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From early classrooms to our first cheerleader, take a look at these snapshots of life at the university.
The marching band began in 1869 as a corps of cadets. By 1899, the band had 16 members who practiced daily and performed in a weekly dress parade at Wait Field.
The College of Nursing was founded in 1971 after a state survey showed a need for a nursing school. The first students seeking bachelor’s degrees were enrolled a year later and by 1974, it was the largest nursing program in the state and received its first accreditation.
The Tennessee Legislature authorized UT’s creation in Tullahoma of a separate graduate Space Institute offering master’s and doctoral degrees. UTSI began offering graduate coursework in aerospace engineering in 1964, as a branch of the College of Engineering.
The School of Mechanic Arts, Mining, and Engineering was first organized at East Tennessee University in 1877, offering courses in mechanical and mining engineering.
The first yearbook was called the Volunteer and published in 1897 despite a fire that destroyed the copy and printing plates in the print shop. Pictured are the yearbook editors from 1897.
Smokey II was dognapped from his home by Kentucky students posing as members of the UT Pep Club who needed him for photos. He was returned to his owners eight days later, before the kickoff of the Kentucky game. Smokey II also had a clash with the Baylor University bear during halftime at the 1957 Sugar Bowl.
In 1928 UT’s School of Information Sciences was founded, 74 years before it merged with the College of Communication in 2002.
After the School of Education became a college in 1926, it merged with the College of Human Ecology in 1987 and became the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences in 2002.
Robert Clayton “Red” Matthews, professor of drawing and machine design, became UT’s first cheerleader in 1907. He also wrote UT’s fight song, “Down the Field.”
The College of Liberal Arts was founded in 1905 and renamed the College of Arts and Sciences 89 years later in 1994.
Women were admitted to UT on an equal footing with men beginning in 1893, after the board of trustees approved co-education. Pictured is women in a 1905 liberal arts class.
The College of Liberal Arts was founded in 1905 and renamed the College of Arts and Sciences 89 years later in 1994.
In 1903, women played their first intercollegiate basketball game at UT. Competitive team sports had become part of the UT women’s athletic program around 1900, despite reservations that they were too demanding for the “delicate female condition.” Basketball, sometimes played under distinctly different rules, became the first women’s varsity sport.
Images courtesy of UT Libraries
This story is part of the University of Tennessee’s 225th anniversary celebration. Volunteers light the way for others across Tennessee and throughout the world.
Learn more about UT’s 225th anniversary