The University of Tennessee’s (UT) Knoxville campus will begin offering a new agriculture-based Ph.D. program in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications beginning in the Fall 2025 semester, the university announced this week.
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An activist who was arrested for her alleged participation in an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) in May is now suing Knox County, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler, as well as Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KNSO) Sergeant Jonathan Burgess.
The lawsuit filed by Layla Soliz explains that she is Muslim and wears a hijab, but after her May 2024 arrest, “Knox County Sheriff’s Office employees demanded that Mrs. Soliz remove her hijab and be photographed without it for her booking photo,” then published it online.
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We just passed the two-year anniversary of Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti taking office, and it has to be said that he has exceeded even the loftiest expectations we conservatives could have had. For the first time, we have an Attorney General who is on the same page with the Legislature and the vast majority of the population, fighting the fights we want to see fought, and doing us proud in the process. Now seems like a fine moment to reflect on the gift we’ve been given, and marvel at what we might come in his next six years, if he gets the resources to keep this up.
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Tennessee’s population is expected to hit 7.94 million by 2040, according to new data published by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business.
In 2022, the state’s population was recorded at just over 7.05 million.
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The University of Tennessee is hiring a group called the 865 Neyland Project Team to build an entertainment complex on the waterfront next to Neyland Stadium.
The project includes a hotel, rooftop restaurant, conference center, parking and a 175,000 square foot entertainment district between Neyland Stadium and Food City Center.
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The University of Tennessee – Knoxville’s Campus Advisory Board has voted to increase tuition by 2 percent for for in-state students and 4 percent for out-of-state students, the school announced.
“A combination of enrollment growth and state support has allowed us to keep tuition flat for five of the last six years. The costs for delivering high-quality academic programs, however, have continued to rise in that time,” said Interim Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Allen Bolton. “We have worked hard to keep tuition increases as small as possible while still ensuring we can give students the Volunteer experience they expect.”
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The University of Tennessee Police Department (UTPD) confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating a complaint filed by one of the 11 pro-Palestine protestors arrested on the university’s campus on May 15 during an anti-Israel demonstration.
Yassin Terou confirmed he filed the complaint in a post to the social media platform X, where he appeared to claim his efforts are aimed at changing how UTPD treat protestors.
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All-star panelist Clint Brewer joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy where he offered his thoughts on Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Skrmetti joined Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in filing the lawsuit against the NCAA last week, arguing the organization violates federal antitrust laws with its “anticompetitive restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).”
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reportedly plans to bring a slew of new Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) complaints against the University of Tennessee (UT), prompting a fiery response from Chancellor Donde Plowman in a Tuesday letter to the NCAA. Plowman received the support of Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville), who argued the NCAA failed to create “clear guidance and rules” for institutions to follow.
Zachary wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the Tennessee General Assembly “worked with institutions across our state to craft strong NIL institution that established the framework” in the state, but the NCAA’s “moving target” made work “very challenging” for lawmakers.
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Vanderbilt University employs more than one full-time administrator for every two students, a College Fix analysis found.
During the 2021-22 academic year, the most recent for which data are available, the private Nashville university employed 3,516 full-time administrators and support staff, according to information the school filed with the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
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The University of Tennessee (UT) System is reportedly rebranding its Division of Diversity and Engagement in order to “better reflect the division’s mission, as well as move away from some potentially divisive terminology,” according to The Daily Beacon.
The division’s mission, according to its website, is to “actively support, foster and enhance environments of inclusion where the diversity of all faculty, staff, and students are connected to fully engage in fair, respectful, and equitable campus experiences throughout the University of Tennessee community.”
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A pro-Palestine, anti-Israel rally will occur on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s (UTK) campus next week, according to the group Students for Justice in Palestine at UTK.
On Instagram, the group announced its plans to hold an art installation and rally for Palestine at the Pedestrian Walkway in the heart of the UT Knoxville campus on December 1 at 11:00 a.m.
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According to a University of Tennessee (UT) study, American families will be spending more on this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.
A team from the university, led by Professor and Consumer Economics Specialist Ann Berry, surveyed grocery store pricing for Thanksgiving staples between November 1 to November 8, “including turkey and stuffing, cranberry sauce, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, English pea salad, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and rolls.”
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The University of Tennessee (UT) admitted in a statement on Wednesday night that one of its professors made antisemitic comments during a classroom lecture, but said it could not go into details out of respect for the students’ privacy.
In a statement, UT Director of News and Information Tyra Hagg distributed to the media late Wednesday, the university claimed it “has addressed concerns about a class lecture that included several comments” which fall under the “working definition of antisemitism developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance” in 2016.
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University of Tennessee student group hosted an “Abortion Pill Training ‘’ event on Oct. 19, educating students on how to discreetly maintain access to abortions in defiance of statewide laws that prohibit this practice.
The University of Tennessee’s Women’s Coordinating Council, which runs as a registered student organization at the university, invited Maxine Carwile to lead a training course through “Self-Managed Abortion; Safe and Supported” (SASS), a pro-abortion non-profit organization.
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Enrollment across the University of Tennessee’s (UT) five campuses reached an all-time high this fall, according to a press release by the UT system.
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A Tennessee nonprofit that works in tandem with a major state scholarship program is looking for mentors for high school students.
tnAchieves is looking for 4,300 mentors to register by October 20, 2023, “to provide local encouragement and guidance to students statewide,” according to its website.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee swore in Justice Dwight E. Tarwater on Friday to serve on the state Supreme Court.
As previously reported by The Tennessee Star Lee appointed Tarwater to the high court in February and the legislature confirmed him as a Supreme Court Justice in March.
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At a special meeting of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees at Thursday night, the state university system adopted a new policy that will guarantee college admission to certain in-state applicants.
Effective immediately, Tennessee high schoolers applying to a University of Tennessee school with the following credentials will automatically be accepted to at least one school in the state university system:
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The University of Tennessee (UT) Tuesday announced that it will expand eligibility for a major scholarship program called the UT Promise.
“The University of Tennessee System announced plans to extend the qualifying income level for UT Promise scholarship recipients once again, this time from $60,000 to $75,000 (adjusted gross income),” the school said on its website. “The university increased the income level from $50,000 to $60,000 in 2021. The announcement was made as UT System President Randy Boyd prepares to tour high schools across the state for the fourth UT Promise tour.”
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A trio of Tennesseans who applied to work at the Tennessee Aquarium were turned down because they were white, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Timothy Shawn Gunn and Marni Renee Pearce, both of Hamilton County along with Zachary Chance Taylor of Catoosa County, are suing the aquarium for discrimination.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week reintroduced the Sister City Transparency Act, a bill aimed toward addressing geostrategic scheming, particularly by China.
“Sister cities” are municipalities that enter into diplomatic relationships with localities abroad to facilitate cultural and economic exchange. But, the senator told The Tennessee Star, China is using these arrangements to advance propaganda and exert political pressure.
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Numerous university think tanks have had national political leaders as figureheads. The University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement isn’t unique in that regard. What does set the center apart from similar institutions — besides its recent immersion in national scandal — is its limited research output.
The Penn Biden Center is undergoing intense and somewhat bipartisan criticism for having housed nearly a dozen classified government records after Joe Biden used the space as his main D.C. office from 2017 to 2019 while also nominally working as a professor. The documents were discovered last November and other restricted federal materials turned up this month in the president’s Delaware home. Some of the records were generated when Biden served as a U.S. senator and others materialized when he was vice president.
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Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn is preparing to release a video via social media discussing the state’s economy and spoke with The Tennessee Star this week to discuss both the pressures it endures as well as its bright spots compared with other regions.
In the one-minute spot, which shows the senator touring a Clarksville-area manufacturing plant, she discusses the challenge ongoing inflation poses to producers as they attempt to provide affordable goods to Tennesseans.
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The University of Tennessee (UT) Board of Trustees approved a plan that allows UT Chattanooga to begin offering degrees in cybersecurity beginning in the spring 2023 semester.
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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and the City of Knoxville announced a partnership launching a fellows program for Baker Center students.
The program would allow the students to “work directly in a variety of departments or agencies with the City of Knoxville,” according to a Friday press release by the City.
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The University of Tennessee (UT) recently announced that enrollment at nearly every UT campus across the state has increased.
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Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) Commissioner Penny Schwinn met First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to the University of Tennessee (UT) on Monday as the pair kicked off the Road to Success Back to School Bus Tour.
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First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona are traveling to Knoxville this week to kick off the Road to Success Back to School Bus Tour.
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Author and former MSNBC contributor Jon Meacham was named to the Board of Fellows of the University of Tennessee’s newly established Institute for American Civics last week by University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd.
German-owned Politico reported that Meacham helped President Joe Biden “frame” his now infamously divisive “speech from hell” delivered in Philadelphia last week in which he attacked the 74 million Americans who voted for former President Donald Trump as a “threat to American democracy.”
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the National Association of Scholars Senior Fellow, John Sailor to the newsmaker line to detail the recent report entitled The Anatomy of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Take Over.
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As part of a statement released on Tuesday, The National Association of Scholars (NAS) released a new report examining the implementation of the Diversity Action Plans at the University of Tennessee (UT).
The Anatomy of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Takeover: A Case Study of the University of Tennessee “finds that the University of Tennessee’s series of plans further entrench the dominance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, espousing an ideology that makes narrow identity categories a central learning objective.”
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The application period for Tennessee’s next attorney general opened Friday.
