"On a hallowed hill in Tennessee — Like a beacon shining bright — The stately walls of old UT / Rise glorious to the sight."
— University of Tennessee alma mater
Turfgrass researchers at the University of Tennessee wanted to try something other than a traditional field day this year to connect stakeholders to research taking place at the institution's research facility.
"We looked at this from the 10,000-foot level," said Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., professor and director of the weed diagnostic center at Tennessee. "We weren't sure it made sense to spend all that money putting up tents and providing lunch for 500 people, most of whom were just there to renew their pesticide credits and go home."
Instead of doing the same-old version of a field day, UT launched Beacon 2024. The program connected dozens of job-seeking students with nearly 30 employers from throughout the turf industry in what was essentially a two-day job fair and research update held Sept. 12-13 in Knoxville.
"We had not done a field day since 2019," Brosnan said. "The idea was to connect students and employers and then connect them both to the research we are doing here."
The event connected about 70 students with employers in 28 booths at a downtown Knoxville hotel. The second day was held at the university's research farm south of campus along the Tennessee River.
The university has about 40 students enrolled in the turf program, with others in attendance from other fields in the horticulture arena. There also were a couple of students from the unversity's veterinary medicine program, along with a handful of attendees from local high schools and community colleges, said Becky Bowling, Ph.D., assistant professor and extension specialist who came to UT in May 2023 when Tom Samples, Ph.D., retired.
Employers came from as far as Florida to exhibit at the event and meet with prospective new hires.
Employers on site included chemical companies, golf courses and others. Interactive exercises such as a trivia competition encouraged students to visit each booth to maximize interaction between stakeholders.
"Collectively, we decided not to do a field day," Bowling said. "It's not addressing the needs of stakeholders across the state. So many places are having challenges with labor and workforce development, and this kind of event provides a more intimate relationship with stakeholders across the state and our research program.
"We thought, let's create an event that ticks three major boxes of an in-person program: One, it allows employers to connect with students and address the systemic challenges they are having; Two, it allows stakeholders to engage with faculty and our research program in a richer, more in-depth way; and Three, it gives everyone an opportunity to socialize, get away from the day-to-day, see people and have a good time."
Collectively, we decided not to do a field day. It's not addressing the needs of stakeholders across the state. So many places are having challenges with labor and workforce development, and this kind of event provides a more intimate relationship with stakeholders across the state and our research program.
Day 2 of the event was held at the East Tennessee Research Facility for an update on current research projects taking place within the program. Pesticide points were not offered so the focus would remain on the students and the actual research being done at UT.
"We intentionally did not offer pesticide points, because as soon as you do that changes the audience," Brosnan said. "Companies want to get to know students and they want to get to know our research. That's why they're here."
When seeking a name for the event, Brosnan invited input from students and others. He finally settled on Beacon, which is the name of the student newspaper and is a key word in the university's alma mater.
"I wanted a single word that we could own and we just had to add a year to the end of it every year," Brosnan said.
"Beacon was perfect."
The event has been in discussion for more than a year, and the thought that went into developing, planning and staging such an innovative event is part of what attracted Bowling to Tennessee when she succeeded Samples as the university's statewide extension specialist.
"One of the reasons I picked this job, I think this extension has the best juju, the best vibe, and that is because of Tom Samples," Bowling said. "He brought such positivity to this position.
"There is a lot of capacity for me to come in and make this job my own, but I also want to honor the positivity that he brought and the relationships he built. He had great relationships with all of the county extension agents. It's daunting, he set the bar so high."
Future tweaks to the Beacon program will include seeking ways to fund student travel through sponsorships so jobseekers from other areas and other universities can attend. Students from universities in Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia expressed interest in the event but travel expenses proved to be a roadblock.
"We would never turn any student away who is interested in attending. We invited regional programs like Horry-Georgetown and Abraham Baldwin, and there were students interested from Western Kentucky," Bowling said. "We might ask employers to help support travel, because there are cost limitations. Even though it was free to attend, students still have to get here and get accommodations. But we know the interest is there."
