Chancellor's Column: UT Board of Trustees 2022 Annual Meeting

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Dear Colleagues-Friends,

The 2022 Annual Meeting of the UT Board of Trustees (BOT) occurred this past Thursday and Friday in Knoxville. We are always grateful for the guidance of the BOT as they work so hard to oversee the educational and operational activities of the UT System. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville was an excellent and gracious host of the meeting – and what a spectacular campus they have on Rocky Top.

The successful BOT meeting had several items approved that will positively impact the UT Health Science Center:

1. Funding for a 4% salary pool for employees – this is the largest salary pool increase in UT's history! UTHSC employees can expect to see this increase in their July paychecks (delivered in August). We are very appreciative of the Governor and the Tennessee General Assembly for approving this impressive increase, especially as we all continue to feel the effects of inflation.
   
   
2. The Master of Health Science in Pathologists' Assistant program in the College of Health Professions was approved to be presented at the next Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) meeting, with recruitment following for a January 2023 start date.
   
   
3. Capital Outlay Budget Request for a Gross Anatomy Lab Renovation in the General Education Building on the Memphis campus. This lab would support approximately 440 students in the areas of medical, dental, nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.
   
   
4. Capital Maintenance Requests to include upgrading GEB Systems, roof replacements, and window/masonry repairs.
   
   
5. A measure to classify military-affiliated students – veterans, active-duty military personnel, reservists, Tennessee National Guard members, and Army and Air Force ROTC cadets – as Tennessee residents in order to attend a UT institution of their choosing at the in-state tuition rate, regardless of their residence of origin. This is another result of the Governor and the Tennessee General Assembly, as they passed legislation earlier this spring authorizing public university boards to classify veterans and military-affiliated individuals as in-state residents.

UT President Randy Boyd gave an impressive update on how we continue to be a part of the greatest decade in the history of the University of Tennessee. He noted the UT System's excellent financial performance (zero tuition increase at UTHSC for the last 3 years!), the fact that enrollment is up as a system, and we graduated over 8,400 students. President Boyd gave an update on several current initiatives, and the BOT gave him the annual presidential performance review. At the conclusion, Chairman Compton and the other trustees thanked Randy for his stellar leadership.

We had the privilege of presenting the BOT with a brief update from UTHSC, highlighting some upcoming projects that we are very excited about:

• "Healthy Smiles" implementation, which will result in more dental access for Tennessee's rural communities
• Progress with accreditation for Graduate Medical Education
• A joint UTHSC/UT Southern BSN program that is currently under the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) consideration
• Student survey results and revitalization as COVID-19 recedes

In addition, we shared some of our efforts around research, as well as operations and community engagement. One of our newest Trustees, Dr. Shanea McKinney, a PharmD alumni of UTHSC, was very complementary, noting that, "as a graduate of UT Health Science Center and also as someone who is a transplant to Memphis, being from Knoxville, I just want to commend the way that you have begun to engage with our communities so strategically, first with our students and our faculty and staff, but also with the alumni, not just in Memphis and in Shelby County, but as you say, Tennessee being our full footprint of what the Health Science Center can do."

During the UT BOT meeting, UT President Randy Boyd recognized seven employees across the UT System as recipients of the 2022 President's Awards. Among those recipients was our own Dr. Orpheus Triplett, Assistant Dean for Community Oral Health and Outreach in the College of Dentistry. Dr. Triplett was awarded the Optimistic and Visionary award. These awards are the highest honor a UT employee can receive from the University, and include a commemorative plaque and a monetary award of $3,000! The complete list of awardees can be viewed on the Daily Digest. This is a well-deserved award for Dr. Triplett, and I am thrilled for his accomplishment.

I would like to recognize and thank Dr. Phyllis Richey, professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine, for her service this past year on the BOT's Education, Research, and Service Committee. You have been an excellent representative from UTHSC and we appreciate your commitment to the BOT.

While this is just my second BOT meeting since coming to UTHSC, I continue to be immensely proud of the work that our faculty, staff, and students are doing, and it is an honor to represent the University at these meetings. It has been a pleasure getting to know our outstanding trustees. UTHSC and the UT System is in excellent and capable hands, especially with the re-election of Chairman Compton. I am excited about the direction that our campus – and System – is heading!

 

With pride and enthusiasm,

Peter F. Buckley, MD
Chancellor