What is courage? How do people find courage? These are the questions I wanted the 60 students in the Leading with Courage honors class to answer by the end of the semester—and I was not disappointed. When former Governor Bill Haslam raised the idea of us teaching this course together, of course I said yes. […]
Faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are among the best in the world. Our faculty are top experts in their fields, and their work is among the most cited by their peers. They are at the forefront of knowledge, working to better understand everything from artificial intelligence to new building materials and how people […]
It has been another incredible year here on Rocky Top. From academics to athletics, we have accomplished so much together. I am proud of our Volunteer community for the hard work and dedication each of you have put into making our university great, and I hope you all have a wonderful summer. TRANSCRIPT It is […]
It’s been six months since we came together for the fourth annual Flagship Address in September. Just as we do every year, we used that time to reflect on our successes and consider where we’re headed as an institution. This year, as part of the speech, I laid out the disruptions facing higher education and […]
Every year, UT leaders head to our three local Flagship high schools to surprise a handful of students with news of their admission to the state’s flagship land-grant university. It’s a big deal for these students and their families—not just because of the opportunity to attend the state’s top public institution but also because their […]
UT faculty are at the forefront of their fields and creating solutions that will transform industries and the world we live in. They are creating new lightweight composites to build bridges and cars, developing the next generation of artificial intelligence technology, and finding new strategies for improving literacy skills of young students. The discoveries taking […]
Just weeks after starting my tenure as chancellor in 2019, I held my first office hours—an opportunity for members of our campus community to drop by and talk about anything on their mind. In those early days I was looking to hear directly from people across campus and gain a better understanding of their interests […]
I knew former governor Bill Haslam would share meaningful wisdom with our graduates when we asked him to speak at our fall commencement ceremony, where he was also awarded an honorary degree. But when he asked our graduates to consider an important question, it was one that also made me stop and think: Do you want […]
I want to keep the campus updated on new leadership and structure in the Division of Finance and Administration. In addition to appointing an interim senior vice chancellor for finance and administration following Chris Cimino’s retirement, I am elevating the Office of Information Technology to a stand-alone unit and have created a new cabinet-level position […]
The Volunteer experience we are creating for our students has been a key driver of enrollment growth at UT Knoxville—both attracting new students and helping those already here to succeed. In fact, roughly half of our enrollment growth is from returning students who are persisting toward their degrees. Our innovative approach of leveraging students’ strengths […]
