Notes from the Chancellor Newsletter Archive 
BIG ORANGE. BIG IDEAS.
I hope by now you've seen this phrase on our website, on banners around campus, on T-shirts, and in newspaper ads. "Big Orange. Big Ideas." is the centerpiece of the branding strategy we rolled out on February 1. It will be the framework we use to market the university and tell people about UT's impact on the state and the nation. The new look and words are simple, but they provide a much-needed platform for telling our story and strengthening our reputation?all of which play a big role in helping us move into the ranks of the Top 25.
2012-02-10 07:00
Big Ideas for the New Year
Lots of people make New Year's resolutions?goals to improve themselves in some form or fashion. As a campus, we've also made some resolutions for 2012: improve our facilities, make steady progress on our journey to being a Top 25 public research university, improve employee compensation, and push for increased fundraising.
2012-02-10 07:00
Student Union Work Set to Begin
We will soon begin the largest single building project in our history: the construction of our new Student Union to replace the University Center. Funded entirely by existing student fees and by the revenue-generating operations in the University Center, the Student Union will provide much-needed space and will be a point of pride for our campus.
2012-02-10 07:00
Sorority Village Work in High Gear
If you've driven down Kingston Pike in the past few months, you've seen that work is well under way on Sorority Village on Morgan Hill. Thirteen houses will be built on the site over the next few years, and eight of the homes are expected to open to residents this fall. This exciting project is a collaboration between sorority leaders, alumni, our campus and our community.
2012-02-10 07:00
Faculty Appreciation Week is February 13-17
Faculty Appreciation Week is next week. This year's theme is "Big Thanks for Big Ideas in Teaching, Research, and Outreach." I encourage you to say "thank you" to faculty members who have meant a lot to you.
2012-02-10 07:00
UT, Y-12 Enhance Partnership
This past fall, UT and Y-12 signed an agreement strengthening our partnership. It paves the way for joint appointments of key researchers, engineers, executives, and staff. We've already seen some exciting collaborations, and we're confident the relationship will grow our research capabilities, faculty numbers, technologies, and facilities.
2012-02-10 07:00
NSF Award Will Help UT Create Computer Links
UT is helping create a new generation of linkages among high-performance computers and research facilities across the country, thanks to an $18 million award from the National Science Foundation.
2012-02-10 07:00
Kudos, Kudos, Kudos
Here's a list of faculty, staff, and students who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.
2012-02-10 07:00
WE BACK PAT!
Pat Summitt is known for her courage, integrity, and commitment to the Lady Vols and UT. In August, announcing her diagnosis with early onset dementia, she stayed true to her game. She showed amazing courage as she spoke openly to her student-athletes, her coaches, UT colleagues, and her fans.
2011-10-19 06:00
DAVE HART: UT'S NEW VC OF ATHLETICS AND AD
I hope you'll join me in welcoming Dave Hart as our new vice chancellor and director of athletics. He started the job last month and has hit the ground running. He is a seasoned administrator with twenty years of experience as athletic director at two major institutions, East Carolina University and Florida State University. He knows how to manage and lead athletic programs, coaches, and staff. He has a strong commitment to academics.
2011-10-19 06:00
Top 25: Two Current Efforts
With VOL Vision/Top 25 plan now in place, we have more than sixty action plans to close the gaps between UT Knoxville and our aspirational list of Top 25 public research universities. Today, we look at two of those efforts: one to streamline our graduate school admissions process and another to make sure undergraduates understand the value of doing research and the growing number of research opportunities at UT Knoxville.
2011-10-19 06:00
Freshman Class is Top 25
As we work toward becoming a Top 25 public research university, we're pleased that the quality of our incoming students is already there. Approximately 4,200 freshmen began classes in August and, by average ACT scores, they rank among the top 8 percent of students statewide. Serving such high-ability students fuels our determination to elevate our programs and improve our facilities to provide a world class education for our students.
2011-10-19 06:00
UT Funded for Two Major Research Endeavors
This summer, we were excited to announce that UT Knoxville had received two $18 million awards to fund research that will have a national, if not global, impact. One of the awards is from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy, and it will put us in the lead in overhauling the nation's power grid. The other award, also from the NSF, is for UT to help create a new generation of linkages among high-performance computers and research facilities across the nation.
