscomb University Athletics opened a new designated kitchen space in Allen Arena for its student-athletes, dubbed the Lipscomb Bisons Fueling Station. The construction of the fueling station was made possible by donations during Lipscomb's first Day of Giving in March 2019. The fueling station is one of the few of its kind currently operat  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 25 -- Lipscomb University issued the following news: While the summer months typically present challenges for many students, perhaps caused by the change in routine or separation from their community at school, this summer will be especially unique. The COVID-19 health crisis has had many adverse effects, particularly in the mental-health of our nation. Andrea Mills, Assistant Director of the Counseling Center, suggests some tools and tricks for students to maintain a   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 27 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the appointment of Bonita Jo Atwood to the 16th Judicial District Circuit Court to fill the Honorable Royce Taylor's vacancy. "Bonita Jo Atwood is an experienced litigator with the right temperament to serve on the bench," said Gov. Lee. "I'm proud to nominate her for the Circuit Court and thank her for her willingness to serve the people of Tennessee." Atwood has serve  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 29 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the appointment of Kristi M. Davis to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Grand Division to fill the Honorable Charles D. Susano Jr.'s vacancy. "Kristi Davis has an extensive background in civil cases as both an attorney and judge, and she will be an exceptional addition to the Court of Appeals," said Gov. Lee. "I'm grateful for her willingness to serve and am prou  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 29 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Governor Bill Lee's Economic Recovery Group issued new guidelines for noncontact sports, camps, and higher education under the Tennessee Pledge. Since the state began its measured reopening in late April, nearly every industry is now able to resume business in some capacity with specific recommendations to preserve and protect the health and safety of all Tennesseans. "We're able to continue reopening our st  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 30 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee released an overview of administrative actions taken to address the public health and economic crisis created by COVID-19. "While the last 12 weeks have created unprecedented challenges for our state, our early preparations and the committed efforts of Tennesseans continue to put our state in a very fortunate position," said Gov. Lee. "We will continue to address public health and  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 29 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's Unified Command Group finalized plans to establish an alternate care site at Metro Nashville General Hospital, 1818 Albion St., to increase hospital capacity in Middle Tennessee for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "We have put in place a critical resource to meet local, COVID-19 patient care needs if required," said Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP, Tennessee Department   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 30 -- Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tennessee, issued the following news: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's Unified Command Group released a new report on the state's efforts to protect long-term care facility residents from the spread of COVID-19. The full report can be found here. With long-term care residents comprising nearly 40 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths in Tennessee, Gov. Lee and the Unified Command have implemented a robust response to require all long-term care residen  more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee., May 28 -- Chattanooga State Community College issued the following news release: Chattanooga State's Dwight Hunter is the 2019-2020 recipient of the "Making a Difference Award" by the Tennessee Library Association (TLA). Hunter, an assistant librarian in the Kolwyck Library and Information Commons (KLIC), holds a Master of Science in Information Systems degree (MSIS) from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is KLIC's policy writer, a lead in accessibility, head  more

COOKEVILLE, Tennessee, May 30 -- Tennessee Technological University issued the following news release: Tennessee Tech has been the site of one of 11 Governor's Schools over the last 21 years. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tech's campus will be empty and the school will be going online. Governor's School for Business, Innovation and Technology, which starts on June 1, is an experience similar to Shark Tank for high school juniors and seniors. It enhances student knowledge of business and en  more

JACKSON, Tennessee, May 30 -- Union University issued the following news release: Classes for the fall semester at Union University will meet on campus and in-person, with the university taking necessary safety precautions to protect students, faculty and staff from COVID-19. "We're excited to welcome new and returning students back to campus in the fall," Union President Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver said. "Our students thrive in the Christ-centered community they find at Union, and we're looking fo  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, May 28 -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center issued the following news: The impact of COVID-19 is affecting not only health care providers on the frontlines across the country, but thousands of medical students who have been removed from clinical rotations in order to avoid direct patient contact in response to the pandemic. Practicing social distancing required getting creative in how students would continue to learn the critical skills they would need as ph  more

MARTIN, Tennessee, May 30 -- The University of Tennessee's Martin Campus issued the following news release: Students attending fall semester classes at the University of Tennessee at Martin will begin classes August 17 and finish classes by Thanksgiving. The condensed semester will offer a combination of in-person and online classes and minimize travel to and from the main campus and five centers in Jackson, Parsons, Ripley, Selmer and Somerville. In addition to the earlier start date of Augus  more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, May 27 -- The University of Tennessee's Chattanooga Campus issued the following news release: Three research projects targeting COVID-19 are now going on through the SimCenter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The projects are searching for methods to make detection of the virus simpler and also to find ways to combat it. Along with providing $20,000 each for two of the projects, the SimCenter's supercomputers are capable of quickly crunching massive amoun  more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, May 29 -- The University of Tennessee's Chattanooga Campus issued the following news release: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga expertise is well-represented among 25 winning proposals for the first-ever "One UT Collaboration and Innovation Grants" funded by the UT System. UTC Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering Ahmed Eltom together with Leon Tolbert, head of the UT Knoxville Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, won for their joi  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 28 -- Vanderbilt University issued the following news: Andre L. Churchwell has been named vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University, a position he has held on an interim basis since June 2019. Churchwell, whose appointment was announced today by the university and is effective immediately, also will continue in his role as chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He holds the Levi  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 30 -- Vanderbilt University issued the following news: A complex artificial intelligence-powered analysis is being deployed by Jonathan Irish, associate professor of cell and developmental biology and scientific director of the Cancer & Immunology Core, in the race to understand the inner-workings of COVID-19. The tool parses through vast quantities of data to identify extremely rare immune cells that specifically respond to viruses. Irish's analysis tool has been in   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 28 -- Vanderbilt University issued the following news: New research may explain why we sometimes overvalue items we've acquired--to an irrational degree--irrespective of their market or sentimental value. This phenomenon is called the endowment effect, and researchers have long puzzled over why it occurs, and why the size of the effect can vary so much across items when it does. It's important to understand, however, because the endowment effect can lead us to make unp  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 27 -- Vanderbilt University issued the following news: Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that perchlorate, an environmental pollutant found in many sources of drinking water in the U.S., inhibits the uptake of iodide, an essential component of thyroid hormones, in a more pronounced and fundamental way than commonly considered. This discovery was published May 25 in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology just as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 29 -- Vanderbilt University issued the following news: Lung disease experts at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children. The researchers discovered that children have lower levels of an enzyme the virus needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lung. Their preliminary findings, has been posted  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, May 29 -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center issued the following news on May 28: It's 105 degrees in June in the jungle of Paraguay, and Colleen Jonsson and her students are hunting a killer. They're sweating under heavy biosafety gear and working in a makeshift lab set up on the porch of a house owned by the World Wildlife Federation. Their elusive prey is the hantavirus, a rodent-borne disease that has killed thousands across the globe. The scientists are   more