Claxton Medallion Honors Future Teachers of the Arts and Sciences
The Claxton Medallion is awarded each year to the most deserving graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences who will be entering his or her fifth year in the College of Education in preparation to become a teacher. This award was established in 1995 by former College of Arts and Sciences Board member Philander P. Claxton, Jr., in memory of his father, Philander P. Claxton, Sr.
This year’s recipient is Jessica Robinson, a senior in mathematics from Maryville. Phil Claxton III presented the medal on behalf of the Claxton family during the College’s Board of Visitors meeting on April 18, 2008.
The Claxton Medallion award honors Philander P. Claxton, Sr., who was the U.S. Commissioner of Education under Presidents William Taft and Woodrow Wilson. The Education Complex bears Philander Claxton Sr.’s name, and he is well-known for organizing the Summer School of the South, a regional program for public school teachers held in the early 1900’s at UT.
Philander P. Claxton, Jr. passed away in 1999 at the age of 84. He was a long-time State Department Official. Claxton, Jr. was an advisor to secretaries of state on population control, including the U.N. World Population Conference held in Bucharest, Romania in 1974. From 1978 to 1988, he was a consultant to the Futures Group in Washington on several projects involving the U.S. Agency for International Development. His work analyzed population as it figured into social and economic factors in foreign countries.
Claxton, Jr., was born in Washington, D.C. and received his undergraduate degree from The University of Tennessee in 1934. He also received a master’s degree from Princeton University and was a 1938 graduate of Yale Law School. He was very proud of the Claxton Medallion Award and enjoyed the presentation and the opportunity to meet the student recipient each spring.
Phil Claxton III now awards the Claxton Medallion and scholarship each year, in honor of his father and grandfather.
More Images of the 2008 Claxton Medallion Winner:
Carol Mayo Jenkins and Phil Claxton III present the Claxton Medallion to Jessica Robinson
Carol Mayo Jenkins, Melissa Robinson, Dean Bruce Bursten, Jessica Robinson (Claxton Medallion recipient), Phil Claxton III, and Scott Robinson