2011-10-19 06:00
CIRE Makes "Interdisciplinary Magic"
Stephen Wood is studying wind farm simulations; Melissa Allen, climate science. In a simple conversation, these two scholars?both part of CIRE's energy science and engineering doctoral fellowship program?uncovered an opportunity for collaboration that would be beneficial not only to their studies, but potentially the world. Such collaborations are everywhere at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE), which opened this fall.
2011-10-19 06:00
Gala Celebrates African American Achievement
Nearly 900 people gathered at a gala on September 23 to celebrate fifty years of African American achievement at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It was part of UT's year-long celebration commemorating the first black undergraduates to enroll at UT.
2011-10-19 06:00
UT and Y-12 sign employee agreement
UT Knoxville and Y-12 Nuclear Security complex have signed an agreement, enhancing our partnership. It allows for joint appointments of key researchers, engineers, executives, and staff.
2011-10-19 06:00
Chancellor's Professors Named
Five of our senior faculty members have been named Chancellor's Professors, UT Knoxville's highest permanent academic honor. Please join me in congratulating Jeffrey Becker, Suzanne Lenhart, Lawrence Townsend, Beauvais Lyons, and Bill Fox.
2011-10-19 06:00
Inaugural "Bridge Program" is Success
This past summer, seventy-five wait-listed UT freshmen accepted our invitation to be part of the inaugural Bridge Program, a dual-enrollment initiative between UT Knoxville and Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC). They attended second summer session at UT and are now taking classes at Pellissippi State. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, these students will transfer to UT as sophomores. The Bridge Program is just one way UT is complying with the Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010, a law that seeks to enhance cooperation between colleges and universities in the Tennessee Board of Regents and UT systems.
2011-10-19 06:00
Kudos, Kudos, Kudos
Here's a list of faculty, staff, and students who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.
2011-10-19 06:00
Top 25 Update
In the year and a half since we accepted the challenge to make UT Knoxville a Top 25 public research university, we've made some nice progress in several of our priority areas--undergraduate education, graduate education, research, faculty and staff, and financial resources and infrastructure. We've also completed an extremely well-thought-out roadmap to the future called Vol Vision/Top 25, and we've listed sixty-four major items to address.
1969-12-31 19:00
The Cost of a Great Education
We aspire to make UT Knoxville a Top 25 public research university, but we can't improve--even maintain our current quality--without adequate resources. Our state funding is down $60 million since 2009 and there are only a limited number of other funding sources. Last month, we received the UT Board of Trustees' approval to raise our students' tuition by 12 percent. Seeking the increase was a tough decision because we recognize the impact it has on our students and their families. Still, it was something we had to do to maintain our best programs, retain and recruit top-notch employees, and make UT a better university for our students, our faculty and staff, and our community and our state.
1969-12-31 19:00
Facilities Fee Increase to Fund Upgrades
Last month, we got the Board of Trustees' approval, to increase the facilities fee our students pay by $100 per semester. This proposed increase will generate approximately $4.8 million per year which we'll use to more aggressively update and repair classrooms, renovate laboratories, and help fund construction projects as we look realistically to the future and limited state funds for new capital projects.
1969-12-31 19:00
Full-Court Press
It's been a year now since the athletics department began reporting to the UT Knoxville campus and, in that time, the athletics department has dealt with a lot of issues and undergone some significant changes. Cuonzo Martin has joined our team as basketball coach, and Dave Serrano is our new baseball coach. Our search for a new vice chancellor/director of athletics is under way, and we are continuing work to consolidate our men's and women's athletics departments. In basketball terms, we're engaged in full-court press to make some very positive changes in our athletics department.
1969-12-31 19:00
A Glimpse into Our Future
The campus's recently completed Master Plan, approved by the UT Board of Trustees last month, defines current and future facility needs. It serves as a guide for future capital improvements for the main UT Knoxville and the Institute of Agriculture campuses. The plan calls for increased green space, including a grand mall, and a more pedestrian-friendly campus. To do that, the plan recommends building more densely in some areas and moving most vehicular traffic and key parking structures to the perimeter of campus.
1969-12-31 19:00
Kudos, Kudos, Kudos
I'm pleased to share with you a list of faculty, staff, and students who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.
