University of Tennessee president previews B1UT 2030 strategic plan; board approves a specialized-unit budget request

President Randy Boyd presented the University of Tennessee System—s B1UT 2030 strategic plan framework to the Board of Trustees, emphasizing three priority goals — expand access; academic excellence and student success; and drive research and workforce development — supported by enablers such as talent development and infrastructure investment.

Boyd opened by reviewing 2025 accomplishments, citing record enrollment and retention, a new research record of $524,000,000 in expenditures and a record $492,000,000 in fundraising. He described a refreshed strategic organization that explicitly calls out —fueling the workforce of Tennessee and beyond— and highlighted recent progress on capital projects, partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and a new bonding policy that may allow the system to access roughly $600 million for infrastructure investment.

"This will be the greatest decade in the history of the University of Tennessee," Boyd said as he described the plan—s goals and the need for directional, stretch KPIs. He told trustees the plan is intended to be iterative: fewer, actionable KPIs that "should make us nervous" and will be refined before final board review in February.

Key system initiatives Boyd described include: broadening and deepening financial aid access (including enhancements to UT Promise), improving transfer articulation and time-to-market for new academic programs in coordination with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), increasing research advocacy and commercialization efforts, expanding nontraditional credentials and employer-driven upskilling, and creating a cloud-based student information system to unify student data across campuses.

Boyd noted several numerical targets and metrics under consideration: raising total research expenditures toward a higher target from the current $524 million; increasing nonfederal research funding share; achieving additional state and federal research awards; and accelerating capital projects with a system goal of approximately $6 billion in projects started or completed by 2030. He also announced that systemwide dashboards and implementation teams will be created so trustees and campus leaders can track progress.

Trustees asked questions about KPI granularity and campus-level variation. Jamie Woodson and others urged that student success be explicitly stated as a priority and that KPIs allow drill-down to campus and program levels; trustees also discussed the role of undergraduate research in retention and the value of measuring employer satisfaction for workforce initiatives.

Votes at a glance: The board approved a motion to adopt the fiscal-year 2026-27 operating budget appropriations request for specialized units (moved and seconded on the floor; the chair called for the voice vote, which passed with —Aye— and no opposition stated). The board also approved the consent agenda — including minutes, committee assignments, the 2026 schedule, and institutional reports — by voice vote after no items were pulled for discussion.

Why it matters: The strategic plan would shape systemwide priorities for access, workforce alignment, research investment and capital spending over the next five to ten years; KPIs and the planned dashboards will provide the board and campuses a common framework for measuring progress and allocating system support.

What—s next: Boyd requested feedback before finalizing benchmarks (tentatively in November) and returning to the board in February for approval of the final plan and KPI targets.