The office rebrands back to University Honors and moves to the Student Union. Dr. Pat Akos leads a transformation of Chancellor’s Honors to problem-solving curriculum with dedicated honors faculty.

Dr. Pat Akos and Dr. Fran Candeo join UT to lead University Honors temporarily located in the Student Union. The Haslam Leader Scholars program focuses on Tennessee and the Chancellors Honors Program moves to a human-centered design curriculum.

In 2020, Honors & Scholars joined the newly created Division of Student Success in March under the leadership of Vice Provost Amber Williams, welcoming a new Associate Vice Provost and Director Ron Kalafsky in July.

In Fall 2017, Honors & Scholars began welcoming students into four distinct programs, designed to appeal to different sets of high-achieving students. In addition to the Chancellor’s Honors Program and the Haslam Scholars Program, students began matriculating into the Honors Leadership Program, which focuses on leadership development and experiential learning, and the 1794 Scholars Program, a two-year enrichment program based on the Volunteer Experience.

The academic profile of UT students has dramatically increased since the addition of the HOPE Scholarship, and as a result, the academic profile of Honors students has changed. The Chancellor’s Honors Program has also continued to grow, so in 2015 under the leadership of Dr. Tim Hulsey work began on the development of new honors

Haslam Scholars Program began in 2008, thanks to generous gifts from Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Jim and Natalie Haslam. Created to cultivate outstanding scholars in a cohort setting, HSP allows students to enjoy an exclusive curriculum, a fully paid sophomore study abroad experience, and internship opportunities across the state of Tennessee.

In 2006, the University Honors Program changed its name to the Chancellor’s Honors Program. Students were required to complete a first-year honors seminar and a sophomore level honors seminar, in addition to departmental honors courses and a senior project. At this point, the program employed four full-time staff members and accepted about 200 students a year.

Under Dr. Broadhead, the University Honors Program became more structured. Honors seminars and a capstone requirement were added and the living and learning community was created. Due to funding, the Whittle Scholars Program was replaced by the Oldham Scholars Program which included a domestic travel experience. The Oldham Scholars Program lasted about eight years.

Under Director Bruce Wheeler and at the request of the university administration, the program grew and expanded to include all Chancellor’s Scholarship (Neyland, Bonham, Roddy, Holt) recipients. When Dr. Tom Broadhead assumed the Director position in 1994, the program had about 150 students. Under his leadership, the program continued to grow, in part by the addition of the Bicentennial and African-American Achiever Scholars. When Dr. Broadhead left the program in 2003, the University Honors Program had about 600 students.

After three years, Dr. Becker chose to return to the faculty and the program was taken up by Dr. Bruce Wheeler. He hired additional staff and established a long-time residence in Melrose Hall, which included a student lounge and computer lab. Today, the offices are located in the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.