Presented by the UT National Alumni Association, These awards recognize faculty and staff members who make substantial contributions during a particular year to the welfare and good of the state or national public.

2009 Alumni Public Service Award

john romeiser
John Romeiser is a professor of French modern foreign language and literature. His commitment to the history of World War II and veterans’ affairs has had a dramatic impact on East Tennessee. He has worked for more than seven years to make the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association’s vision for a monument a reality. He helped to raise nearly $2 million for the project, which commemorates 6,200 men and women from the East Tennessee Grand Division who fell in combat during conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries. He now serves as president of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association and is working with the group on the next phase of the project—a Veterans History Center—that they hope to locate adjacent to the new memorial.