KNOXVILLE — An East Tennessee firm that provides technical, business and recruiting services to fast-growing companies has joined the University of Tennessee in sponsoring the third Tennessee Math Contest for state high school students.
Pro2Serve Professional Project Services Inc., headquartered in Oak Ridge, is providing travel expenses for high school competitors who must travel more than 150 miles to get to UT’s Knoxville campus.
“In appreciation for the company’s generosity, the contest will be called the Pro2Serve Tennessee Math Contest,” said Dr. John Conway, head of the UT mathematics department.
The top 10 winners of the individual contest will receive a four-year, tuition-and-fees scholarship to UT, Conway said. For the first time this year, any winner whose grade-point average is at least 3.5 and who scores 28 or better on the ACT test will receive a full scholarship worth $8,000 a year.
This year-s competition is October 18. Conway said the 2001 contest is limited to 1,000 individual competitors and 64 three-student teams who compete in the contest’s Math Bowl. Schools are allowed to enter one team and up to 30 students. The deadline for registration is Oct. 2.
Last year, more than 800 high school students from across Tennessee participated in the daylong contest, assisted by more than 140 volunteers from UT’s faculty, staff and students.
“Statistics show that Tennessee lags behind the national average in math and science scores,” said Barry Goss, president of Pro2Serve. “This combined with Tennessee-s current budget crunch makes it extremely important for private companies to step up to the plate.”
Pro2Serve specializes in helping fast-growth, high-tech companies meet critical needs by providing solutions on a project-by-project basis.
Founded in 1996, the company has offices in Chattanooga and Knoxville; Portsmouth, Ohio; Paducah, Ky.; Herndon, Va.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Huntsville, Ala.; Los Alamos, N.M.; and Augusta, Mont.
For more information about entering the contest, call Alice Gregory at 865-974-2463 or visit the contest Web site at http://www.math.utk.edu/TMC/ or www.p2s.com.