History and Tradition

Likely the country’s oldest theatre in the round, when the Carousel was built it was not even on any campus.

Imagine a financial wizard who enabled the first subway tunnel under the Hudson River, teamed up with actors to cofound United Artists, served as secretary of the US treasury and a US senator from California, and ran for president twice.

For 25 years, visitors to Hodges Library have been transfixed by what appear to be the bones of a mythological creature. The installation, a work of art, reminds viewers to remain skeptical of what may appear to be true.

Though Clarence Brown had two UT engineering degrees by 1910, he set his sights on Hollywood where he directed stars like Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Elizabeth Taylor before leaving his legacy on UT’s campus through the Clarence Brown Theatre.

In September 1922, the Vol football team boarded a logging train and retreated to the Great Smoky Mountains and Elkmont’s Wonderland Hotel to train with long hikes in the woods and dips in the ice cold river.

Every university is judged by its alumni, and former UT students have found themselves all over the world, distinguishing themselves in the sciences, literature, and performing arts. UT graduates who…

Ten new statues of Smokey were unveiled on campus in April—one to represent each of our beloved dogs. To honor our good boys, here’s a tale about each one of them.

What’s the most intellectually exciting spot in Tennessee? Thousands of professors have taught on the Hill, of course, and contributed to the tradition. But for more than a century, UT…

If you went to elementary school in a certain era, you might have seen a map of a fictitious place drawn to illustrate all the basic geographic features. UT’s campus…

Two centuries ago, UT was called East Tennessee College, but even in those days, its educational scope was much broader than the region it called home. Its founder, Samuel Carrick,…