Leaders at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have made plans to keep the school’s audiology and speech pathology department, officials announced Tuesday.
The department was scheduled to be cut from the UT campus in Knoxville because administrators were responding to an $11 million cut in the state’s higher education budget.
“The university is committed to keeping the clinic open and in Knoxville,” said UT Interim Chancellor Jan Simek. “Details are still being worked out, but UT will continue to operate the clinic and the academic program.”
A group with representatives from the UT system president’s office, the UT Knoxville chancellor’s office, the College of Arts and Sciences and the audiology and speech pathology department have made a plan to be announced in early September that will allow the program to continue operation, officials said.
Dr. Simek said the department will be run under a new business model and no longer will be overseen by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The proposed phase-out of the program was criticized by Knoxville residents, students and faculty of the program.
The recommendation to eliminate the program was tabled at the June UT Board of Trustees meeting in order to conduct more research on the program’s viability.
UT President John Petersen said he hopes to make recommendations regarding the audiology and speech pathology department at the UT Board of Trustees meeting in October.
“As we move forward, our discussion remains focused on the economic realities facing all our campuses and institutes,” he said. “A new affiliation and a new business plan for the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology will provide shared efficiencies and new opportunities for strategic partnerships.”
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