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UT dedicates Strong Hall atrium in honor of Dr. Bill Bass

The University of Tennessee honored the renowned forensic anthropologist and 'Body Farm' founder by naming the atrium in Strong Hall after him.

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.

►READ MORE: UT Body Farm helps ID victim in Redhead Murders

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. 

READ MORE: 25 years later, UT Body Farm founder reflects on sending students to Waco siege

Dr. Bass founded UT's Body Farm back in 1981, which has been a vital resource in solving crimes. 

Inside The Body Farm: The dead do speak

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.

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