About UT Martin
•The University of Tennessee at Martin was founded in 1900 as Hall-Moody Institute.
•A record 7,152 students are enrolled for 2009 spring semester at UT Martin. The enrollment tops the previous spring semester high of 6,711 students set in 2008 and is the 10th consecutive spring semester increase. The 6.6 percent spring enrollment increase follows a fall 2008 enrollment of 7,578 that set six all-time records in various categories.
•UT Martin’s student headcount has increased 24 percent for the five years 2004-08. In the most recent four-year period (2005-08), UT Martin has been the fastest-growing public university in the state.
•After recent completion of more than $30 million in capital and maintenance projects, almost $40 million in additional capital improvement projects are under way or set to begin at UT Martin, including projects through 2011. Major projects include a new 94,600-square-foot student recreation center; a major renovation and addition to the Fine Arts Building; and an addition to Brehm Hall.
Recognitions and Superlatives
•UT Martin is listed as a top-tier university among southern, master's level institutions in the 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges compiled by U.S.News & World Report.
•PrincetonReview.com lists UT Martin as “A Best Southeastern College" for 2009.
•For the third consecutive year, Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc. lists UT Martin among “America’s 100 Best College Buys.”
•UT Martin is among the safest campuses in Tennessee among four-year public institutions based on crime statistics released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
•UT Martin was recognized as School of the Year at the 2009 Tennessee Association of Residence Halls Leadership Conference. Ryan Martin, assistant director of housing, also was named state advisor of the year.
Academics
•More than 95% of UT Martin’s graduates find jobs or are accepted to graduate schools within six months of graduation.
•UT Martin is home to two Tennessee Governor’s Schools: the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Humanities and the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Agricultural Sciences.
•UT Martin is home to three chairs of excellence: the Gil Parker Chair of Excellence in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources; the Horace and Sara Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking; and the Tom E. Hendrix Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise.
•UT Martin offers the only dance education teaching option in Tennessee.
•UT Martin serves as the executive center of the Southern Consortium of the American Democracy Project (ADP-South).
Student Success
•The UT Martin Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society chapter has won more top ratings than any other chapter nationwide.
•The UT Martin Collegiate FFA chapter is the top collegiate chapter in the state for the fifth consecutive year.
•The UT Martin Interfraternity Council claimed the Overall Fraternal Excellence trophy for the fifth consecutive year at the 2009 Southeastern Interfraternity Conference in Atlanta. UT Martin was among six universities to claim the trophy, and the group also netted more awards than any other university attending the conference.
•The UT Martin soil-judging team claimed first place in the Southeast Regional Soil Judging Contest held fall semester 2008 at Virginia Tech. Twelve teams from throughout the southeast participated in the contest, with the top six teams from the regional contest qualifying for the national contest in April 2009.
•UT Martin’s campus radio station, WUTM-FM, is observing its 35th year of broadcasting. The station placed second behind Florida State University in the “Best College Radio Station” category during the 2009 Southeast Journalism Conference at Belmont University.
Student Access
•UT Martin has center locations in Jackson, Parsons, Ripley and Selmer.
•UT Martin is home to UT Online, the University of Tennessee’s online degree programs for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
•One of the largest dual-enrollment programs among Tennessee universities is based out of the UT Martin Jackson Center.
Leadership and Economic Development
•UT Martin is home to the WestStar Leadership Program, Tennessee’s first and largest regional leadership program. WestStar boasts more than 500 living graduates and is observing its 20th year of developing the region’s leaders.
•Kid College, UT Martin’s summer-enrichment program for children ages kindergarten through grade 5, celebrates 25 years in June 2009.
•The university’s Regional Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (REED) Center provides consulting services for existing and prospective entrepreneurs and supports economic development in rural Northwest Tennessee.
Athletics
•The Skyhawk men’s basketball team won the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship. Lester Hudson was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year, and Bret Campbell was named OVC Coach of the Year for the first time.
•UT Martin has the only collegiate rodeo team in Tennessee. The men’s rodeo has won 27 Ozark Region titles in the past 34 years. Both the men and women advanced to the 2008 College National Final Rodeo in June, where the men’s team finished third in the nation.
•The Skyhawk women’s soccer team received its third consecutive OVC Team Academic Achievement Award in 2009.
•The Skyhawk rifle team received the 2009 OVC Team Sportsmanship Award.
Individual Accolades
•Bradley Gregg, UT Martin engineering student from Union City, is participating in a 15-week internship during spring semester 2009 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He plans to attend graduate school to pursue a doctorate in aerospace engineering following graduation in May 2010.
•Twenty-four UT Martin students, faculty and staff members have received Love Community Service Awards, more than any other college or university in Tennessee. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission sponsors the community service recognition program.
•Nationally known alumni include: Pat Head Summitt (’74), UT Lady Vols head basketball coach; Leonard Hamilton (’71), Florida State Seminoles head basketball coach; Jerry Reese (’87, ’88), senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants; Van Jones (’90), founder and president, Green for All; Dr. Christy Shaffer (’81), president and CEO, Inspire Pharmaceuticals; and William (Bill) Rhodes (’87), president and CEO of AutoZone.
