At the annual UT Board of Trustees meeting, the board voted to keep tuition increases low for a record-setting fifth year in a row. The decision marked the first time in system history that the undergraduate tuition increases were kept at 3 percent or lower for five consecutive years.
The trustees approved a partnership between the UT Institute of Agriculture and UT Knoxville to increase collaboration between the two campuses and to raise their national research rankings. They also approved a resolution creating the Oak Ridge Institute to develop a stronger relationship between the university and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With the creation of this institute, five joint UT and ORNL programs will be held under a single administrative umbrella.
Alumnus Wins Awards
The Tennessee Alumnus magazine earned a top honor during the 2019 Tennessee College Press Relations Association conference. Two of the magazine feature stories also won top awards.
The Tennessee Alumnus received a bronze award for college/alumni magazines.
Tennessee Alumnus Managing Editor Jennifer Sicking received a gold award for the spring 2018 feature “Still Roaming,” which focuses on 50 years of black bear research at the UT Institute of Agriculture.
Peggy Reisser, UT Health Science Center communications manager, took home the silver award for spring 2018
feature “The Story of Her Life,” about Caroline Dickey. Dickey, who was born with a form of dwarfism, has adapted and overcome to be an occupational therapist.
Entries for the awards must have been published between April 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019.
UT Board of Trustees Confirms Hiring Daniels, Witcher
In March, the UT Board of Trustees named Brian Daniels the next chief audit and compliance officer of the University of Tennessee System. Trustees also named Kerry Witcher as vice president for development and alumni affairs/president and CEO of the UT Foundation.
Daniels was the director of internal audit at Virginia Tech University and has more than 15 years of success as an audit professional.
Witcher previously served as the interim vice president for development and alumni affairs/president and CEO of the UT Foundation. “Kerry’s continued leadership in building relationships with donors and alumni is critical to our long-term success and sustained financial well-being,” says UT Interim President Randy Boyd.
