Research and Discovery

In the College of Social Work, faculty, staff, and students are challenged to put classroom lessons to work in the community to make the world a better place, especially for underserved populations. Here’s a look at four college programs that look to fill voids, right wrongs, and improve lives—all while teaching the next generation of social workers to do the same.

UT archaeology students help preserve century-old artifacts from a West Virginia ghost town.

It’s hard to imagine what Blount College’s first scholars in 1794 would say about the university’s current research efforts in areas like artificial intelligence, driverless cars, advanced materials manufacturing, and big data. But many of the programs and courses upon which our innovation efforts rely have been a foundation of education at the institution from the very beginning.

Volunteers have always worked to make the world a better place—it’s what we do. Read about a few of our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends who have helped to light the way for others.

From our roads to our schools and hospitals, you don’t have to look far to see the positive impact the University of Tennessee is making in all 95 counties of the state we call home.

A UT scientist is researching how virus-infected bacteria could help in the fight against climate change.

With more than 520,000 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, UT professors and students have a one-of-a-kind classroom right in their own backyard.

Senior Grant Rigney has joined an elite class since being named UT’s eighth Rhodes Scholar.

Lindsey Owen, a graduate student in the College of Communication and Information, recounts her experience working with UT’s Land Grant Films on a documentary about the 100 millionth book being given away by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Owen learned not only about filmmaking but also how the program changes lives.

For the 150 children ages seven through 21 who have various disabilities and the 200 UT students who spend a week as counselors, Camp Koinonia is an experience that lasts a lifetime.