University of Memphis

TENNESSEE COLLEGE TRIP STOP #6, February 2019

“Driven by Doing” is the motto for the 17,000 undergraduates (of which 12,000 are full-time students), and they are doing a lot of things on and around the U of Memphis campus. A relatively new president (M. David Rudd, 2014) and new laws allowing for an independent governing board to be established have given U of M the freedom to control the University's strategic direction.

U of M is working hard to become a high-intensity institution to attract even better faculty, grants, and an international reputation. A total of more than $500M is being invested on campus and in the University Neighborhood District, with a new state-of-the-art Basketball Center, the School of Music’s $40-million, 40,000-square-foot music center, and the Southern Gateway project (a $35 million pedestrian bridge and mall that will carry students over the railroad tracks so they are no longer late for class!) They have creative partnerships with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Shelby County Schools, FedEx Corporation, and Methodist Healthcare.

U of M is primarily a commuter campus that serves the region of Memphis (only 10% are from out-of-state; 40% of freshmen live on campus; 14% of all students live on campus).

Reasons an out-of-state student should consider U of M: their commercial Aviation program and their highly-regarded Logistics and Supply Chain Management program (FedEx has its headquarters here); Biomedical Engineering, Hospitality Management (Hilton’s world headquarters is located here), and Musical Theatre and Performance (they just recruited the U of Michigan’s director). While U of M lacks geographic diversity, they say you will meet people from all walks of life (age, socio-economic diversity) and build connections that will last a lifetime.