Governor’s Proposed Budget and Investments in UT
Dear colleagues,
Governor Bill Lee last night unveiled his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year. In it he included significant investments in higher education, including $210 million in new funding for our campus and campus initiatives. I appreciate Governor Lee’s investment in our campus and President Randy Boyd’s advocacy on our behalf.
President Boyd has outlined the governor’s proposed investments across the UT System, including employee salary pool increases and an unprecedented increase in operating funding. For UT Knoxville, that includes:
- A 4 percent salary pool to fund merit and market increases
- A $20 million operating increase under the outcomes-based funding formula
- $83 million toward a new building to support the extraordinary growth in the Haslam College of Business
- $72 million to fully fund the UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, a research partnership between UT Knoxville, the UT System, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- $4 million in recurring funding, with an additional initial $2 million, to launch and sustain a new Institute for American Civics
- $2 million in recurring funding for the College of Veterinary Medicine
- $17 million in capital maintenance funds for UT Knoxville, including the Institute for Agriculture
We are grateful for the continued investment by our state in higher education, and especially for the direct support to our students through a proposed increase in the Hope Scholarship. These commitments underscore the essential role the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, plays in supporting our state, and they recognize the important work you do for our students.
We will continue to keep you updated and engaged as these investments move to implementation.
Donde Plowman
Chancellor