The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga history

Charles Dabney, the University’s 11th president, led the expansion of science and engineering curricula in 1887 and initiated admission of women students.

The legislature’s first $1 million appropriation led to the building of iconic Ayres Hall, which opened in Knoxville in 1921.

The Municipal Technical Advisory Service was established in 1949 to serve local governments across the state.

Holt had already established the University’s first ties to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and, in 1964, the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma opened and statewide research dollars for UT reached an all-time high.

In 1969 the University of Chattanooga joined the UT system and became the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Two years later, in 1973, what is today known as the Law Enforcement Innovation Center began was introduced as Southeastern Community Oriented Policing Education.

Efforts to establish a Nashville campus ended in a merger with Tennessee State University in 1979.

UT celebrated its bicentennial in 1994.

In 2005, UT-Battelle won extension of its contract – without having to re-compete – to manage Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Jan Simek, a UT Knoxville administrator and highly regarded professor of anthropology, was named interim president upon Petersen’s departure in 2009.

In 2015, DiPietro introduced a plan to transition the University’s business model away from historically heavy dependence on tuition and state appropriations toward long-term sustainability through more efficient, effective and entrepreneurial operations.

In 2019, Boyd announced the launch of UT Promise—a last-dollar academic scholarship guaranteeing free tuition and fees for Tennessee residents with family household incomes below the state median.