The Joseph E. Johnson Animal Research and Teaching facility was completed in fall 1999 and dedicated August 23, 1999. The 50,047-square-foot building was one of three facilities made possible by a $38.5 million package assembled over six years from state and federal funds appropriated by the State of Tennessee; the US Congress; and the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. The other two buildings are the Forest Products Building (2001) and the Plant Biotechnology Building (2003). The facility was named for retiring UT President Joseph E. Johnson by the board of trustees at its June 1999 meeting.
JARTU is a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture multipurpose facility dedicated to providing controlled research and learning opportunities with livestock and other animals. It is an AAALAC-accredited animal facility and contains three wings with over 35 laboratories. Laboratory capabilities are diverse and include suites devoted to captive animal rearing, reproductive physiology, microbiology, molecular techniques, zoonotic pathogens, necropsy, and aquatics. Past and ongoing research includes evaluating stressors and mechanisms of embryo development in livestock, reproductive performance associated with mastitis, consequences of feed type on livestock production, molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and drug resistance, wildlife reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, fish physiology, and amphibian diseases.