UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE PRESIDENT JOE DIPIETRO DELIVERS SECOND ‘STATE OF UT’ ADDRESS
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE PRESIDENT JOE DIPIETRO DELIVERS SECOND ‘STATE
OF UT’ ADDRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – UT President Joe DiPietro emphasized the University of Tennessee’s
commitment to helping transform the state and its future during his second State of the
University address Feb. 21 in Nashville.
“In fact, I believe that we are living in a transformational time,” DiPietro said before a crowd of
legislators, alumni and friends at the Nashville Public Library. “One day, future generations of
Tennesseans will look back at where we stand now as the moment when our state took a
tremendous leap forward. And I’m very proud of the University of Tennessee’s role in that
leap.”
Under Gov. Bill Haslam’s leadership, Tennessee has been nationally recognized for its emphasis
on developing its workforce through education.
The university’s success in that role comes from the unity and strength of the entire system,
DiPietro said. It stems from the diversity of thoughts and expression of its faculty and students
and the creativity used to keep tuition affordable. And it affects all Tennesseans.
DiPietro noted that the university is woven into the fabric of the state, from the quality of UT
students and the excellence of UT graduates to world-renowned research and UT outreach that
impacts each of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
“We have a powerful brand, and an unmatched reputation for quality, flagship research and
delivering outreach like nobody else. Period,” he said. “The state of your university is strong and
united. We are one.”
Since the approval of the Complete College Tennessee Act in 2010, the university’s graduation
rate has risen seven percent and the degrees awarded by 14 percent. The university also has $435
million in research and sponsored projects, which is up eight percent from the 2015-16 fiscal
year. Also, 46 percent of UT’s students graduate without debt.
DiPietro also acknowledged challenges, especially during this time of polarization in American
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life. In times of change, conversations can become strained and charged, DiPietro said as he
called for the university community to remember the words of UT alumnus and late Sen. Howard
Baker, “If we cannot be civil to one another, and if we stop dealing with those with whom we
disagree or that we don’t like, we would soon stop functioning altogether.”
Listening with an open mind and respect for different viewpoints within the university’s diverse
body creates campus environments that make students feel welcome and valued, which leads to
higher retention and graduation rates, he said.
“Because change has been involved in trying to fully create those kinds of environments at UT,
there has been some tension,” he said. “I understand that. Navigating change can be
challenging.”
By helping its almost 50,000 students achieve their full potential while fulfilling its mission
benefitting all Tennesseans, UT creates a $4.6 billion impact on the state annually.
“The University of Tennessee is one of this state’s most powerful vehicles for advancing both its
economic agenda and quality of life,” DiPietro said.
And the university plans to continue doing so from an even stronger financial footing in the
future while keeping costs low for students. The university has addressed its own economic
challenges, DiPietro said, through the Budget Advisory Group he formed two years ago to look
at ways to cut costs and increase revenues after he realized a projected annual funding shortfall
of $377 million by 2025.
“I wasn’t going to kick the can down the road for the next president in this job. I wasn’t going to
look outside the university for a solution. And I wasn’t going to allow tuition increases to be
used to close the funding gap,” he said.
By the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year, the funding gap will have been reduced by almost $118
million. The savings came through increased efficiencies, cutting costs and unforeseen increases
in state funding.
For the past two years, the university has kept tuition increases to three percent or less, which
were the lowest in three decades. DiPietro said it will be three years in a row in 2017.
DiPietro also highlighted university achievements of the past 12 months:
• UT Knoxville is in the middle of a $1 billion campus makeover and had a record-breaking
fundraising year.
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• UT Chattanooga received top rankings among Southern master’s level universities and among
Best Colleges for Veterans from U.S. News & World Report.
• UT Martin received its single-largest gift in school history to make it possible for the campus
to build a much-needed science, technology, engineering and math building.
• UT Health Science Center launched the world’s most comprehensive Mobile Stroke Unit in
Memphis, where stroke incidence is 37 percent higher than the national average.
• UT Institute of Agriculture assisted after wildfire ravaged Gatlinburg with everything from
caring for 22 injured animals to coordinating donated food, supplies and $60,000 worth
of gift cards.
• UT Institute for Public Service helped create or retain 14,278 jobs and generated $1.28 billion
in economic impact.
Following the annual address, DiPietro presented the 2017 University of Tennessee President’s
Awards, which recognize employees whose exceptional contributions have helped fulfill one of
the university’s three mission focus areas: education, research and outreach, as well as one
whose work supported those efforts.
The 2017 winners are:
• Educate – Dr. Jason Roberts, associate professor of animal science and director of the UT
Martin Veterinary Health Technology Program and West Tennessee Animal Health
Diagnostic Center.
• Discover – Dr. Guy Reed, the Lemuel Diggs Professor of Medicine and chair of the UT Health
Science Center Department of Medicine.
• Connect – Dr. Christine Smith, director of the UT Chattanooga School of Nursing and Student
Health Services Clinic.
• Support – Steve Butler, director of instructional technology services at UT Health Science
Center.
DiPietro’s address, the awards presentation and the entire webcast are archived at
tennessee.edu/state-of- ut/.
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