Randy Boyd gets five more years as UT president. His priorities: More students and housing

Randy Boyd will add five more years to his tenure as the University of Tennessee System president, with plans to grow enrollment to record numbers while also addressing challenges related to the student housing supply.

While the priorities might seem counterintuitive ? growing population when housing is already hard enough ? Boyd is not shying away from the challenge to ensure the 2020s are the "greatest decade in the history of the university."

"It's the honor of my life to be able to serve in this role," Boyd said. "I'm a big believer in the word serendipity. Great things that happen to you that are unexpected, things that are better than you had planned. I never really expected to be in this role. The day that I said I would be willing to serve as the interim (president), that morning I woke up not ever thinking I would be the president of a university, let alone my alma mater, let alone the university that's the land grant of the state that I love.

"So to be able to get this opportunity to serve both my university and my state all at the same time is the greatest blessing I've ever had," he said.

With a unanimous vote by the UT System Board of Trustees at its annual meeting June 24, Boyd's role was extended through June 2030, five years on top of his existing agreement. He has held this position since 2018 and will once again not accept a salary (just a $10,000 stipend to cover health insurance costs).

The vote came just three months after Boyd expressed interest in another five-year term. Now that his extension is a reality, Boyd wants to increase enrolment across the system to 71,000 by 2030, which would mean enrolling 12,274 more students across the system's five schools.

UT's strategic plan, which establishes a long-term vision for the system, expires in 2025. Boyd will be tasked with revamping the plan and reassessing needs to reach student population goals.

Randy Boyd's main 2024 objectives for the University of Tennessee

In his performance review, Boyd named the following four topics as priorities for continuing to grow UT in 2024:

• Adding and updating student housing: More facilities and improvements to existing facilities are needed to accommodate the 58,726 students enrolled at UT schools, especially when considering the enrollment goal of 71,000 by 2030. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville entered a public-private partnership to build three dormitories by 2026, with plans to add room for 1,000 students each year. UT Chattanooga will build a new dormitory by fall 2027, as UT Martin and UT Southern are still developing strategies.

• Improving parking: The board will vote on parking changes for UT Knoxville, including tiered parking zones based on location. If those are approved, the university also will place parking restrictions on first-year students and will expand the class schedule to spread out the demand for parking spots. Other UT campuses might replicate these strategies.

• Resolving capital project constraints: UT works with the state to build new academic buildings. There are 1,012 building across UT campuses, with an average lifespan of 67 years. Roughly $3.4 billion is needed for capital outlay costs over the next 10 years, along with $900 million in maintenance costs alone.

• Maintaining Affordability: Considering inflation, UT has held tuition increases to a 0.8% average per year for five years. UT Promise, a last-dollar scholarship based on income, resulted in 47% of students graduating last year with zero debt. Boyd said UT will continue to make campuses accesible and affordable.

University of Tennessee numbers at a glance under Randy Boyd

UT has experienced record growth since Boyd stepped into his role in 2018, with enrollment growing from 50,810 his first year to 58,726 in fall 2023.

During that same time, the one-year retention rate grew 3.9% to 85.1% for fall 2023. The four-year graduation rate grew 5.9% to 49.6%, and the six-year graduation rate grew 3.7% to 64.8%.

Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Randy Boyd gets five more years as University of Tennessee president