In a unique process, unlike in any other state, the position of attorney general is not an elected office in Tennessee. Rather, the person who holds the position is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
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A professor featured in a viral clip from Daily Wire’s film “What is a Woman?” is an Associate Professor and the Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.
In the clip, which has been viewed at least two million times on Twitter alone, Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh asks Dr. Patrick Grzanka to define the term “woman.”
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The University of Tennessee System (UT) announced recently that it has ended its test-optional admissions policy.
The new policy requires first-year applicants to submit an ACT or SAT score in order to be considered for the Fall 2023 semester.
Melissa Tindell, executive director of communications at the UT system, told Campus Reform that standardized test scores are part of a “holistic” admissions process.
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Farmers, agribusinesses, and agricultural leaders can learn about the significance of international trade on local agriculture production, markets, and economies at the 2022 Mid-South Agricultural Trade Conference on March 3, 2022, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
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According to a news release by The University of Tennessee, the university Board of Trustees Executive Committee met last week and received a year-end review of significant achievements from UT System President Randy Boyd.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced appointees to a series of key boards and commissions, according to a Tuesday press release by the Office of the Governor.
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Timothy Gill, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, tweeted yesterday that he intends to spend the semester “ungrading” and “unteaching” his students.
“I want this to be THEIR classroom,” tweeted the sociology professor, who also expressed his intention to let the student select “the readings for the class” as well as teach “via group presentations.”
Campus Reform reached out to Gill for comment.
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On Veterans Day this week, the University of Tennessee announced a new proposed initiative that would allow military-affiliated students–veterans, active-duty military personnel, reservists, Tennessee National Guard members, and Army and Air Force ROTC cadets to attend a UT institution of their choosing at the in-state tuition rate, according to a press release.
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On Thursday in a press release, the University of Tennessee System announced plans to extend the household income level for UT Promise scholarship recipients. UT Promise is a last-dollar scholarship program that guarantees free tuition and fees after other financial aid is received for undergraduate, Tennessee residents with a family household income under $60,000 enrolling at University of Tennessee campuses located in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Memphis and Pulaski.
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The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) initially expelled a student for content on her personal social media accounts. Officials claimed that the nuclear pharmacy student, Kimberly Diei (’23), used speech that violated the university’s conduct policies, though Diei has claimed they never informed her of which specific policies she’d violated. Neither of her profiles or any of her content identified Diei as a UT student or mentioned the school in any capacity. Only after Diei obtained legal help did the university reverse her expulsion.
Diei was investigated by the school’s Professional Conduct Committee on two separate occasions based on anonymous complaints. The first investigation occurred during Diei’s first month on campus in September 2019 regarding her Instagram and Twitter accounts in general. Following its review, the committee required Diei to write an apology letter. About a year later, Diei came under investigation again and was expelled for posting several explicit tweets referencing pop culture.
Diei was investigated by the school’s Professional Conduct Committee on two separate occasions, instigated by anonymous complaints from other program students. The first investigation occurred during Diei’s first month on campus, September 2019, regarding her Instagram and Twitter accounts in general; the committee required her to write an apology letter. About a year later, Diei came under investigation again and was expelled for posting several explicit tweets referencing pop culture.
Mimi Groves is the epicenter of a social media backlash over a three-second video taken three years ago. According her new lawyer, Groves was forced by the University of Tennessee (UT) to withdraw, and the person who originally posted the viral video was her friend.
CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Shanlon Wu, defends college students in university proceedings. He took on Groves as a client this past summer, long before The New York Times released their article on the incident the day after Christmas. The renewed focus centered on Galligan’s role in making the clip go viral.
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A new model developed by a professor at the University of Tennessee and other academics suggests that most models on the coronavirus pandemic have failed to consider one important variable: jail populations.
Most standard COVID-19 models predict that America will experience about 101,000 deaths during the course of the pandemic, but that number increases by 98 percent to 200,000 deaths when jails are accounted for, the new model claims.
The model was developed by Dr. Nina Fefferman at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Eric Lofgren at Washington State University, and Dr. Kristian Lum from the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with Aaron Horowitz and Brooke Madubuonwu of the ACLU’s data analytics team.
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University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd has announced that school officials will deliver all summer session classes at all campuses online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Members of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees appointed Randy Boyd as president of the University of Tennessee on Friday, according to the University of Tennessee’s website.
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University of Tennessee Interim President Randy Boyd announced Wednesday that school officials will temporarily suspend all in-person classes until further notice as a proactive measure against the coronavirus.
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On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy was joined in studio by Carol Swain to discuss the misuse of taxpayer funds in an effort to aid in the impeachment of President Trump.
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The University of Tennessee at Knoxville not only won the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl this season, but now it has even more reason to have high spirits — the cheer and dance teams won national championships.
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People at Tennessee Technological University, Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee lodged more Title IX discrimination complaints in 2019 than they did the prior year.
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