University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

Motto	Veritatem cognoscetis et veritas te liberabit (Latin)
Motto in English	You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
Type	Flagship public university
Established	September 10, 1794 (222 years ago) (1794-09-10)
Parent institution	University of Tennessee system
Academic affiliations	APLU, ORAU, URA
Endowment	$1.107 billion (2015)
Chancellor	Jimmy G. Cheek
Provost	John Zomchick (Interim)
Academic staff	1,500+
Administrative staff	9,791
Students	27,845 (Fall 2015)
Undergraduates	21,863 (Fall 2015)
Postgraduates	5,982 (Fall 2015)
Location	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. 35°57′6″N 83°55′48″W / 35.95167°N 83.93000°W / 35.95167; -83.93000Coordinates: 35°57′6″N 83°55′48″W / 35.95167°N 83.93000°W / 35.95167; -83.93000
Campus	560 acres (230 ha) Total: 2,128 acres (861 ha)
Colors	UT Orange, White
Nickname	Volunteers & Lady Volunteers
Mascot	Smokey X
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FBS – SEC
Website	www.utk.edu

The University of Tennessee (also referred to as the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, UT Knoxville, UTK, or UT) is a public sun- and land-grant university located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state to enter the Union, it is the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee system with nine undergraduate colleges and eleven graduate colleges. It hosts almost 28,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries. In its 2017 universities ranking, U.S. News & World Report ranked UT 103rd among all national universities and 46th among public institutions of higher learning. Seven alumni have been selected as Rhodes Scholars; James M. Buchanan, M.S. '41, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics. UT's ties to nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, established under UT President Andrew Holt and continued under the UT–Battelle partnership, allow for considerable research opportunities for faculty and students.

Also affiliated with the university are the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy, the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, and the University of Tennessee Arboretum, which occupies 250 acres (100 ha) of nearby Oak Ridge and features hundreds of species of plants indigenous to the region. The university is a direct partner of the University of Tennessee Medical Center, which is one of two Level I trauma centers in East Tennessee. As a teaching hospital, it has aggressive medical research programs.