In 2001 President Wade Gilley appointed a Commission on the Arts, chaired by Natalie Haslam, to assess the current state of the arts (art, music, theatre, literary arts, McClung Museum, dance) at UT Knoxville, compare UT Knoxville programs with those of aspirational peer institutions, and present recommendations designed to move UT arts programs into the Top 25, or at least the best in the South. The committee’s recommendations included building a performing arts center, upgrading and expanding existing facilities, adding faculty, and discontinuing a dance major until such time as appropriate staffing and facilities could be made available.