
Proposed Haslam Budget Provides Critical Higher Education Funding
Governor Bill Haslam unveiled his FY 2017-18 budget proposal on Monday evening at the State of the State Address, presenting a $37 billion spending plan with significant investments in higher education. The Governor’s budget fully funds the performance-based funding formula for higher education, providing $25 million in new funds to be allocated amongst Tennessee’s public … Continued

UT President Presents Top Funding Requests at Governor’s Budget Hearing
Governor Bill Haslam held his higher education budget hearing on November 8, where UT President Joe DiPietro and other public higher education leaders put forth their top funding requests for the next fiscal year. The hearing represents a public “launch-point” of sorts in the state’s overall budget process. State entities, like the University of Tennessee, … Continued

Bills Impacting UT Diversity Funding Shelved for Session; Concerns Over Budget Amendments Remain
Quietly and without fanfare, a bill seeking to divert state resources from UTK’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion was sent to “general sub” during a Senate Education Committee meeting on Wednesday afternoon. “General sub” essentially means that the bill will not be considered further unless the bill’s sponsor seeks to re-calendar it, but that does … Continued

Diversity Legislation Update
The House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee yesterday considered two bills impacting diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Tennessee. The first proposal, HB2248 by Representative Micah VanHuss (R-Jonesborough), originally sought to prohibit state funding from being spent in support of the UTK Office of Diversity and Inclusion. As initially drafted, it diverted all … Continued

Diversity Legislation Heads to Committee
Outside of the surprise budget amendment that was recommended last week by the Senate Education Committee, little legislative debate has yet to officially occur on two primary pieces of legislation that impact diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Tennessee System. This is all about to change over the next two weeks as the … Continued