The University of Tennessee System has added a fifth campus. The new addition to the UT higher education system will be the first in more than 50 years.
Martin Methodist College, located in Pulaski, will become part of the system as the University of Tennessee Southern.
The partnership with Martin Methodist College will help to bring affordable higher education to southern Middle Tennessee.
Martin Methodists is located about 75 miles southwest of Nashville close to the Alabama border.
The UT board of trustees unanimously approved the merger Friday after nearly a year of collaboration with Martin Methodist.
According to a Fox 17 article, UT President Randy Boyd told the story of a recent graduation in southern Middle Tennessee. Boyd said three students were receiving the highest honors at the graduation, but when asked where they were going to college they all replied Alabama.
We’re losing our talent to Alabama. Thousands of students every year are leaving Tennessee and going to Alabama for college,” Boyd said. “The worry is if they go to Alabama for college, they may stay there for a job. We need them here. We need to keep them here. We need to educate them here, have them go to work here for our industry, for our schools, for our hospitals, so we need to make sure that we keep our talent in our state.”
According to a study by the Huron Consulting Group, more than 1,200 students in the southern Middle Tennessee area cross into Alabama to go to college since there is no public, four-year institution in the almost 300 miles along the southern Tennessee border between Chattanooga and Memphis.
About the UT System
The University of Tennessee System is comprised of campuses at Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Martin; the Health Science Center at Memphis; the Space Institute at Tullahoma; and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service.
The UT System has a presence in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Through the combined force of education, research and outreach, the University serves students, business and industry, schools, governments, organizations and citizens statewide.
About Martin Methodist College
Martin Methodist College, founded in 1870, is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Martin Methodist offers baccalaureate degrees in 39 programs of study that include English, religious studies, music and dramatic arts, mathematics, and natural sciences to business, social sciences, education, criminal justice and nursing.
