The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, celebrated record achievements, historic donor support and successes during the March 20 meeting of the Campus Advisory Board held in the Tickle Engineering Building. The board also honored outgoing chair John D. Tickle.
Chancellor Donde Plowman highlighted UT’s recent significant accomplishments, including being named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars for the eighth consecutive year, a $3 million investment from the Tennessee Valley Authority to endow the Department of Nuclear Engineering chair and receiving the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ top award for innovation and economic prosperity. Plowman shared with the board her vision for leveraging the university’s strengths.
“We want to deliver for the state of Tennessee solutions to the challenges we face, conduct research that makes lives better, and provide an unparalleled student and academic experience that prepares our graduates for the workforce,” Plowman said. “Through this work, we are setting the standard for the modern land-grant university, and this momentum is pushing us forward.”
The university aims to become a top 10 research institution among public universities without a medical school and further contribute to Tennessee’s economic prosperity through research and innovation. To reach those goals, the university plans to hire new faculty from across disciplines who are leaders in their field and add 495,000 square feet of research and development space by 2030.
Donor generosity pushes university forward
Senior Vice Chancellor for Advancement Brian Broyles highlighted UT’s historic fundraising success, made possible by the generosity of the Volunteer community. The university achieved an extraordinary $428 million in gifts from more than 70,000 donors during fiscal year 2024-25, marking the fourth consecutive record fundraising year.
Transformative gifts included the naming of the Frank Winston College of Law, the Jenny Boyd Theatre, the UT Medical Nursing Building, the John H. McLeod Food Science Building and the Charles and Julie Wharton Chemistry Building. These spaces are transforming the student experience, providing hands-on learning opportunities and cutting-edge research labs.
“We are grateful for the incredible generosity of our donors and proud that our advancement division is aligned with the upward momentum the university is experiencing,” Broyles said. “This fundraising growth sets the stage for even more ambitious goals as we continue to expand our impact on the lives of Volunteers across the state.”
Donors have also contributed to student scholarships, with philanthropic support contributing to more than 12,000 student scholarships. Overall, the Division of Advancement has seen a 62% increase in philanthropic giving from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2025. UT is No. 1 for fundraising in fiscal year 2024-25 among SEC universities without a medical school.
Engineering highlights strategic growth, partnerships
The Tickle College of Engineering hosted the board to honor its eponym, outgoing board chair John D. Tickle. This was Tickle’s last meeting with the board.
Tickle shared stories about his time as an engineering student at UT and praised Plowman for her leadership, calling her the best chancellor UT has ever had. “62 years ago, I was here as a senior. It’s been a long ride, and I’m very fortunate,” Tickle said. “My time here at the University of Tennessee could not have been better.”
Dean and Wayne T. Davis Chair Matthew Mench shared that Tickle has made a transformative impact on the college, which has experienced tremendous success over the past five years.
“Just the naming of the college absolutely inspires other people that if someone like Tickle has invested their family name in something worthy of investing in, it recalibrates the standard of expectation of what we can do,” Mench said. “The college has never been in a better spot, and for the first time, we have a path to join the truly elite.”
Undergraduate enrollment in the college is up 37% since 2021, and undergraduate applications increased by 95%. The college has expanded opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience. The number of students participating in a co-op or internship is up 340% since 2021, and Mench said employers are reporting that the college’s students are well prepared.
Mench reported that research funding is up 34%. He highlighted the university’s partnership with Y-12 National Security Complex to enhance national security, which includes the development of a National Security Prototype Center in Oak Ridge that is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Mench also discussed the university’s long-term partnership with the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory to advance military capabilities and materials science and help solve supply chain issues in the military.
Mench said the college is in the best position it has ever held and has a goal to become a Top 20 program in the country.
About the board
The Campus Advisory Board was created in 2018 when the Tennessee General Assembly passed the UT FOCUS Act, restructuring the UT Board of Trustees and creating an advisory board for each campus in the UT System. The board is charged with making campus-level recommendations to the UT Board of Trustees on strategic planning, operating budgets and tuition, as well as advising the chancellor.
Public members of the advisory board are Allen Carter of Niota, Alexia Poe of Nashville, Todd Skelton of Knoxville, Tom Smith of Nashville and John Tickle of Bristol. Plowman announced that Dane Scism, founder of Cellular Sales, will serve as the new board chair after being appointed by the governor. The board’s bylaws outline the process for selecting a new board chair.
The member appointed by Faculty Senate is Elisabeth Shussler, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. The student appointee is Kaden Grace, a fourth-year economics Ph.D. candidate in the Haslam College of Business.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Lisa Leko (865-974-8698, lleko@utk.edu)