Division of Student Life

Beth Davis

  • Not the Principal’s Office: A Restorative Approach to Conduct Violations

    Do the next right thing after a mistake has been made. That’s the core belief that guides Student Conduct and Community Standards in their work with students facing conduct violations or investigations. “At UT, the conduct process is educational in nature and centered around student development,” says Amanda Samsel, director of the 11-person team. “Staff…

  • Welcome Week Means More Than You Know

    Rachel Moore, Information Sciences ’26 Each semester, Welcome Week infuses students with a sense of belonging and connection. For those who feel a little different, this can be truly transformative. My early childhood was spent isolated in homeschool, and the long-awaited transition to a classroom setting brought bullying and depression. Decades later, as a first-generation…

  • Follow Your Heart: How Innovation Funding is Helping Students Manage Stress

    Follow Your Heart: How Innovation Funding is Helping Students Manage Stress

    Students are the heartbeat of the University of Tennessee, and now, thanks to Innovation Award funding and HeartMath technologies, those heartbeats are unlocking new ways to manage stress and regulate emotions. In 2022, the Division of Student Life launched the Innovation Awards, providing one-time funding to support groundbreaking initiatives that enhance the student experience. One…

  • Breaking Through Financial Barriers: The Power of UT’s Basic Needs Emergency Fund

    When Jayden Tillery of Columbia, Tennessee, arrived at UT, he could not have imagined what Rocky Top would mean to him four years later. A business analytics major graduating in May 2025, Tillery chose UT for its endless opportunities and believed that anything was possible on this campus for him if he kept up his…

  • Everything Vols Need and Nothing They Don’t: Transitioning Our Digital Communication Strategy for a Streamlined User Experience

    Everything Vols Need and Nothing They Don’t: Transitioning Our Digital Communication Strategy for a Streamlined User Experience

    Over the past few decades, as with everywhere in our society, the amount of content on UT websites exploded exponentially. This rapid growth kept pace with our competitors and was best practice at the time. But as more and more engagement with campus audiences has shifted, UT websites are now the university’s primary marketing tool.…

  • No Guessing: How Data Drives Decisions for Campus Recreation

    No Guessing: How Data Drives Decisions for Campus Recreation

    What does it mean to maximize the student experience at UT? For RecSports, this means carefully collecting data that drives a strategic and agile approach to programs, spaces, and supporting the overall health and well-being of every student. RecSports serves students, faculty, and staff by providing a wide variety of programs and well-maintained facilities for…

  • Summer Stride: Reflections on a Summer of Personal and Professional Growth

    Summer Stride: Reflections on a Summer of Personal and Professional Growth

    I was sitting in the fourth row of a large lecture hall in Omaha, Nebraska when someone tapped me on the shoulder. “Are you from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville? I noticed your nametag. Your university is doing some incredible work that we have tried to mirror.” Over the next few days of the conference,…

  • Undergraduate Research Inquiries Spark Enhanced Mental Health

    Each spring, select students at the University of Tennessee prepare to share semesters’ worth of research at the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA). Students gather to present their hard work and dedication and share answers to their research questions with the university community. In April 2024, among a sea of 1,055 student…

  • Campus Partnerships Increase Accessibility through Student Disability Services

    During the past year, Student Disability Services has explored several avenues for expanded student support. Collaboration with other university units and student input has led to three new initiatives to help all Vols reach their full potential on campus. Kurzweil Expansion The office has expanded the availability of Kurzweil, one of the most popular digital…

  • The Road to Commencement: Paved with Resilience and Community

    Content Warning: The following story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please seek help. You are not alone. If you are a UT student, faculty, or staff in need of assistance, call or text 865-974-HELP (4357). When Bri Swindell (‘24) enrolled at the University of Tennessee in…