What the Haslams’ $130M UT Gift Could Mean for Knoxville Students and Jobs

Dee and Jimmy Haslam have made a historic $130 million gift to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville — the largest gift in UT history, according to the university.

The biggest share, $100 million, will go to the Haslam College of Business to support faculty recruitment, student success programs, graduate scholarships, and the undergraduate honors program. Another $30 million will establish a campus-wide UT Faculty Excellence Endowment aimed at helping recruit top faculty across academic disciplines.

The gift is especially significant in Knoxville because Haslam College of Business serves more than 11,000 business students and enrolls more than 30% of UT’s undergraduate population. University leaders framed the investment as a long-term boost for student opportunity, academic excellence, and Tennessee’s workforce pipeline.

Dee and Jimmy Haslam, both UT alumni, said the university is experiencing “extraordinary momentum” and that they want to help attract world-class faculty while supporting the next generation of leaders in Tennessee.

The gift also lands at a moment when Knoxville’s growth has put new attention on workforce development, talent retention, and whether local students can find strong career paths without leaving East Tennessee.

While the gift is centered on UT Knoxville, its potential impact extends well beyond campus. The Haslam College of Business is one of the university’s largest academic hubs, and many of its graduates stay connected to Tennessee employers after graduation.

By expanding scholarships and student-success support, the gift could make a UT business education more accessible for high-achieving Tennessee students who might otherwise look out of state. The faculty recruitment piece also matters: stronger faculty can help build stronger programs, attract research, deepen industry partnerships, and prepare students for the kinds of jobs Knoxville and East Tennessee are trying to grow.

For Knoxville, that means this gift is partly an education story — but also a workforce story. As the region continues to grow, local employers need graduates with skills in management, finance, supply chain, analytics, entrepreneurship, and leadership. A stronger business college could help supply more of that talent locally.