The Institute for Public Service is a UT entity established by the board of trustees at its summer meeting of 1971 as part of a reorganization plan that created a vice president for continuing education to replace the former system dean; changed the title of the vice president for institutional research to vice president for urban and public affairs and executive assistant to the president; and established the Institute for Public Service, under an executive director reporting to the vice president of urban and public affairs.
The oldest component of the institute, the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, dates to 1949 when it was established by the legislature to provide technical advisory assistance to city officials upon request. It was transferred to the institute (from the Division of Continuing Education) in 1971 upon formation of the institute. The institute was modeled on the concept of the UT Agricultural Extension Service (now UT Extension), and the mission of the institute is “to serve Tennesseans by linking university expertise with community and workplace needs to improve the quality of life.” The institute has five components and two specialized units: Center for Government Training, Center for Industrial Services, Center for Telecommunications and Video, County Technical Assistance Service, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Event Management Services, and Law Enforcement Innovation Center.
Following the reorganization of campus/system responsibilities in 1989, the institute reported to Vice President for University Relations Sammie Lynn Puett. In 2009 the training for leadership programs that had been offered for more than 40 years were consolidated into the Jimmy Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership.