On August 14, 1899, Emma Meyerhoff and Winnifred Mae Hocking were awarded institutional scholarships for the highest standing in their respective classes.

The list of students attending Blount College in 1804 included the names of five women: Polly McClung, Barbara Blount, Jennie Armstrong, Mattie Kain, and Kitty Kain. Blount College, now evolved into the University of Tennessee, was thus the first American college to have coeducational classes. The female students are presumed to have been subcollegiate students … Continued

Ida Smith, Mary Smith, and Miss Luttrell registered in the Teachers Course in February 1892, a year before the board of trustees granted admission to women. Ida and Mary Smith were the daughters of Professor Frank (Francis) Smith, who was in charge of the newly established Teachers Department. Gertrude Bishop (Bradley County), Nannie Page (Tipton … Continued

In 1898 Elizabeth Pitman Keiper earned the master of arts degree in English. Her graduate degree may well have been the first in the South awarded to a woman. She had earlier received the BA degree from Purdue University.

UT Alumna Susan M. Blair (German major) became the first woman to graduate at the top of the Air Force Officer Training School on February 22, 1971. Her class was the 103rd class. Her average was 96.

On April 4, 1920, the UT Athletic Council voted to award letters to the women’s basketball team. The letters were of a special monogram type, making a clear distinction between the men’s and women’s letters. In May of that year, the council issued standards for women’s letters in track and swimming. Letters in tennis were … Continued

Dr. Susan B. Mettlen, appointed vice chancellor for Information Infrastructure in July 1996 was UT Knoxville’s first female vice chancellor. She succeeded Dr. Jose Marie Griffiths of the UT School of Library and Information Science, who had served as acting vice chancellor since 1994. When appointed, Mettlen was associate vice president of Information Technology at … Continued

The UT Board of Trustees appointed Sammie Lynn Puett as vice president for public service and continuing education on January 27, 1989.

Prior to the Civil War, final examinations at the end of a session were in the nature of a public exhibition to display the erudition of the students. The catalog of 1867–68 stated that at the close of each session, both written and oral examinations would be given. In 1878 the faculty established a final … Continued

On July 2, 1875, the trustees authorized the construction of two tall ladders as a means of escape from campus buildings in the event of fire. These were to be taken by students to appropriate windows of any building that caught fire.