Haslam College aims for top 15
Dr. Lane Morris, dean of Haslam’s undergraduate program, and Bethany Fields, associate director of development with the college, described its growth and successes over the years.
“Rotary has been a wonderful philanthropic supporter of the college, and we’re grateful for our relationship with you,” Morris said. “… your service is loud and clear.”
Having been with Haslam College for 35 years, “I have enjoyed every moment of it,” he said of the college that has been operating since 1914.
“One of the things we’re excited about is being in the top 25 public undergraduate business schools, and that’s, quite frankly, an amazing accomplishment,” he said. “When you look at all the business schools that are literally in the world — there are about 15,000, 16,000 business schools — and realize where we’re … sitting in that big pile of business schools. It’s amazing.
“That’s the work of great faculty and amazing students and a great team environment,” he said and added the college has a goal of reaching the top 15 business schools by 2030.
“We’re having to fight our way and scratch our way to the top,” Morris said.
Still, “I cannot brag enough about the University of Tennessee,” he said. “We have amazing leadership at the campus level. … make our lives so much easier because they three work together.
“There are a lot of great things happening in Haslam College of Business, and rankings are one of them,” Morris said. “We work hard and let the rankings reflect that hard work.
“You can see tremendous growth of the college,” he said, noting the college’s enrollment has grown to about 9,900 undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students, making it the largest college on campus with about one third of the university’s student population. Freshman-to-sophomore retention is slightly above 94%, and more than 60% of graduates remain in Tennessee.
He said the average starting salary for the students is about $62,000, with honors students earning approximately 10 to 15 % more.
Fields outlined how to engage with Haslam College students, discussed event attendance, mentoring, hiring students as interns and participating in career fairs.
