Advisory Board Approves Tuition Change, Shows Appreciation for Partnerships and Excitement for Future

During its winter meeting Friday, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Advisory Board recommended an increase to tuition, heard an inspirational update on the College of Medicine and the proposed new $350 million College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building, and recognized another vital hospital partnership for health care workforce development in Tennessee, with a new pediatric training program being developed with East Tennessee Children's Hospital.

The Advisory Board unanimously approved Executive Vice Chancellor Raaj Kurapati's recommendation to increase tuition by roughly 2% for all UT Health Sciences programs for Academic Year 2026-27. The proposed increase, which now goes forward for consideration by the UT Board of Trustees, is within the 0-4% range recommended by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Additionally, Kurapati recommended not to increase mandatory fees that apply to all students.

The board's recommendation for approval was also preceded by a review and support of the proposed tuition changes by both the student and faculty governance groups in advance of the Advisory Board meeting. Kurapati also emphasized each academic program has been evaluated in consultation with the college deans to determine tuition rate changes based on quantitative and qualitative factors, including program rankings, tuition rates, and structures compared to other institutions in Tennessee and across the nation.

"There are a lot of things that students are facing, and any tuition increase is an added burden to them," Kurapati said. "So, we wanted to keep it as low as possible but still be able to do something reasonable that allows us to set aside recurring funds that we need to build scholarships, but also to cover some of the costs that we are seeing manifest themselves in the form of inflationary increases and unplanned rate increases."

The tuition change would result in an estimated $2.2 million in revenue, $1 million of which would be set aside for need-based scholarships for students, with the aim to raise additional funds through philanthropy as the university continues to build a larger pool of funds for scholarships. The additional funds would go toward rising operating costs and institutional priorities.

"With the improvement throughout all the colleges here, there's added value to coming to UT Health Science Center in the future. We're worth 2% more," said Randall Davis, MD, chair of the Advisory Board.

The recommendation for tuition changes advances to the UT Board of Trustees, which meets Feb. 26-27 on the UT Health Sciences campus in Memphis.

Special Recognition of Partnership in Health Care Workforce Development: East Tennessee Children's Hospital

Friday's meeting began with special recognition of a new partnership between UT Health Sciences and East Tennessee Children's Hospital, where residents in the College of Medicine - Knoxville's new pediatrics residency program will train in partnership with UT Medical Center.

Paul Wesolowski, vice chancellor for Strategic Partnerships, praised the collaboration and introduced two East Tennessee Children's Hospital leaders, who attended the meeting via Zoom: Matthew Schaefer, president and CEO of the hospital, and Suzanne Rybczynski, MD, FAAP, chief medical officer and vice president of Medical Affairs for the hospital and chair of the newly formed Department of Pediatrics at the College of Medicine - Knoxville.

"In our 90-year history, despite the number of things this organization has been able to do, what we have never done is embrace the role of educating the next generation of pediatricians," Schaefer said. "We had to have the right partner to do that, and we looked at multiple ways to go about creating that program, and this relationship and partnership just felt right from the beginning. We view this as both an opportunity for our mission and a responsibility to the region."

"We are thrilled beyond words to have this opportunity to build our residency program to serve the entire state of Tennessee, to create a group of experienced and excited pediatricians to go forth and be out there and take care of all our children," Dr. Rybczynski said.

Keith Gray, MD, president and CEO of UT Medical and division chief of surgery in the College of Medicine - Knoxville, congratulated Schaefer and Dr. Rybczynski for their partnership with the college's leadership, including Interim Dean and Assistant Dean for Research Jonathan S. Wall, PhD, and Assistant Dean of Graduate Education Tina Dudney, MD, FCCP.

"I think at a higher level, people are advocating for transformation of the health of Tennesseans, and this is a part of that - not just delivering high-quality care with a great experience, but also developing a pipeline of providers that are more likely to stay in Tennessee and be able to provide the care that is needed," Dr. Gray said.

The residency program is in the process of obtaining accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). "We have all the personnel and everything we need to have a great program," Dr. Rybczynski said. "I'm honored to be the chair and to lead this forward on behalf of the College of Medicine - Knoxville."

