UT's One of the Best
UT is one of the nation’s 40 top public universities, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2007 college and university rankings. The magazine’s annual report marked the second year in a row that Tennessee has been listed among the best public universities. UT ranked 39th, tying SEC peers Auburn and Alabama, as well as the University of Kansas, the University of California–Riverside, and the University of Missouri–Columbia. UT was 38th place in 2006 and 44th place in 2005.
Contract Could Total $25 Million
The College of Business Administration has signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force worth up to $25 million over the next five years. It's the largest contract the college has ever signed.
“The Air Force has chosen our business college and its faculty as a source of subject matter experts and advisers for improving its business operations,” said Associate Dean Tom Ladd. “That's a huge vote of confidence in UT and the top-notch research being done here.”
UT will develop curriculum, teach programs, and provide technical assistance or develop cost-saving models. The Air Force wants to concentrate on three areas: transformational leadership, process improvement, and critical-thinking skills.
Freshmen Set Records
One third of this year's freshman class have core GPAs of 4.0. That's the highest percentage of straight-A students ever in a UT freshman class. The class has an average ACT score of 25.8 and an average GPA of 3.6—also the best in the university's history.
Times Likes EMBA
UT's executive MBA programs (EMBA) are in the top 25 in the country, according to Financial Times, which annually ranks EMBA programs worldwide. UT's programs earned their strongest marks on having the most experienced students (6th domestically and 8th worldwide) and providing international course experience (7th domestically and 13th worldwide). Overall, UT ranks 23rd among U.S. schools with executive MBA programs. This is the fourth year in a row that UT's EMBA programs have been ranked by Financial Times.
Partnership Pays Off
More than $30 million in state and local tax revenue and 20,708 full-time jobs are among the economic benefits of a partnership between UT and Battelle that manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The findings are from the “Economic Impact of UT-Battelle on the State of Tennessee,” a report on the first five years of UT-Battelle, the not-for-profit partnership formed in 2000 to manage the lab for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). DOE recently extended the partnership's management contract through March 2010.
UT's Center for Business and Economic Research conducted the study.
In 2005, the lab employed 3,990 full-time workers and paid $302 million in payroll in Tennessee. It also purchased $138 million in goods and services in the state. Total benefits of spending in Tennessee include:
- $820.3 million increase in gross state product
- 683.8 million in personal income
- $30.1 million in state and local tax revenue
- 16,718 additional full-time equivalent jobs beyond those at ORNL
Research Has Record Year
Research funding at UT set an all-time record this year. System wide, UT brought in $307.9 million in grants for fiscal year 2006, up from last year's total of $285.1 million, marking the second consecutive record-breaking total. The Knoxville campus accounted for almost $127 million; UT Health Science Center, $105 million; Institute of Agriculture, almost $40 million; Institute for Public Service, $9.5 million; and UT Space Institute, nearly $7 million.