1969-12-31 19:00
UT Cited in Chronicle Story
If we're going to increase our timely graduation rate, we must help our students get the classes they need when they need them. That means we've got to increase the number of class sections we offer in much-demanded courses that tend to become "bottlenecks" for our students. One way we can offer more class sections is by employing more graduate students to teach these sections.The Chronicle of Higher Education in May used UT Knoxville as an example in its story, "Universities Turn to Graduate Instructors to Clear Course Bottlenecks."
1969-12-31 19:00
Read with Us
I want to invite all of you to join our incoming freshmen--the UT Knoxville Class of 2015--in reading this year's Life of the Mind book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Written by award-winning science writer Rebecca Skloot and published just last year, this book weaves together many themes, including African American history, research, and medical ethics. It's a perfect book for our students to read as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of African American undergraduates at UT and explore the importance of civility and community on our campus.
1969-12-31 19:00
UT's STEM Enrollment, Graduates Up
In the past five years, UT has seen a 28 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math. Undergraduate enrollment in these fields is up nearly 41 percent and doctoral enrollment is up 33 percent, with that number expected to grow even more as the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE) gets up and running. Likewise, the number of women enrolled in the STEM fields has grown each of the past five years and, in 2010, it was 26 percent higher than it was in 2005.
2011-04-29 06:00
The Rules of the Game
When it comes to athletics, my "rules of the game" are simple: I expect us to play by the rules. I want us to be competitive and to have winning teams. I want our coaches and athletes to represent the university well in everything they do. And I want us always to remember that athletes are students first and they should always be our main focus.
2011-04-29 06:00
Plans Laid for New UC
This winter, we'll embark on the single largest building project in the history of our university: a new, approximately $130 million university center. The new facility will better serve our campus community and be at least 50 percent larger than the current one. The center's design will celebrate UT history, traditions, and alumni. It also will be LEED certified.
2011-04-29 06:00
Top 25: Wrapping up the Remaining Plans
Work is under way to complete the draft implementation plans for our Top 25 efforts in for three more of our priority areas: Graduate Education, Research, and Faculty and Staff. The goal is to integrate all of the priority area plans into a comprehensive report that can be presented to the Board of Trustees in June.
2011-04-29 06:00
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program Update
The inaugural class of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE) is starting to take shape. So far, sixteen students have committed to the program--more than half of the goal of at least twenty students.
2011-04-29 06:00
Access + Hard Work + Initiative
Kalisa Dorse of Whitehaven, Tennessee, graduated in December and is preparing to start physical therapy school at UT Health Science Center. A recipient of the Promise Scholarship, Kalisa chose to work twenty to thirty hours a week throughout her college career, yet completed her bachelor's degree in three and one-half years, with a 3.8 grade point average--and no college debt. Her story is one of initiative and hard work. It also shows UT's dedication to access.
2011-04-29 06:00
Celebrate the Differences
Earlier this month, surrounded by the vibrant sights and sounds of the twenty-sixth annual International Festival, we held a Celebration of Civility and Community. This was the formal launch of a campus-wide effort to ensure that civility is an integral part of our campus. Simply put, we want UT Knoxville to be welcoming to all, hostile to none.
2011-04-29 06:00
Thank You, Faculty! This is Your Week
This is Faculty Appreciation Week at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and I want to be among the first to say "thank you" to all of the dedicated and hardworking faculty whose teaching, research and outreach activities have helped make UT Knoxville one of the nation's great public research universities. I hope you'll join me in expressing your gratitude to our faculty for all they do for UT.
2011-02-14 16:00
A Glimpse at UTK's Goals for the Coming Year
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, enjoyed an exciting, productive 2010. Now it's time to focus on the future. Among our goals for the coming year: making strides in our journey to become a Top 25 public research university, promoting programs that will keep UT Knoxville accessible and affordable, promoting civility, increasing faculty diversity, and re-energizing our environmental campaign.
2011-02-14 16:00
Top 25 Undergraduate Plan Ready
As we continue our journey to become one of the nation's Top 25 public research universities, implementation teams are busy working in each of our five priority areas: undergraduate education, graduate education, research, faculty, and infrastructure and resources. The undergraduate education team has just completed its plan, which provides a framework for engaging our students, who are more academically accomplished than ever before; providing adequate advising, counseling and tutoring services; expanding programs aimed at retention; and providing the tools students need to graduate on time.
