KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee at Knoxville won’t be outsourcing facilities management services under an option offered by Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration.
In a message posted Tuesday on the university’s website, Chancellor Beverly J. Davenport said the decision is due to the university’s extensive financial analyses, the complexity of the work done on the research-intensive campus, and its commitment to East Tennessee’s economy and its workforce.
Davenport wrote that the university ranks among the lowest in the Southeastern Conference in administrative and maintenance costs per square foot, and five-year projections indicate $3.3 million more in savings.
Haslam’s administration has awarded Chicago-based company real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle a statewide contract to pitch its services to individual higher education institutions.