MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin’s yearlong 125th anniversary celebration got underway Oct. 10 with a formal ceremony in Phillip W. Watkins Auditorium on the main campus.
Those in attendance for the ceremony were UT System President Randy Boyd, Chancellor Yancy Freeman Sr. and his cabinet members, local and state government officials and former UT Martin chancellors Dr. Philip Conn (1998-2000), Dr. Nick Dunagan (2001-07), Dr. Robert Smith (2015-17) and Dr. Keith Carver (2017-23).
Boyd led off a series of speakers and talked about several “firsts” involving UT Martin, including being the first campus incorporated into the University of Tennessee, officially making UT a “system.”
He also recognized former chancellor Dr. Margaret N. Perry, as the first UTM graduate to serve as UTM chancellor from 1985 to 1997. Perry was also the first woman appointed to head a four-year public university in Tennessee. Most recently, Freeman became UT Martin’s first African-American chancellor.
Freeman told the audience how the university had faced many challenges, including world wars, economic downturns and global pandemics to achieve what it is today. He said that UT Martin’s story is one of perseverance, purpose and of people believing in the power of education.
Freeman added the university is positioned to address new challenges, opportunities and possibilities that lie ahead.
Dr. Chandra Alston, former vice chancellor for human resources at the UT Health Sciences Center and a 1991 UT Martin alumna, spoke to the university’s past, talking about her experiences at UT Martin and how the university affected her education and her life.
Ashlee Mallon, a junior finance major from Dresden and the student trustee for the UT Board of Trustees, and Dr. Sandy Mehlhorn, Faculty Senate president and professor of agricultural engineering, spoke about the university’s present, including their experiences as a student and faculty member, respectively, and what UT Martin has meant to them.
Art Sparks of Union City, the chair of the UTM Advisory Board and a 1976 UTM alumnus, spoke on the university’s future and goals, including its enrollment growth over the last two years. UT Martin had an 8% enrollment increase in fall 2024 and a 7.9% increase in fall 2025, currently at 8,101 students, the second-highest UTM enrollment ever.
On Oct. 2, 1900, the cornerstone was laid for the administration building, the institution’s first building, and on Sept. 2, 1901, the first Hall-Moody Institute classes were held.
The institute would become the Hall-Moody Normal School in 1917 and Hall-Moody Junior College in 1922. In 1927, the state assumed ownership of the campus and the name was changed to UT Junior College before becoming the University of Tennessee Martin Branch in 1951 and, finally, the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1967.
Several events are planned for the yearlong 125th anniversary celebration. Learn more about the 125th celebration at alumni.utm.edu/celebration.
(Photo – 125th KICKOFF – University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd provides remarks at the opening ceremony of UT Martin’s 125th anniversary celebration Oct. 10 in the Philip W. Watkins Auditorium. Also speaking at the event were (seated, l-r) Ashlee Mallon, student trustee on the UT Board of Trustees and a junior finance major at UT Martin; Bud Grimes, vice chancellor for communication and marketing, who emceed the event; Dr. Sandy Mehlhorn, Faculty Senate president and professor of agricultural engineering; Chancellor Yancy Freeman Sr.; and Art Sparks, chair of the UTM Advisory Board. Dr. Chandra Alston, former vice chancellor for human resources at the UT Health Sciences Center and a UTM alumna, also spoke at the program.)
