History of the College
1826--The UT Board of Trustees purchases "The Hill."
1838--Joseph Estabrook, a man of strong scientific interest and background, becomes the president of East Tennessee College. Estabrook hires a group of distinguished professors to provide instruction in chemistry, geology, mineralogy, trigonometry and civil engineering.
1877--The college is organized into three schools: Agriculture and the Organic Arts; Mechanic Arts, Mining and Engineering; and Languages and Fine Arts.
1879--The Tennessee State Legislature officially names the institution The University of Tennessee and authorizes the granting of advanced degrees in both civil and mining engineering.
1898--Estabrook Hall is constructed initially to house the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts. The building is currently home to the Engineering Fundamentals Division and the Office of Engineering Diversity Programs.
1926--The Cooperative Engineering Program (now the Office of Professional Practice) is established in the College of Engineering. The program offers students an opportunity to combine both academic study and professional work experience.
1930--Ferris Hall is built, named after Dr. Charles E. Ferris, the first dean of the College of Engineering and founder of the COE's Cooperative Engineering Program. The building currently houses the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
1940-- Dr. Nathan Dougherty, UT alumnus and football hero, becomes dean of the College of Engineering. Dougherty initiates an exciting new era at the college.
1949--Perkins Hall is constructed, named after Dr. Charles A. Perkins, chair of the engineering department before it was established as a separate college in 1877. The building currently houses all COE Administrative offices as well as the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
1951--The college begins a doctoral program that offers a specialization in chemical engineering.
1957--A doctoral program in metallurgy is added to support the growing involvement with the university in cooperative projects with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn.
1963--The Dougherty Engineering Building is constructed, named for Dr. Nathan Dougherty, former dean of the COE. The facility is currently home to several academic departments: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; and Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering.
1973--The college establishes the Minority Engineering Scholarship Program (MESP) in order to increase the number of African-American students enrolled in engineering studies. This highly successful program is re-named the Diversity Engineering Scholarship Program (DESP) in 2000 and continues to provide financial and scholastic support to hundreds of minority students each year.
1973--The university's power plant, built in 1925, is renovated to house the Department of Nuclear Engineering. In 1988, the building is named Pasqua Hall in honor of Dr. Pietro F. Pasqua, the first head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
1983--University of Tennessee alumnus Dr. William T. Snyder (BS/ME '54) becomes COE dean after thirteen years as department head in Engineering Science and Mechanics. Under Snyder's guidance, a new research center is established, the Center for Materials Processing, a state-designated Center of Excellence.
1997--The Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF) is constructed, a $25 million, 120,000 square-foot building that houses laboratories and classrooms for both the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.
2000--Dr. Jerry Stoneking succeeds Snyder as dean. Stoneking's tenure as dean is marked by the establishment of the Engineering Fundamentals Division, a unique freshman engineering program that provides hands-on learning in addition to academic engineering courses. Stoneking died unexpectedly in November 2001. Dr. Fred Tompkins, COE Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, is named as interim dean.
2003--Dr. Way Kuo, former associate vice chancellor and executive associate dean of engineering at Texas A & M University, is named COE dean. Kuo's tenure is marked by increases in both enrollment and research funding. Kuo leaves the college in May, 2008 to become president of the City University of Hong Kong.
2005--Funding is approved by the Tennessee State Legislature for the reconstruction of Estabrook Hall, built in 1898. Structural problems in the building prevent renovations, and the funding is directed toward a new Department of Civil and Environmental/Industrial and Information Engineering Building.
2005--Dr. Min Kao, UT-COE alumnus in electrical engineering and CEO of Garmin Ltd., commits to a transformational gift of $17.5 million to the college, with $12.5 million designated to construct a new, state-of-the-art building to house the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
2006--In partnership with Siemens Medical Solutions Medical Imaging, the COE establishes the Scintillation Materials Research Center (SMRC), a new $4 million center located in the Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF). SMRC specializes in the growth and characterization of scintillation materials, which are used in a diversity of applications.
2007--The college breaks ground on the new Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building on May 14, 2007. Construction begins in the fall of 2007.
2009--After serving as interim dean from May, 2008 to March, 2009, Dr. Wayne Davis, former Associate Dean of Research and Technology for the COE, is named Dean of the College of Engineering.