The Student Success Center’s UT LEAD program was implemented in fall 2007 as an academic supplement for the new Promise and Pledge Scholarship holders, as well as all returning students with the African American Achiever’s and African American Incentive Grant Scholarships. LEAD is an acronym for Leadership in a diverse world, Excellence in all endeavors, Achievement through academic success, and Diversity as a core value in education and society. The Pledge and Promise scholarships replaced race-linked scholarships with the termination of the Geier Consent Decree and were designed to benefit economically underprivileged students, those who attended an underprivileged high school, and those from rural areas.
The program began its summer institute in 2008, enrolling 55 incoming freshmen in a residential, five-week summer, on-campus experience for which UT paid all expenses and provided each participant $300 per week for expenses. The program was available to students who received the Promise Scholarship and typically earned ACT scores of 21 or below. The provost announced that the summer institute was discontinued following the 2014 class of 39 students, being essentially replaced by the Volunteer Bridge Program and the summer Math Camp. After meeting with students opposing the discontinuance, however, the provost and chancellor funded the institute for 2015 and planned to review the program annually.