Trustees approve capital outlay, maintenance and demolition requests and system disclosures for FY planning

The University of Tennessee System finance committee approved the administration’s recommended capital outlay, capital maintenance and demolition requests for the coming state budget cycle, and accepted the annual disclosure list of projects that would be funded by university sources if pursued.

Associate Vice President Austin Oakes presented system priorities and said the top capital outlay priority is a $350 million interdisciplinary building for the UT Health Science Center designed to support medical education and replace older 50‑plus year‑old buildings. The second priority highlighted was a $4.5 million Cattle Outreach and Workforce project (CAlL) to provide cattle education and reproductive facilities with classroom and lab spaces. The third outlay priority was a $6 million student health and counseling facility for UT Martin to replace a 1959 structure and expand mental and physical health resources.

Oakes said the system currently has roughly 250 active projects in design or construction totaling about $2.5 billion. On capital maintenance, the system recommended allocations across 22 projects totaling about $135 million; Oakes noted a decline in state capital maintenance appropriations since a post‑COVID 2021–22 high.

The disclosure list included $190 million in university‑funded projects, including three items at UTC: a 700‑space parking garage, a new dining facility and a potential purchase of foundation‑owned student housing (a transaction that would return to the board for detailed review). Trustees discussed how to weigh UT Southern needs in a multi‑year capital plan and emphasized momentum and timing to support enrollment growth.

The committee approved four items — capital outlay request, capital maintenance request, demolition request and the project disclosure list — by voice vote.