The Vol community united to support those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Among the many heartfelt volunteer, collection and fundraising efforts were Tennessee Athletics’ “Mountain Strong” campaign, as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine providing a disaster veterinary services clinic and serving as the lead for animal-related supply requests.
UT Knoxville announced 14 new high schools joining the Flagship Scholarship program. Fall 2025 graduates from these schools admitted to the university will receive scholarships covering tuition and mandatory fees along with the HOPE scholarship.
Six prominent Tennesseans—Lamar Alexander, Al Gore, James A. Haslam II, Natalie Haslam, Bill Powers and Heath Shuler—pledged $500,000 each to endow Baker School Scholarships.
Records and Rankings
- This fall, the university welcomed over 38,000 students to campus, including the largest in-state population for first-year students in its history, and achieved a record retention rate of 92 percent.
- In the U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges report, UT Knoxville’s supply-chain management program ranked fourth nationally and first in the SEC, while the College of Nursing ranked 19th and the Tickle College of Engineering ranked 37th among public universities.
Innovation and Academic Excellence
With an $18 million National Science Foundation grant, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Nina Fefferman will launch the NSF Center for Analysis and Prediction of Pandemic Expansion. The center will identify infection factors and explore prevention strategies.
The Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to enrich UT Knoxville’s curricular offerings in nuclear policy and national security while enhancing ORNL’s technical staff capabilities.
Support for Military and Veterans
This fall, the Army ROTC program welcomed a record 270 cadets and expects to commission over 50 lieutenants, one of the largest groups in its history. The university also restructured the Veterans Success Center and established the Office of Veteran Benefits Administration to meet the growing needs of the veteran population on campus. Nursing students and ROTC cadets volunteered as escorts for HonorAir Knoxville’s Flight 35, assisting 140 East Tennessee women veterans visiting memorials in Washington, D.C.
Leadership News
At the annual flagship address, it was announced that UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman would commit to lead the university five more years. In August, Plowman announced the extension of Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White’s contract until 2030. Professor of Mathematics Vasileios Maroulas was announced as the new associate vice chancellor and director of the AI (artificial intelligence) Tennessee Initiative.
Facility Expansion
Administrators and community partners dedicated the new Agriculture and Natural Resources Building with state-of-the-art facilities for the Herbert College of Agriculture and the College of Veterinary Medicine; the groundbreaking for a new Haslam College of Business building, featuring 17 classrooms, research labs, and two 300-seat auditoriums, set to open in fall 2027; and the Innovation South Facility at UT Research Park, which includes a 40,000-square-foot lab space for faculty, students and industry collaborators to develop sustainable composite materials for advanced manufacturing applications.