An Organizational Structure of the University of Tennessee Systems-Level Administration

Can a university serve the needs of society and the individual without subserving one at the expense of the other? Can the mass receive its necessity while at the same time guaranteeing the individual his freedom? This was the subject and problem of the study, but it was confined to The University of Tennessee. Four broad areas were considered: (1) the educational program, (2) academic freedom, (3) governance, and (4) research and service. The purpose of the study was to examine the present system organization of The University of Tennessee and to suggest ways in which this system could be restructured to more effectively achieve the goals which were published in June 1968.

The procedures followed were to review the literature and research in the four areas noted above and to examine three innovative programs at the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, and the State University of New York, College of Old Westbury. This was followed by an examination of the present organization of The University of Tennessee systems organization, with structured interview detailing function as well as form. A suggested reorganization was presented which was intended to improve the means toward the desired end.

The study found that the systems organization of The University of Tennessee as of June 1970 was not structured to reach the published goals. The four areas studied need more support from system and from the campuses, and one step suggested as a means toward achieving these objectives was to reorganize the structure of the system. While the politicization of education was acknowledged, the danger of political control was stressed.