Fresh faces joined the activity on the second floor of Perkins Hall this spring, and not just returning freshmen. Meghan Copley and Beth Thrasher joined our administrative team and are keeping things moving in Engineering Fundamentals and the Office of Finance & Administrative Affairs.

Copley is the new administrative specialist in Engineering Fundamentals, taking over after Janet Coward’s retirement. She provides assistance with aspects such as class scheduling and department record keeping.

“And any other fun things that my fellow EF colleagues would like me to work on,” Copley adds. She has experience that might well help with those fun things.

“My background is in event planning and event logistics,” she said. “I have been working in higher education for nine years.”

Copley is originally from northern Virginia near Washington DC. She comes to UT after 10 years in West Virginia.

“Before joining UT, I was a stay-at-home mother,” she said. Her daughter, Susie, is 11 months old. “Before that I planned prospective student recruitment events for Marshall University.”

Copley is an avid sports fan with a longtime love for Washington-area football, baseball, and hockey, “and even NASCAR.”

“I do root for the Titans and the Preds since they are my new home state teams,” she added. “I also enjoy baking, traveling, and being on the water—lake or beach.”

Thrasher joined the Office of Finance & Administrative Affairs as our Human Resources generalist. In this role, she provides guidance, support, and consultative services for HR functions throughout the college.

“I’m responsible for ensuring positions are managed and maintained at levels consistent with the associated budgets,” she said. Thrasher keeps track of position descriptions; the accuracy of employee classifications, appointments, salaries, and unit assignments. She also processes HR documents to ensure timely payroll for all college employees.

Thrasher is originally from East Central Illinois and moved to the Alcoa-Maryville area seven years ago.

“I worked at Alcoa/Arconic for the past six-and-a-half years,” she said. “I started in the Shared Services group and move into an HR Generalist role.”

Thrasher and husband Jeff have been married for almost 30 years and have two sons, Caleb and Zack, and one grandson, Jaxson. Outside of her valuable work for our college, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, attending church, walking, being outdoors, playing with her family’s dogs and watching football.