The University of Tennessee hosted its 2026 State of the University discussion Tuesday morning as part of the Grand Challenges Summit, welcoming the new year through a presentation of systemwide strength and unity.
“Together, we are shaping a university system that is accessible, innovative and relentlessly focused on impact,” UT President Randy Boyd said, opening the presentation with his presidential address.
Boyd was joined by a panel of university chancellors and leaders as they spoke to an audience of faculty members and partners.
Drawing upon his experience as a first-generation college student, Boyd emphasized the importance of keeping higher education accessible.
“For me, access to higher education is not an abstract idea — it’s not a line of a strategic plan. As a first-generation college student, stepping onto the campus at UT Knoxville back in 1979, it represented both an opportunity and uncertainty,” Boyd said. “My UT experience and education changed my life.”
This is especially important, Boyd said, as higher education institutions face tense national pressure.
“There’s a raging national narrative that questions the value of college, claiming it’s unaffordable and not worth the investment,” Boyd said. “That narrative is simply wrong.”
UT Chancellor Donde Plowman agreed, expressing the need to take government pressure as a chance for improvement.
“There are pressures on higher ed(ucation) throughout the country,” Plowman said. “It’s a good opportunity to fix some things.”
In Plowman’s view, capitalizing on strengths is what will take UT students and developmental projects to the next level.
“We have a focus on strengths,” Plowman said. “If you leverage what you’re good at, you will be successful at whatever you do.”
Boyd said UT’s strengths lie in its resources when it comes to combatting grand challenges like early childhood education, rural community health and substance abuse.
“We have the expertise, we have the resources and the sustainability to tackle these grand challenges,” Boyd said. “And as the state’s land-grant university, we also have the responsibility.”
This sense of accountability is why Plowman is taking a positive approach to combatting threats against higher education.
“If you look at the trajectory of higher education, I think it’s always better to look at data rather than fears,” Plowman said. “I’ve never been more hopeful, or more optimistic.”
Plowman addressed rising enrollment, retention and application numbers as a sign of success for UT.
“I’m excited about the fact that everyone wants to come here,” Plowman said. “Our applications inside Tennessee have gone up, as well as outside Tennessee.”
As application numbers rise, Plowman assured prospective students that UT, though increasingly competitive, is still an option.
“It used to be sort of a myth, ‘Oh, nobody can get in there,’” Plowman said. “That’s not true.”
To current students, Plowman advises doing exactly what UT leaders are doing: taking advantage of strong suits and not leaning into weak points.
“Lean in to being a Volunteer, and use your strengths,” Plowman said.
Calling back to his personal UT experience of first stepping onto campus, Boyd encouraged system leaders to keep students in mind as the system faces its grand challenges.
“There are tens of thousands of students across Tennessee standing at that same starting line today,” Boyd said. “Our job, our privilege — better yet, our commitment — is to keep delivering on the promise and to make sure that the door of opportunity remains open for those who are ready to walk through it.”
