Edna Hixon, UT graduate and then state editor of the Knoxville Journal, was the first woman from Knoxville and one of only 12 Tennesseans to be selected for the Navy’s auxiliary, the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi at UT.

In 1854 UT Trustees, upon the recommendation of President Cooke, approved charging chemistry students for the chemicals used in experiments.

The Lambda Student Union held its first awards event on April 23, 2001, to recognize members of the university community who had shown support for the group and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people on campus. The award for the most supportive administrator was not given in order to make a statement about the … Continued

On April 27, 1831, a committee of the board of trustees advertised in the Knoxville Register for proposals for fencing and landscaping the 40-acre campus (the Hill). The landscaping sought was for “100 good shade trees of Locust, Cedar or Mulberry set out” and an “avenue of Lombardy Poplars to the plank fence, including the … Continued

In 1939 faculty members of the Romance Languages Department were offered an opportunity to try an experimental model of a “Voice Mirror” built by the Society of Acoustic Engineers. In 1940 faculty in romance languages used the product, in which students spoke into a microphone attached to a machine that looked like a table-model radio, … Continued

S. Baldridge, university bursar, announced in fall 1960 that a late registration fee was immediately in effect for those who did not complete their registration within five days following the date (or dates) of registration. He explained that the fee was made necessary by the increasingly large number of students did not complete the registration … Continued

The first Law Hooding Ceremony was held on June 7, 1973. The speaker was Judge L. Clure Morton of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

In April 1836 the board of trustees appointed the Reverend W. J. Keith, professor in the Department of Ancient Languages, as librarian. Prior to 1836 the teaching faculty elected the librarian from among their numbers. Keith is listed as professor and librarian in the 1839 catalog. The 1839 catalog indicates that Keith presided over a … Continued

In 1950 faculty rank as well as faculty status was extended to the university’s professional librarians. Mr. William H. Jesse, head librarian from 1943 to 1970, was the first person so designated. His title was also changed from librarian to director of libraries. Faculty status for professional librarians had been granted in 1910 to Lucy … Continued

In 1959 the Development Council and the National Alumni Association launched a campaign to raise funds for the purchase of books and other materials for the library. A total of $23,766 was raised and nearly nine thousand books and other materials were purchased. In 1960 the library published the first “Library Development Program Report,” which … Continued