Building Momentum for the College of Medicine

Michael Hocker, MD, who joined UT Health Sciences in June as executive dean of the College of Medicine, speaks at the Advisory Board meeting Friday, February 6, about his first several months of leading the college.

Michael Hocker, MD, presented an update on his first 100 days as executive dean of the College of Medicine. He enthusiastically informed the Advisory Board the beginning of his tenure focused on three priorities: listening to and learning from faculty, students, staff, and partners; strengthening leadership and operational foundations; and understanding and advancing the College of Medicine's statewide mission and future growth.

Dr. Hocker has held multiple engagement opportunities with College of Medicine personnel across the statewide campuses in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. These include meetings, forums, and town halls with department chairs and other college leaders, faculty, students, clinical partners, external stakeholders, and leadership at the UT System and other system campuses. He said his key takeaway was a strong alignment around the mission, culture, and need for statewide integration.

"We are here for Tennessee," Dr. Hocker said. "Our future physicians and health care providers we're producing here are not just for Memphis, they're not for Knoxville, they're not for Chattanooga; they're for the entire state."

Executive Dean Hocker also proudly the Advisory Board about the college's excellent outcome in a recent accreditation review by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). Additionally, he spoke with distinction about the college's third-place ranking among 21 peer institutions for its number of residency programs and total number of residents, and he reviewed with enthusiasm the college's momentum in research focused on improving patient care, strengthening medical education, and serving the health needs of Tennesseans.

Looking ahead, Dr. Hocker said the College of Medicine will continue to advance a unified statewide vision. His other priorities include expanding the college's class sizes, developing pipeline programs for high school and undergraduate students, recruiting and retaining faculty, and expanding partnerships to support statewide education and training.

"The UT Health Science Center College of Medicine has been here since 1911. We are a strong entity. We are a top-tier public institution," Dr. Hocker said. "This state is depending on us to change the health care outcomes of the patients here, and we're going to do that across the state."

Proposed College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building's Journey

The Advisory Board heard updates about the planning and design process for a new $350 million College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building, with expressions of respect and gratitude days after Gov. Bill Lee included funds for the building in his state budget proposal.

"On Monday, we were exalted, privileged, and humbled, but also extremely respectful, that our great Governor Lee announced his intent in his proposed budget to fund a $311 million allocation toward a College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building," Chancellor Buckley said.

Representatives from the design firm HOK and brg3s architects presented the results of a campus-wide space utilization study, which found the current amount and quality of space on the Memphis campus is not adequate to support enrollment growth. The new building would allow the university to meet enrollment goals, strengthen research capacity, and provide appropriate quality of space for teaching, studying, and working.

"You have great curriculum and great people, but you don't have facilities to support that," said Ami Shah, health education practice leader for HOK.

Representatives from HOK and brg3s, which are leading the design of the proposed College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building, explain the planning, programming, and construction process for the project.

The Advisory Board also heard details of the new building's programming. Most of the space in the roughly 275,000-square-foot building would be dedicated workplaces and academic spaces, with additional space for shared workplaces, interdisciplinary activities and learning, and common areas. The new building would serve as a physical and cultural hub to help break down silos on campus, modernize the campus, and impact communities statewide by strengthening UT Health Sciences' mission to improve health outcomes across Tennessee.

The new space would also allow the College of Medicine to increase the physician class size from 175 to 250 and the physician assistant class from 30 to 60 students per year. Additionally, the building would expand offerings in the College of Health Professions and College of Graduate Health Sciences.

Kurapati shared a tentative project timeline showing construction starting in late 2026 and finishing in 2029.

"If we're incredibly fortunate to get this support as the General Assembly now takes up the Governor's proposed budget and completes the state's budget process, our team superbly led by Raaj aims to deliver the building on time and on budget in 2029," Chancellor Buckley said with respect. "Our President Randy Boyd is inspiring all of us towards making this the greatest decade in the history of the University of Tennessee. That decade concludes at the end of 2029, and so, with great respect and cautious optimism, we hope to be able to celebrate then with a new building open for our students, faculty, staff, and for our community. That will make a huge difference for the state of Tennessee."

The recorded webcast of the meeting is available to view on the Advisory Board website.