In 1917 the Tennessee legislature passed the University Bill, which authorized a million-dollar bond issue for construction and created the University of Tennessee Development and Maintenance Fund, which created permanent revenue to UT from a tax of one-half million on each dollar of taxable property in Tennessee. The tax was repealed in 1931, and President … Continued

The 1869 legislation by the Tennessee General Assembly designating the university as the land-grant institution for Tennessee under the Morrill Act of 1862 required the university to provide tuition-free scholarships to three students from each county, appointed by members of the legislature. In 1873 the distribution system was changed to allow each state representative to … Continued

Vince Staten entered UT’s new master’s program in communications in fall 1969, having completed a baccalaureate degree in mathematics from Duke University. For almost three years, he wrote a humorous column for the Daily Beacon. In 1970 he declared himself a candidate for Homecoming Queen. He received the most votes (60 percent of the votes … Continued

John Fanz Staub (called Fanz by his Knoxville friends and John at his home in Houston, Texas) graduated from UT in 1913 as a mathematics major and went on to MIT to study architecture. He earned both the BS and MS in architecture at MIT and went to New York to work for Harrie T. … Continued

In 1964 UT announced that designs were being prepared for a steam plant to serve the entire campus, including the urban renewal area that had been added to the main and agriculture campuses. It was located just west of Seventeenth Street and south of Princeton Avenue between the L&N and Southern railroad tracks. The UT … Continued

The Inter-Vols, a steel band sponsored by UT’s International House, made their debut in September 1983 with the help of some local patrons who provided the pans (drums) for the group. Their repertoire included such traditional steel band tunes as “On Broadway” as well as Caribbean reggae songs, popular music, and, of course, “Rocky Top.”

Chancellor Cheek, joined by Jim and Natalie Haslam and Jim and Sandra Powell, announced on June 13, 2011, that a $3.5 million campaign was underway to make UT an All Steinway School when the new Natalie L. Haslam Music Center opened. To receive the All Steinway School status, at least 90 percent of an institution’s … Continued

The family of Paul H. Stelson established a fellowship in his memory to assist aspiring physicists in completing their education and continuing interactions in physics between UT and ORNL. Stelson received his BS and MS degrees from Purdue University and a PhD, at age 23, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After working at MIT, … Continued

In the fall of 2000, the UT Men’s and Women’s Athletics Departments announced the STEP UP Campaign, a comprehensive capital campaign to raise $44.25 million dollars for new, renovated, and expanded facilities benefitting 17 of UT’s 20 men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams. The campaign had two prongs: Ticket price increases in football and in men’s … Continued

A native of Kevil, Kentucky, Ruth Stephens received a certificate from Western Kentucky State Normal School at Bowling Green in 1915. She then taught high school in Paducah. In 1934 she had received the MA degree and was working toward the PhD degree at Indiana University at Bloomington (awarded in 1934) when she joined the … Continued