The UT Foundation was established in 2001 as a separately chartered 501(c)(3) organization that supports the university. It receives and manages all gifts to UT other than those made directly to the University of Chattanooga Foundation. Its establishment provided a measure of flexibility in establishing partnerships, entering into real estate ventures, and other activities on behalf of and in support of the university. James Haslam, UT alumnus, UT trustee, and CEO of Pilot Oil, was named the first foundation chairman. In 2003, following substantial public criticism of the foundation for not opening its meeting and records to the public and the passage of a bill by the legislature providing for a state audit of the organization, the foundation announced that it would open its meetings and its records, except for private donor information. Emerson Fly, having just completed a year as president of UT, became the foundation’s first president.
In 2011, having examined the possibility of becoming an interdependent entity with greater autonomy, and approval by the board of trustees and the legislature, the foundation reorganized itself as UT’s fund-raising arm, with authority to manage its own payroll, establish its own pay scales, and ultimately hire 60 additional employees over the next five years. At its reorganization meeting on June 24, 2011, the foundation also signed a leasing agreement that moved all current and future development employees under the foundation. At the same meeting, the foundation added 10 members to its board, bringing total board membership to 22, and expanded its committee structure from one to five.