Thoughts on the Modern Land Grant

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been traveling and sharing the good work all of you are doing here on Rocky Top. People are taking notice of the momentum we’re building.
I went to San Diego, California, where Arizona State University President Michael Crow and I spoke about our new digital learning partnership. I spent a few days in Nashville for the inaugural Competitiveness Conversation around Tennesse’s innovation economy.
I was also invited to Columbus, Ohio, to share my thoughts on the modern land-grant university and how important this mission is to the future of higher education. Those conversations have made me think a lot about how these themes dovetail with our land-grant mission. This is a time for land-grant universities like UT to lead by expanding access to higher education and serving the needs of our state.
I hope you’ll watch the full message here.
TRANSCRIPT
Happy Spring, Vols!
What a wonderful time of year it is to be here on Rocky Top.
I must say, it’s good to be home.
Over the last month, I’ve done a lot of traveling.
I was invited to Ohio State University to share my thoughts on the modern land-grant.
I headed to San Diego to join President Michael Crow of Arizona State University to have a public conversation about our new digital learning partnership.
And last week, I visited Nashville to co-host a meeting of public, private, and elected leaders eager to talk about the momentum behind Tennessee’s innovation economy.
As I visited these places and shared stories about the remarkable work all of you are doing, I’ve also been thinking a lot about our role as a university and what it means to be the state’s flagship land-grant.
Land-grants have a covenant with the people we serve, deep relationships with our communities, and a sense of pride across the state that Tennessee’s flagship land-grant university belongs to everyone.
No one is better positioned to earn the trust of the American public than land-grant universities.
At UT, we are building cars that are lighter and travel further, and we are working alongside local healthcare providers to improve outcomes in our community.
We are launching new colleges and creating new degree programs that ensure our students graduate with the skills they need to step into the jobs they want.
We are delivering new resources and support to make sure volunteers thrive both in and out of the classroom.
When I see the big ideas generated on this campus and the way we rally together to bring them to life, I am convinced that we can be the ones to light the way.
As we wrap up the semester and celebrate our graduates, I hope you will also find a moment to reflect on how your work is supporting our students, our discoveries, and our mission.
I hope you’re as proud as I am of all that we’re doing at UT, and Go Vols!