2011-02-14 16:00
CIRE Opening on Track
We're on track for a fall 2011 opening for the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE), which will combine the resources of UT Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide expanded opportunities for graduate students in energy-related science and engineering. The new doctorate in energy science and engineering has been approved, and Provost Susan Martin has appointed 38 CIRE faculty members from UT Knoxville and ORNL. Recruiters have been visiting top universities across the country, and we anticipate meeting our class goal of 20 to 30 first-year graduate students for the fall semester.
2011-02-14 16:00
Civility Plan Taking Shape
We are developing a plan to help make the UT Knoxville campus a more accepting, welcoming place. Last semester, we had a series of unfortunate incidents occur on campus. That prompted me to assemble a task force to look at what we can do to promote civility. The task force report is now complete, and I've asked a team to look for ways to implement some of its suggestions.
2011-02-14 16:00
UTK Leads State in Degrees Conferred
UT Knoxville leads all of the state's other public universities in the number of undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees it confers. This is great news for our state, where just 22 percent of adults older than 25 have a bachelor's degree, five percentage points lower than the national average. It's also significant in light of the Complete College Tennessee Act, state legislation that emphasizes educational outcome or degree completion.
2011-02-14 16:00
UTK's Top Students Thrive in Honors Programs
Marianela D'Aprile (center), Madelyn Crawford (right) and Aeron Glover (left)? three of the 44 Haslam Scholars now studying on our campus ? are exceptional students and emerging leaders in their fields. During the past decade, the academic profile of our students has risen. We are attracting some of the nation's most accomplished students. Their ACT scores and high school GPAs rival the best in the nation. Our honors programs are critical in bringing these high-performing students to UT Knoxville and keeping them engaged while they are here.
2011-02-14 16:00
Kudos - February 2011
I'm pleased to share with you a list of faculty, staff and students who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.
2011-02-14 16:00
Kudos - November 2010
Once again, I'm pleased to share with you a list of faculty, staff and students who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.
2010-11-15 16:00
Athletics: Winning Efforts Behind the Scenes
Although they don't always make the biggest headlines, there are many success stories about our student athletes who are trying to do the right thing on and off the field. In an effort to create more of those success stories, football coach Derek Dooley has launched "Vol for Life," a four-year comprehensive player support program that's intended to help our football players make good decisions and understand the consequences that come with poor decisions.
2010-11-15 16:00
Increased Efforts to Enroll Memphis-area Students
Attracting students from the Memphis area is important because it helps us diversify our campus racially and demographically, and it keeps West Tennessee's high-ability students in the state. In 2009, UT Knoxville saw a decline in the number of students we enrolled from Memphis City Schools and Shelby County. During the past year, we've worked hard to reverse this drop, and numbers indicate our efforts are paying off.
2010-11-15 16:00
Positive Developments in Research Realm
Research is critical to our mission at UT Knoxville, so I'm very pleased to report three pieces of good news in this arena: External research funding is up $10 million from last year and is at an all-time high for our campus; The Board of Trustees has approved our new doctorate in energy science and engineering, a key element of the UT-ORNL Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, set to open in the fall of 2012; and our national search for a new vice chancellor for research is now in full swing and we're already receiving responses.
2010-11-15 16:00
Top 25: Moving from Planning to Action
We are now moving from planning to action in the five priority areas of our Top 25 quest: undergraduate education, graduate education, research, faculty, and infrastructure and resources. I've appointed teams to focus on each area, and I've asked them to develop action plans that can be presented to the Board of Trustees in February 2012.
2010-11-15 16:00
Congratulations, President DiPietro
I look forward to working with new UT System President Joe DiPietro, who officially begins his new role on January 1.
2010-11-15 16:00
UT Is a Leader in Accessibility
Our freshman class is diverse and represents an economic cross-section of our state. In short, the Class of 2014 illustrates UT Knoxville's goals in building its student body: quality, access, and diversity.
2010-09-09 09:30
Final Top 25 Report Issued, Project Director Named
Effective September 1, Mary Albrecht, associate dean for academic programs and professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, began overseeing the Top 25 project.
2010-09-09 09:30