Goal 5:  Nurture Our Talent

Recruit, retain, and develop top faculty and staff to be the best-in-class institute.

Aspire to be a destination of choice for top performing faculty and staff from recruitment forward.


Strategies and Actions


UTIA will provide the needed infrastructure to attract quality candidates.

  • Increase the quality of candidates applying for both faculty and staff positions.
  • Improve compliance with the completion of the six-month probation assessment for staff.
  • Increase the percentage of faculty promoted and tenured.
  • Develop a process and toolbox to assist faculty with spousal accommodations and employment opportunities in the region.
  • Create a process that tracks the time to fill positions.
  • Decrease pay gap between market rates vs. actual. 

UTIA will establish opportunities for faculty and staff growth.

  • Increase the number of employees engaged in active individual development plans.
  • Develop opportunities and a pathway for succession planning within UTIA.
  • Establish a UTIA leadership program for mid-level leaders.

Outcomes and Metrics


  • Increase opportunities to compete for national and professional awards and honors.
  • Increase to 100 percent the number of employees engaged in active individual development plans and progressing toward those goals.

Example: UTIA will develop opportunities for succession planning within the institute and will establish a leadership program for mid-level leaders.


Faculty and deans from UTIA with Chancellor Donde Plowman

Outstanding Students, Faculty and Staff Recognized at UT Honors Banquets

Awards presented at the two banquets honor individuals who embody the Volunteer spirit by excelling in research and creative work, significantly impacting campus culture and demonstrating outstanding leadership and service to UT and the broader community.


Blake Brown, director of the University of Tennessee’s AgResearch and Education Center at Milan, will take on a new role with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture as associate dean of field operations for UT AgResearch.

Read More


To ensure students will thrive and lead in the career paths they choose requires academic programs to be nimble and in sync with the changes around us and the challenges that lie ahead.

Read More


The highest honor awarded annually by UTIA is the Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor Award, and this year the title goes to Niki Labbé, professor in the School of Natural Resources.

Read More