Joe Smith receives William T. Miles M.D. Memorial Award for Community Service
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrated the accomplishments of some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards luncheon. The 2026 ceremony was held on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 4. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the celebration and praised the honorees for their devotion to the land-grant mission. “Our UTIA staff and faculty continue to overwhelm me with their enthusiasm and unparalleled expertise,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing Real. Life. Solutions. to the people of Tennessee. These award winners represent the efforts and accomplishments this past year that will most benefit all Tennesseans and society – impacts that will have lasting benefits through teaching, research and Extension for years to come.”
Joe Smith, associate professor of veterinary clinical pharmacology and farm animal medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is a recipient of the William T. Miles M.D. Memorial Award for Community Service. The other Miles award was presented to the flood recovery team working to help East Tennessee counties impacted by Hurricane Helene. Named for the late William T. Miles, respected medical doctor, this award was established by his son, the late Curtis W. Miles, a longtime devotee of the field trials at the Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tennessee. In accordance with the younger Miles’ life philosophy, “Treat people like you want to be treated,” the award intends to recognize significant contributions and service to the Knoxville community.
“I am humbled to be recognized for my community service at the University of Tennessee,” Smith said. “I consider myself fortunate to be in an environment where I am supported in extra opportunities to mentor students, coach student athletes, and pester the CVM community to help keep Third Creek clean.”
Smith’s research pertains to clinical pharmacology of all species and focuses on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in large animals. He teaches several courses and provides care and diagnostics to ruminants while training veterinary students, interns, and residents. Smith enjoys mentoring undergraduate and veterinary students and specifically points to training a mentee from her internship through her residency and board-certification in large animal internal medicine.
Outside the classroom, Smith coaches the UT wrestling team, which competes in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. The team had its first women’s conference “most outstanding wrestler” in 2025 and its first men’s all-Americans since 2004 last year. He also is involved in the cleanup of Third Creek, which runs through the Knoxville campus and empties into the Tennessee River, and encourages students and colleagues to be involved in cleanup events throughout the year.
Smith earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University, master’s degree in agricultural biosecurity at Penn State University, internal medicine residency at the University of California, Davis, and Ph.D. in biomedical sciences/pharmacology at Iowa State University.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.