The Tennessee General Assembly has set aside $165.5 million in its fiscal year 2025-26 budget for a new chemistry building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a groundbreaking scheduled for September and projected completion in 2029.
The much-anticipated project is the largest state investment ever funded for a single higher education project in Tennessee, and its impact will extend far beyond campus. UT ranks No. 2 for polymer science — a subset of chemistry — in the United States, and the chemical industry has invested more than $400 million in the state over the past six years, creating more than 2,000 jobs.
“I’m extremely proud of the state’s investment in modernizing our flagship university’s chemistry building,” said Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile. “Chemistry plays a crucial role in developing a skilled workforce for many high-demand careers, both here in our state and across the globe.”
More than 16,000 Tennesseans already work in the chemical industry, bringing in an average salary of $82,800 — 31% above the average of other manufacturing jobs in Tennessee.
“We thank Governor Bill Lee and the state General Assembly for their transformative support of the new chemistry building,” said College of Arts and Sciences Interim Executive Dean Robert Hinde.