Book tells the story of the takeover of UT Southern

On the third anniversary of the University of Tennessee’s acquisition of Martin Methodist College, UT Press published “University of Tennessee Southern: An Institution’s Rebirth.”

“In our careers, we make few decisions that have lasting effects on others,” UT President Randy Boyd said in the book’s foreword. “The University of Tennessee’s acquisition of Martin Methodist College proved to be one such decision and was another step forward in making this decade the best in UT’s history.”

In the book, authors Mark La Branche, chancellor emeritus of UT Southern, and Jennifer Sicking, director of publications for the UT System and editor-in-chief of Our Tennessee magazine, describe the steps taken to merge Martin Methodist College, a faith-based institution, with the University of Tennessee System. Faculty and staff share their thoughts, concerns, and preparations for integrating the two institutions of higher learning with a shared passion for expanding educational opportunities for Tennesseans.

“University of Tennessee Southern: The Rebirth of an Institution” can be ordered from utpress.org.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Pulaski and Memphis, the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county, and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT System manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership, has more than 58,000 students statewide, produces about 13,000 new graduates each year, and represents more than 445,000 alumni around the world.