Haslam family commits $130 Million to UTK, the largest single investment in the university’s history
About $100 million of that investment will be designated toward the Haslam College of Business.
In a historic announcement from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), Dee and Jimmy Haslam have committed $130 million to the state’s flagship university. Of that gift, $100 million will support the Haslam College of Business.
The remaining $30 million will support a campus-wide effort to recruit world-renowned faculty across academic disciplines, furthering UT’s momentum as a leader in research, innovation, and discovery.
The university broke ground on the new state-of-the-art Haslam College of Business building in August 2024, with completion anticipated in 2027.
The Haslams’ investment will help recruit distinguished faculty and strengthen student success initiatives, graduate student scholarships, and the undergraduate honors program.
“This historic investment will build on the university’s current momentum and help continue to propel us in what our chancellor has termed a ‘rise or a drive’ to the next level,” said Haslam College Dean Stephen L. Mangum.
UTK Chancellor Donde Plowman echoed that impact.
“It is rare. It’s almost unheard of that an institution receives such a transformative investment,” she said. “Over the course of my career, I’ve observed that to be a great university, you have to have a great business, and to be a great business school, you have to be part of a great university. So the two go hand in hand, and this investment really furthers our aspirations.”
The Haslam College of Business has the largest student enrollment among UTK’s 14 colleges. It’s highly competitive, accepting students both nationally and internationally.
UT System President Randy Boyd said that this donation, in particular, which is the largest in UT System history, has put UT over the $600 million threshold for fundraising this year. That is a 20% increase for UT’s highest fundraising year on record.
“There’s no family that’s done more for the University of Tennessee. And I don’t think there’s another family that’s done more for the state of Tennessee than the Haslam family,” Boyd said.
The investment builds on Dee and Jimmy Haslam’s longstanding commitment to the university. With this latest contribution, their lifetime giving to UT now exceeds $195 million.
Dee and Jimmy Haslam both attended a media briefing about the investment on Thursday, explaining their heart behind their gift.
“We want to keep the best and brightest in the state of Tennessee, because we know if you keep the best and brightest in the state of Tennessee, you’ll see growth, and the region will grow, and the state will grow,” Dee said.
“We put a lot of time and effort into the gift, deciding exactly where it would go, and I think after a lot of hard work, we decided on a great place. And, it’s our honor to be able to do,” Jimmy said.
How will the investment shape the future?
Of the $100 million that’s being committed to the Haslam College, about one-third ($30M) is going toward the Honors Growth Program, about one-third ($30M) toward hiring eight endowed faculty, and about one-third ($30M) for student success programs. The remaining $10 million is going toward graduate student scholarships – to remove barriers and open doors to new MBAs.
The other $30 million will go toward cross-campus faculty recruitment initiatives.
Read more about the historic investment from UTK.
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