KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee honored Body Farm founder Dr. Bill Bass by dedicating the atrium at the newly built Strong Hall in his honor.
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The atrium will now be known as the Dr. William M. Bass Atrium.
Dr. Bass is a world renowned forensic anthropologist who has been called on to use his expertise in cases here in East Tennessee and across the country. As a UT professor emeritus, he's passed on his knowledge to generations of experts in the field.
Dr. Bass founded UT's Body Farm back in 1981, which has been a vital resource in solving crimes.
Dr. Bass said he was both honored and surprised by the naming, saying Strong Hall is a vast improvement compared to where he used to hold classes underneath Neyland Stadium.
"It was the space that we really didn't have in the south stadium. There was really no classrooms as such there, so this is nice. You don't have to walk across campus in the rain in snow," he said.
The new Strong Hall opened back in 2017. It houses the Anthropology and Earth & Planetary Sciences departments, and features chemistry and biology labs.
The building stands where the old Sophronia Strong Hall used to be.