Photo: Nashville Business Journal Publisher Kate Herman, far left, leads the panel discussion with DiPietro, Western Governors University Chancellor Kimberly Estep, Volunteer State Community College President Jerry Faulkner and Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee.
Committing to high educational standards and providing advice are two ways UT President Joe DiPietro says business can help the university better prepare graduates for the workforce. DiPietro was among four higher education leaders who spoke on a panel during the Nashville Business Journal’s 2014 annual “Nashville Ahead” program. More than 100 leaders in business, industry and government attended the event in September. “If we’re not producing the product you need, pick up the phone and let us know. We seek to produce the best-prepared graduates that we can, and we need your input to ensure that,” he said at the event.
World-leading Experts Join UT Ranks
Philip Enquist, an expert in city planning and revitalization, is the newest UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. Enquist and his team serve as Governor’s Chair for High Performance Energy Practices in Urban Environments. The university has 15 Governor’s Chairs, including 13 based at UT Knoxville and two at the UT Health Science Center. The program, funded by the state of Tennessee and ORNL, was established in 2006 to recruit top faculty to Tennessee. The program has had a dramatic impact in attracting economic activity, research dollars and additional researchers. For more information, visit research.tennessee.edu/govchairs.
UT-ORNL Governor’s Chairs, including the newest, Philip Enquist.
Earning a Degree
Across the state, the University of Tennessee conferred more than 11,000 degrees in 2014. Over the last five years, the number of degrees awarded has increased by nearly 1,000. For more information about university statistics, view the 2014 annual report at tennessee.edu.
Countdown to 100
Tennessee Alumnus 1917-2017
From the archives: “Co-eds Move Into Engineering Field” was the headline from the spring 1952 issue of the magazine. The first two women who hoped to graduate in engineering enrolled as freshmen that year. A picture of the new Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center on the Knoxville campus graces the cover of the summer 1954 issue. The building will be torn down by summer 2015 to make way for the new Student Union.
