A New Playbook for Faculty Hiring
What if we recruit all-star faculty the same way we recruit a head football coach?
The suggestion came from Vice Chancellor Danny White, our director of athletics and a leader who knows a thing or two about attracting top talent.
Hiring a coach starts with identifying candidates who have a compelling vision, a track record of excellence, and a reputation for operating with integrity. Then we roll out the orange carpet to get the finalist we want, selling them on why UT is the best place to do their top work.
Last year we decided to start treating world-class faculty hires the same way. So far, eight preeminent faculty have accepted invitations to join us at UT. More prospective hires are in the recruitment pipeline.
This hiring initiative came after years of investing in the deep well of expertise we already have, building up our research capabilities, and growing our industry and government partnerships. We identified our institutional research priorities, drawing on our strengths as a university and the needs of our state to determine where we wanted to invest our resources.
With the foundation in place, we began asking, “What’s next?” How do we keep growing our research footprint so we can solve more problems and make life better for more people?
I asked the deans to identify faculty research hires who could elevate the work of their colleges even more. The provost’s team evaluated hundreds of candidates.
When we invest together, we can accelerate breakthroughs and deliver measurable benefits to the communities we serve.
Our new preeminent hires are experts in digital health, AI, the circular bioeconomy, quantum materials, radiopharmaceutical chemistry, and other critical fields. They are joining UT from Ivy League schools, top-ranked public universities, and global institutions. In many cases, they are bringing their research teams with them.
By coming to UT, they’re joining a collaborative research ecosystem that is enriched by our deep partnerships with neighboring industry leaders including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12, and TVA. UT is seventh in the nation for US Department of Energy Funding, with more than $185 million in federal research grants in the most recent fiscal year, and is a partner in a National Science Foundation ENGINE that will be awarded up to $160 million. We are expanding our physical research footprint with public-private innovation districts where we will bring together academia and industry to fuel breakthroughs.
This is what it looks like to fulfill our land-grant mission at the highest level. It means expanding our deep well of faculty talent to build a critical mass of research expertise and capabilities. It means putting those resources to work solving critical challenges and creating new technologies that will change lives here in Tennessee and beyond.
It’s an opportunity that is possible only because of alignment and support across our university, our state, and our regional partners. When we invest together, we can accelerate breakthroughs and deliver measurable benefits to the communities we serve. We have the momentum and the resolve to be bold and invite the very best to join us in shaping what comes next.