The budget cut of 1997, following as it did the cut of 1996, caused consideration of academic programs to ascertain whether any should be eliminated. John Peters, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, recommended the phasing out of the Graduate School of Planning, which was on probation from its accrediting body. Peters stated the reasons that … Continued

The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) represents the interests of all graduate and professional students at the University of Tennessee. GSS is the official voice of graduate students. Each graduate and professional program of study has a representative elected by his or her fellow students, while the GSS president and vice president are elected in the … Continued

On Tuesday, November 17, 1931, graduate students of the university adopted a constitution of a Graduate Club. The club was formed so that the 128 graduate students enrolled could meet with each other, develop greater initiative, increase interest in graduate study, and advance interest in the Graduate School. Dr. Philip M. Hamer was the faculty … Continued

The university catalog of 1893 announced that four posts for “teaching fellows” had been created. Holders of the posts could be either advanced undergraduates or graduate students and would teach introductory classes. Teaching fellows received $200 and remission of fees. In 1927 funds were made available to various academic departments to employ teaching fellows, with … Continued

Dr. LeRoy Graf, who worked his way through college as a piano player, joined the faculty of the university’s Department of History in 1945 and served as its head from 1965 to 1980. In 1972 he was appointed alumni distinguished service professor and held that post until he retired in 1985. He was a specialist … Continued

Dr. Graff joined the faculty of the university’s College of Education in 1943 and served as head of the Department of Educational Administration (1945–1967). He founded the graduate program in Educational Administration and Supervision, in which he served until his retirement in 1971. He wrote many seminal articles on the theory and practice of educational … Continued

David Granger (BA 1978) became editor of Esquire magazine in 1997. The son of UT School of Social Work Dean Ben Granger, he majored in history and English at UT and earned the master’s in English at the University of Virginia. After completing the Radcliff College publishing procedures course, he moved to New York and … Continued

The Department of Energy provided $1.7 million in grants to UT for research in processing and using switchgrass for fuel in 2004. The funded project was focused on techniques to mechanically separate plant chemical constituents as dry material that could be further purified with a wet chemical process. The project was a collaboration between UT, … Continued

The only grave on the main campus is in the yard of Tyson House. It is the grave of Bonita, the pet dog of Isabella Tyson, daughter of General Lawrence D. and Bettie Tyson, who owned the house. The dog was a Puerto Rican Spaniel, given to Isabella when she was three years old by … Continued

Professor Charles Graves earned the BS in agricultural education and the MS in agronomy from UT in 1958 and 1959, respectively. He joined the Agronomy Department (later, Plant and Soil Sciences) in 1959 and retired in 1999. Graves conducted the field crop variety evaluation program for UT for 39 years. Annually, during his tenure as … Continued