The Be One UT values were created—with faculty, staff and student input—to define what UT is and should strive toward in the next decade. Since its announcement by UT System President Randy Boyd in March 2021, we have enjoyed seeing how each individual implements these values into their work. We asked employees across the state to share what Be One UT value resonates with them.
Patricia Burks-Jelks, UTSI
What is your title?
Director for Human Resources; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer; Compliance
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
For over 30 years
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
I love Be One UT because it fosters collaboration and cohesiveness amongst UT campuses and institutes – working together. This slogan itself begins with “Be” which is an action word, an expectation. In terms of the value that resonates with me most, I love “transparent and trusted.” I recently won the UT President’s Award for this value. I feel that fostering integrity through openness, accountability and stewardship helps us create the kind of environment, culture and context for who UT is and should be.
Tyler Cox, UTS
What is your title?
Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Assistant Athletic Director
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
Since July 1, 2021. I was an employee with Martin Methodist College since 2014.
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
I love the mentality of no matter the campus, big or small, we are all mission focused on ensuring student success. The value that most resonates with me is “bold and impactful.” As UT Southern was brought into the UT System, it took a bold move to add a new school into the system. It had been over 50 years since an addition to the UT System occurred. The impact on the southern middle Tennessee region and any student who enrolls at UTS can create generational changes.
Jonathan Ruth, UTSA
What is your title?
Change Management Co-Lead, DASH Project and Team Leader, Department of Technology
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
Almost 19 years
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
I really appreciate the unifying nature of these values. While we know each campus and institute brings its own strengths and uniqueness to our statewide system, the Be One UT values give us all something to rally behind together. A shared vision is a powerful tool that can shape our culture for years to come. Personally, I think about my role as one of the two change management leads on the DASH project, “transparent and trusted” certainly resonates as we strive to provide clear, concise and timely communication about the project to all our stakeholders.
Beth Hall Davis, UTIA
What is your title?
Editor/Writer
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
Almost a decade
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
Time waits for no one. Using my time efficiently and effectively is important to me, both in my work at UT and in my roles as a wife, mother, volunteer and friend. This means that “excel in all we do” is the Be One UT value that most resonates with me. Continually asking how we can do our collective work better, with greater impacts and lower costs, keeping in mind what is best for Tennessee, will always be time well spent. The application is different for each campus or unit. However, the goal of excellence remains the same throughout UT. We have both an opportunity and an obligation to students, parents and the people of Tennessee to excel in all we do, aiming for continuous improvement and outstanding performance as we serve Tennessee with education, discovery and outreach.
Crystal Walker, UTHSC
What is your title?
Assistant Professor in the UTHSC College of Nursing
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
I have been at the UT Health Science Center since 2009. I was a student from 2009-2016. I have been on faculty since 2016.
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
Be One UT is the perfect way to share our core values as a system and helps to ignite our purpose and commitment to the organization and the communities that we serve. The value that resonates most with me is the ‘B’ for being Bold and Impactful. In the UTHSC College of Nursing, our fearless leader, Dean Wendy Likes, has always encouraged us to think big and tackle grand challenges. We recently took on the challenge of developing an innovative approach to serve underserved populations, and we were awarded a $3.9 million grant from HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) to develop a mobile health unit that will provide primary and specialty care to rural communities and expose our baccalaureate and doctoral students to rural health care. I’m proud to be part of a system and a college that believes in being bold and impactful, because this value has inspired us and will continue to guide us in making a difference in the lives of the people we serve.
Elisha Hodge, IPS
What is your position title?
MTAS Legal Consultant
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
I have been a UT employee for almost eight years. I was hired in October 2014.
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
I love that the Be One UT values are inclusive of everything that the University of Tennessee should be as the state’s flagship land grant university. I believe that the values are representative of what we as faculty, staff, students and friends of the University must be in order for UT to be an employer of choice and a highly sought-after university. While each of the Be One UT values resonate with me, the one that resonates the most is “excel in all we do.” UT having a culture that promotes, supports and celebrates excelling in all the positive that we do, is critical in my opinion. Once that value in anchored in our community, each of the other values will be also. We cannot excel in all that we do without being bold, impactful, transparent, trusted, visionary, innovative, nimble, united, connected and embracing diversity.
Moira Bindner, UTK
What is your position title?
Communications and Customer Service Manager, Parking & Transit Services
How long have you been a part of the UT System?
I joined UT Knoxville in January 2016.
What do you love about Be One UT and what value resonates most with you?
When I interviewed at UT, someone said that parking is one of the top five pain points on a college campus. I look at my role as, “How can our team be part of the solution?” so the Be One UT value that resonates for me is collaboration. I work with hundreds of campus partners, the city of Knoxville, and have created a network of grassroots parking liaisons who we keep informed of the latest issues to impact mobility at UT. We work behind the scenes to assist with logistics so we can have amazing events and people can get to where they need to be. Strengthening and maintaining relationships and opportunities to collaborate and problem-solve make all the difference.
Submit what Be One UT value you incorporate into your day-to-day work. We will pick some submissions to appear in the next issue of For Your Benefit!
Tags: UT System
