Jenny Boyd Theater Dedicated

Michael Folkerth

5 days ago

Jenny Boyd, center, with husband Randy Boyd to the left and UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman to the right, cuts the ribbon on the Jenny Boyd Theatre.

A line of people holding an orange ribbon during a ribbon cutting ceremony. — Jenny Boyd, center, with husband Randy Boyd to the left and UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman to the right, cuts the ribbon on the Jenny Boyd Theatre.

UT Knoxville dedicated the new state-of-the-art, 300-seat Jenny Boyd Theatre, which stands on the site of the Carousel Theatre. The transformation was made possible by a gift from the Boyd family. Jenny Boyd (Knoxville ’79) participated in high school plays and dinner theater and danced on the Clarence Brown Stage in a production of Brigadoon while attending UTK. Boyd, the wife of UT President Randy Boyd, serves as chair of the Tennessee Arts Commission. “I am so honored that my name will be attached to this sweet theater where my childhood dreams of theater were made,” she says.

University Mourns Natalie Haslam

Natalie Haslam (Knoxville ’52), one of UT Knoxville’s most generous supporters, died Jan. 16. A native Knoxvillian, Haslam studied French and participated in honors societies and the Chi Omega sorority while attending UTK. She married Pilot Corporation founder Jim Haslam (Knoxville ’52) in 1976. “Natalie embodied so much of what makes UT special,” says UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman. “She was a true Volunteer whose leadership and generosity on our campus and throughout the community have left a legacy that will continue for generations.”

Investing in the Future

From left, Gretchen Neisler, vice provost for international affairs; Laura Miller, center director; Joe Mazer, dean, College of Communication and Information; David Bohan and Linda Bohan; John Zomchick, provost and senior vice chancellor; and Taylor Thompson, College of Communication and Information alumna, participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Tennessee Valley Authority invested $3 million to endow the chair of UT Knoxville’s Department of Nuclear Engineering.
A gift from alumnus David Bohan and his wife, Linda, established the Linda and David Bohan Center for Global Engagement in the College of Communication and Information.
More than 7,700 Volunteers came together for UT Knoxville’s 13th annual day of giving, Big Orange Give, raising $2.6 million for current and future students.

Rankings and Recognitions

From left, Marc Gibson, associate vice chancellor for research and director of the division of partnerships and economic development; R.J. Youngblood, director of economic engagement and strategic initiatives; John Zomchick, provost and senior vice chancellor; and Chancellor Donde Plowman accept the 2025 Connections Award.

UT Knoxville received multiple honors from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, including winning the Innovation and Economic Prosperity Economic Engagement Connections Award and being one of five finalists for the Excellence in Student Success Award. The university also received the 2026 Elective Classification for Community Engagement from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
In U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Online Education Programs, UT Knoxville ranked highly among public institutions in several categories: No. 10 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs, No. 6 in Undergraduate Business, No. 15 in Best Online Graduate Business Programs.

Innovative Partnerships and Research

UT Knoxville researchers, the Tennessee Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory are collaborating on projects that could help solve supply-chain issues in the U.S. military.
UT Knoxville’s Papers of Andrew Jackson project received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant worth more than $2.8 million.