Tennessee Tech achieved a record-breaking 2,644 graduates this year as the university continues to see rapid growth in its research funding and academic rankings.
President Phil Oldham said the graduation total represents a 10 percent increase over the previous year and is the highest number in the history of the institution. Oldham said the university is also approaching $50 million in sponsored research, a figure that has more than doubled over the last five years.
Oldham said the university is expanding its technological footprint with the Genesis supercomputer located at a research facility in Crossville. Oldham said the computer is capable of 13 quadrillion calculations per second and is expected to rank among the top 200 supercomputers in the world once fully built out this fall.
“The bottom line is it’s really fast, extremely fast,” Oldham said. “In fact, maybe the best way to describe it is once it’s fully built out this fall, it will probably when the next rankings come out, it should be in the top 200 supercomputers in the world.”
Oldham said Tennessee Tech was recently named the number one public university in Tennessee by Money Magazine. Oldham said the university is currently the only four-star public institution in the state according to the magazine’s new rating system.
“This is significant, it’s a significant achievement,” Oldham said. “And it speaks to the fact that we’re able to produce more and more students prepared to face the challenges of that uncertain future in their lives.”
Oldham said that while the “sticker price” of the university is the third highest in Tennessee, the actual financial impact on students remains low.
“In terms of student loan debt, we’re at the bottom,” Oldham said. “We actually have the lowest student loan debt on graduation.”
Oldham said the university is currently undergoing its largest capital development period ever, with projects including the J.J. Oakley Innovation Center and Residence Hall and the renovation of Tucker Stadium. Vice President Aikens said country artist Dustin Lynch is confirmed to perform for the upcoming “College Town Kickoff” event as the university prepares for the fall semester.
“Just like our recent Tech graduates, the future of Tennessee Tech is exciting and seemingly limitless but yet to be determined,” Oldham said. “We haven’t realized it yet, there’s still more work to do.”