KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee has named a new energy sciences graduate center after former Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Meeting in Knoxville on Friday, the UT board adopted the name the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education for the joint project between UT and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Bredesen pushed to strengthen the partnership between the university and the lab.
The center admitted its first class of 19 doctoral candidates in August. It has attracted top students in science and engineering and plans to recruit another 20 to 30 doctoral students each year.
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek made the request to name the center after Bredesen, noting the former governor’s creation of the governor’s chair program to recruit for research faculty.