Dr. Pat Akos serves as associate vice provost for the Division of Student Success and executive director of University Honors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
In this capacity, he also provides executive oversight of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Fellowships & Service Learning and maintains a professorial appointment in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS).
With over three decades of experience spanning K-12 education, clinical mental health counseling, higher education, and academic leadership, Dr. Akos’s career reflects a steadfast commitment to advancing student success. Before his tenure at UT, he served as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for twenty years. His scholarly work, informed by a strengths-based and humanistic framework, has advanced research and practice in counseling, career development, student transitions, and thriving. He has published extensively, including over 100 scholarly works, and has been recognized for his contributions to the field through national awards and service on prestigious boards and councils.
Since joining the university, Dr. Akos has led transformational initiatives in honors education and undergraduate research. He spearheaded a comprehensive strategic planning process for University Honors, resulting in a newly designed, interdisciplinary curriculum aligned with contemporary problem-solving and leadership development, and forged strong partnerships across eleven academic colleges. Under his leadership, the Office of Undergraduate Research, Fellowships & Service Learning expanded its reach, significantly increasing participation among a wide range of students. His work continues to position UT as a national leader in innovative honors and student success programming.
Dr. Akos holds a B.S. from Vanderbilt University in Human and Organizational Development and Secondary Education, an M.A. from Morehead State University in Higher Education, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia. He remains committed to fostering environments where students, faculty, and institutions can achieve excellence and sustained impact.
Clifton Strengths: Relator, Maximizer, Ideation, Individualization, Futuristic
Fun Fact: Pat caught a football pass from the Vice President of the United States.
E-mail: pakos@utk.edu
Meredith Malburne-Wade (she/her) is the director for Undergraduate Research, Fellowships & Service Learning.
She earned her PhD in American Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, her MA in English from Georgetown University, and her BA in English and French from Wellesley College.
Prior to relocating to Tennessee, she directed the fellowships and research office at James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia. She has taught research skills, composition, business writing, American literature, and women’s literature at universities in Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
In In her free time, she loves reading, spending time with her family (including two cats and a dog), gardening, puzzles, and pretending she is good at crafts.
Fun Fact: Meredith has a dog named Luna and two cats named Bacon and Maisie.
E-mail: mmalburn@utk.edu
Dr. Janna Harvey (she/her) is the associate director for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.
She is an experienced mixed-methods researcher with expertise in government research, higher education pedagogy, and scholarly mentorship.
Janna earned her Ph.D. in Geography from the Department of Geography & Sustainability at the University of Tennessee, where she was honored with the Chancellor’s Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in recognition of her pedagogical excellence.
She dedicated three years to advancing undergraduate research initiatives as assistant director for Undergraduate Research, where she played a pivotal role in shaping student engagement, program development, and research advocacy.
During her doctoral studies, she conducted population research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) before advancing to a postdoctoral appointment with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Her scholarly pursuits lie at the intersection of cultural and digital geographies, with a particular emphasis on narrative dissemination and the construction of public memory.
Fun Fact: The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, has exhibited a map Janna created showcasing streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
E-mail: jcaspers@utk.edu
Mari LaCure is URFS’s program coordinator for undergraduate research.
Mari received a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Kansas.
Prior to relocating to Knoxville in 2020, she taught printmaking, bookbinding, and drawing at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, where she also managed the continuing education program.
She lived and worked in Japan for several years on the JET Program and was faculty for Montserrat’s study abroad program in Niigata, Japan.
Fun Fact: Mari created a site-specific art installation for the Multidisciplinary Research Building at the University of Kansas.
E-mail: mlacure1@utk.edu
Ryan Lee is our assistant director for fellowships.
A first-generation college graduate and native of west Tennessee, Ryan holds a B.A. in English literature from The University of Memphis and a M.A. in English from The University of Tennessee.
He has several years of experience as a writing tutor, English composition instructor, and academic advisor.
In his spare time, Ryan enjoys cooking and reading as well as collecting/fixing old things such as motorcycles and jukeboxes.
Fun Fact: Ryan has never turned down a conversation about the TV series Mad Men, the band Oasis, or NBA basketball.
E-mail: ryanlee@utk.edu
Ahdya Attea (they/them) is the Senior Writing Consultant for Undergraduate Research, Fellowships & Service Learning.
While having worked with URFS since 2023, Ahdya is currently based in Brooklyn, NY where they remotely assist URFS with fellowships advising and student application preparation.
A former graduate of UT’s College of Social Work, Ahdya holds a bachelor’s degree in Plant Sciences from UT and an MA in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
Their aspiration to support young people’s development, aspirations, and civic participation began through an AmeriCorps VISTA position with UT’s University-Assisted Community Schools program.
More recently, Ahdya has worked in community and academic writing centers in Brooklyn, New York; Knoxville, Tennessee; Buffalo, New York; and Ripton, Vermont. They also come with plenty of surprises.
Fun Fact: You can ask Ahdya about the time they saw UFOs in New Mexico while hitchhiking with an accordion on their way to work on a goat farm.
E-mail: eattea@utk.edu
E-mail: hmorgan8@utk.edu