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Grand Challenges in Tennessee

What is a Grand Challenge?

A complex problem facing the state of Tennessee

    • Rural Community Decline
    • Substance Misuse
    • K-12 Education Needs

Why is it Important to UT?

With our five campuses and two institutes, the University of Tennessee System can uniquely collaborate within the system and with communities across the state to solve problems so future generations can thrive.

Grand Challenge, Rural Community Decline Icon

Rural Community Decline

2019 Median Household Income
U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Median $69,639

1. District of Columbia………………….$97,781
2. Maryland…………………………………… $91,922
3. Massachusetts…………………………$90,974
4. New Jersey………………………………$90,876
5. Hawaii……………………………………….$88,069
6. California………………………………….$85,248
7. Connecticut………………………………$83,545
8. Washington………………………………$83,390
9. New Hampshire……………………….. $82,591
10. Colorado…………………………………..$81,737

40. Tennessee…………….$59,422

Health-Care Access Rankings
(incorporates health-care affordability, adult dental visits, adult wellness visits, child dental visits, health, insurance enrollment)
U.S. News and World Report

1. Hawaii
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. Rhode Island
5. Vermont
6. Iowa
7. Maryland
8. New Jersey
9. New Hampshire
10. New York

37. Tennessee

Broadband Internet
Think Tennessee

State of Tennessee Graphic

24th
Tennessee’s rank with 91.1% of households in areas with broadband providers
23.3%
of Tennesseans do not have high-speed internet at home
23.2%
of rural families lack access to broadband
1.7%
of urban families lack access to broadband
8 of 71
Tennessee counties considered mostly rural, more than half of residents lack access to broadband

 

Grand Challenge, k-12 Education Needs Icon

K-12 Education Needs

Ranking of Pre-K-12 Education
(incorporates college readiness, high school graduation rate, math scores, reading scores and preschool enrollment)
U.S. Census Bureau

1. New Jersey
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. New Hampshire

31. Tennessee

Teachers Completing Educator Training Programs in Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Education

2014-15:……………………………………………..3,702
2015-16:…………………………………………….. 3,501
2016-17:…………………………………………….. 3,614
2017-18:……………………………………………….3,136
2018-19:……………………………………………… 3,191
2019-20:…………………………………………… 3,034

Teacher Vacancies in 2020-2021
Tennessee Department of Education

  • On average, 10.7 positions reported vacant per district.
  • 50 of the 147 state’s school districts reported 0 vacancies.
  • Top Teaching Vacancies: Special Education, K-5 general education, Math, Science

 

Grand Challenge, Substance Misuse Icon

Substance Misuse

Drug Overdose Mortality
National Center for Health Statistics

2020

(Deaths per 100,000 total population)
1…………………………………….West Virginia 81.4
2…………………………………………..Kentucky 49.2
3………………………………………….. Delaware 47.3
4………………………………………………….. Ohio 47.2
5……………………………………….. Tennessee 45.6

Opioid Epidemic: Addiction Statistics for Tennessee
National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics

  • Prescription opioids factor into 42.1% of opioid overdose deaths
  • Heroin is a factor in 28.2% of deaths
  • 63.3% of deaths involve synthetic opioids
  • 1.64% of babies born in a hospital have neonatal opioid-withdrawal syndrome
  • 69,100 cases of hepatitis C are attributed to intravenous drug use
  • 16,612 cases of HIV/AIDS are attributed to intravenous drug use

Alcohol Abuse Statistics for Tennessee
National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics

  • 15.7% of Tennessean adults over 18 binge drink at least once per month
  • Average 3,359 deaths annually in Tennessee attributable to excessive alcohol use
  • 56%: increase in alcohol deaths per capita from 2015 to 2019
  • 83.8% of deaths from excessive alcohol use are in people 35 and older
  • Tennessee taxpayers spent $4.68 billion as a result of excessive alcohol use in 2010; adjusted for inflation, this equals $6.32 billion in 2022