UT System Grand Challenges Summit Unites Experts to Tackle Tennessee’s Most Pressing Issues

MURFREESBORO – More than 370 individuals from the University of Tennessee System, state and local government, and various community organizations gathered for the two-day Grand Challenges Summit in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The summit connected experts, educators and community leaders across the state engaged in research or professional work contributing to solutions for the Grand Challenges. Grand Challenges represent complex, interconnected, large-scale issues that if left unaddressed would continue to create uncertain futures for Tennesseans.

This year’s summit focused on three key areas:

• Advancing K-12 education
• Strengthening rural communities
• Overcoming addiction

“Our goal for this summit was to facilitate opportunities and we accomplished that,” said John Lacey, systems strategist for the UT System and summit organizer. “These are opportunities for our university researchers to connect with colleagues across knowledge areas, and with community leaders and state agencies. We believe connections, relationships and collaborations lead to more holistic solutions and ideas that can ultimately create positive change for Tennesseans.”

“The summit has been great for bringing people together on the projects they’re working on for further collaboration across the state,” says Wendy Likes, dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing. “I had a UTK social worker talking to me, and someone from the audiology department, but they’re on the other side of the state…so the summit is allowing us to provide ideas and see how we can work together to improve health and reach citizens with the tools they need.”

Chrissy Hood, a governor-appointed member of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and a member of the Rural Disability Network, attended a session hosted by the Rural Assessment Intervention Library (RAIL) and quickly formed a partnership to provide RAIL resources with the Rural Disability Network.

“It’s amazing seeing the work RAIL is doing with school psychologists and counselors to help schools have the resources to better accommodate and support students’ behavior success,” said Hood. “Orange is trusted in Tennessee, so hearing everyone collaborating and using their resources to help the community is amazing.”

Closing out the summit Friday morning, keynote speaker Dr. Joe Sanfelippo, renowned author, speaker and former National Superintendent of the Year, spoke about the transformative impact of prioritizing people, showcasing how this approach fuels innovative solutions to today’s most pressing issues.

To view downloadable photo files from the summit, please click here.

Background on Grand Challenges

The Grand Challenges initiative was established in 2023 to address complex, large-scale issues that threaten the future of Tennesseans. These issues include the opioid addiction crisis, teacher shortages, low student performance in schools and scarcities in health and mental health care.

For more information about the Grand Challenges Grants, please visit the Grand Challenges website.

About the UT System

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski, Martin 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; enrolls about 62,000 students statewide; produces about 14,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 454,000 alumni around the world.