Fall Advisory Board Meeting Focuses on Gratitude for the Past and Present, Excitement for the Future

The Health Sciences Advisory Board honored the university's partnership with Alliance Healthcare Services. Chancellor Peter Buckley presented Alliance's Chief Executive Officer Laurie Powell with a plaque in recognition of the partnership.

During its fall meeting Friday, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Advisory Board honored a vital partner in mental health care in Memphis, received exciting news about the fiscal year 2025 preliminary financial results, and heard an update on the new $350 million College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building proposed for the Memphis campus.

Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, opened the final board meeting for 2025 paying tribute to past and present leaders of the university. He expressed thanks for the generous philanthropic support from members of the Legacy Society, who had gathered in Memphis the previous evening for a tribute beautifully hosted by the university's advancement team.

He recognized the leadership of Chancellor Emeritus Steve Schwab, MD; of Judge Mark Norris, who championed the legislation establishing the UT Advisory Boards; and of former UT Health Sciences Advisory Board member Phil Wenk, DDS, the inaugural board chair, for his selfless leadership and continued support as Special Advisor to the Chancellor.

In thanking the current board members for their leadership, Chancellor Buckley also spoke enthusiastically of the many new leaders who have joined the university. He pointed out the university's recent accomplishments, including enrollment growth, R1 research status, and the recent $12 million grant to strategically serve as the Tennessee Rural Health Care Center of Excellence.

"We have a great team, and we have lots to be grateful for," the chancellor said.

"We have now a tradition where we begin this meeting by recognizing partners that we're grateful for all across the state of Tennessee, and we have done that over the last year," he continued. "Today is no exception."

The board honored the university's partnership with Alliance Healthcare Services, which is the state's largest mental health crisis care provider. The partnership involves delivery of care, as well as training for Department of Psychiatry residents in community mental health care.

"It's often said that a nation is measured by the kindness to the most disadvantaged people in society, and very often that's people with mental health problems, whether they're addiction problems or whether they're primary problems," Chancellor Buckley said. "We're incredibly grateful and fortunate for the opportunity to collaborate and partner with Alliance Healthcare Services, which is a premier service, not just in Tennessee, but in the country."

Chancellor Buckley presented Alliance Healthcare's Chief Executive Officer Laurie Powell with a plaque that read, "in recognition of remarkable compassion and excellence in mental health services and tireless advocacy on behalf of the mental health of the citizens in Memphis and Tennessee." Powell was joined at the meeting by Alliance Healthcare Board Chair Quintin Robinson and board member Marty Regan.

"With partnerships, you can really create new programs just by meeting together as leaders," Powell said. The organization opened a new Crisis Wellness Center on Broad Avenue in Memphis in February and is preparing to open a facility for children and youth in the spring.

Powell emphasized that training the next generation of mental health providers is a priority at Alliance Healthcare. She said careers in community mental health are professionally gratifying because they make a difference in helping to reduce distress and disability among vulnerable populations.

"I love this city," Powell said. "I love this community."

Following the special recognition, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Raaj Kurapati updated the board on the university's finances for the financial year ended June 30. He said, after working through some significant financial challenges, "we see ourselves in a much more stable and financially sound position having substantially addressed an internal deficit and positioning the institution for financial stability."

Executive Vice Chancellor Raaj Kurapati said the university is in a more stable financial position to support future growth.

He recognized and thanked UT Health Sciences colleagues for their collective efforts and for their support in achieving such a noteworthy success, which now puts the organization in a place of strength for future growth and investment.

Moving to the College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building, Kurapati said university leaders have focused on making the case with executive and legislative branches of government, business, and community leaders for the need for the new building and its vital contribution to ensuring the health care workforce needs across Tennessee.

It is now the No. 1 capital project for the UT System, he proudly said. "Our hope is that with your support and the support of all the leaders we have shared information with this will be funded in the state budget this year." In a show of support for the proposed building, 100% of the Advisory Board and the Health Sciences Executive Leadership team have made a financial commitment to the project.

Under Kurapati's outstanding leadership and with guidance from an expert team, the building will allow for a 30% expansion of the physician class size from 175 to 225 and doubling the physician assistant class from 30 to 60 students per year.

Additionally, the new space will expand offerings in the College of Health Professions and College of Graduate Health Sciences, strengthen research capacity, and generate sustained benefits to statewide health outcomes.

Kurapati also highlighted findings from an economic impact study of the building done in collaboration with the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce that showed it will have a significant effect on the local and state economy. It will generate $609 million in economic output, 3,995 jobs, and $288 million in labor income during the construction period. The building will allow for $364 million in gross domestic product contribution and $75 million in tax revenues, 2,622 in construction and onsite jobs, 362 indirect jobs with suppliers and vendors, and 1,012 jobs as a ripple effect.

The proposed new College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building on the Memphis campus will have significant impact on the local and state economy, a well as on health care outcomes for Tennessee.

Programming for the building was done by HOK, national leaders in health sciences facility design. HOK, along with local architects brg3s, have been selected as the design partners. The local company brg3s has done several projects at UT Health Science Center, including the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation, and is currently working on the renovation of the Gross Anatomy Lab on the Memphis campus.

Kurapati showed a tentative timeline for the proposed project that had construction starting in late 2026 and completion in mid-2029, should funding be approved. He pointed out with gratitude the amendment included in the 2025 state budget that allowed the university to allocate $10 million to launch the planning and design of the building and has enabled the impressive momentum on the project, shortening the construction timeline by 14 months.