The Test of English as a Foreign Language is a product of the Educational Testing Service, and its administration at UT began in 1978. It is designed to test the ability of nonnative English speaking individuals to read and write English as it is used in colleges and universities. Students whose native language is not … Continued

The Tom Black Track is marked for all collegiate and Olympic metric events and is equipped to handle the steeplechase, javelin, and hammer throw. There are five thousand permanent seats and a press pavilion. Twenty-five hundred temporary bleacher seats can be added. The first track was installed in 1921, around Shields-Watkins Field. The Tom Black … Continued

The torch is rich in symbolic association with education in general and with UT specifically. Traditionally, the torch represents the light of learning, knowledge, and truth. For UT, the torch additionally signifies the Torch of Preparation—the quest for knowledge and truth—passed to each entering class on Torch Night, and the exchange of that role for … Continued

Torch Night was initiated on October 9, 1925, as the Freshman Pledge Ceremony. It was renamed Freshman Torch Night in 1929. Vic Davis, secretary of the Alumni Association; Ralph Frost, head of the campus YMCA; and students Bob and Warren Kennerly instituted the ceremony, which was patterned after a candlelight ceremony for seniors at the … Continued

The 1986 Torch Run across the state of Tennessee celebrated the 150th anniversary of the UT Alumni Association. A Torchbearer Reunion was held during homecoming, and a Torch Lighting Ceremony at Circle Park officially began the Torch Run, as John Fisher, class of 1938, lit the torch that Alan Cates (1967) carried through Neyland Stadium … Continued

From 1927 through 1956, the Torch, a booklet to orient incoming freshmen, was published by the University Christian Association. After merging with the All Students’ Council publication The Hill in 1956, the booklet was jointly published until 1967. The publication’s contents, both before and after the merger, were designed to provide a preview of all … Continued

Being chosen a Torchbearer is the highest honor a student at the university can receive. Torchbearers are seniors who represent the best of the student body in service, achievement, and leadership. Torchbearers were first chosen in 1931. The first Torchbearer Reunion was held October 4–6, 1986, at which time 477 Torchbearers had been named, and … Continued

The Torchbearer is the official magazine of the Knoxville campus. Designed to bring news of UT’s Knoxville campus to alumni and friends, it was first published in September 1962, replacing the “News Letter” that had featured a variety of UT news for 40 years. From 1962 to 1986, Torchbearer was published as a four-or-six page … Continued

The university has had gift clubs and recognition societies that acknowledge donors to the institution since 1960. In 2001 the Torchbearer Society, which recognizes donors of $10 million or more, was established.

In 1997, TOTAL CHANGE (The Only True Action League—Changing Hateful Attitudes, Needing Good Examples) was formed. It was a women’s group dedicated to women’s safety and equality issues.