The Baker Center will host UT Lecturer Mr. Joe Jarret for coffee and a light discussion about the course of his public sector career and the unfortunate experience of dealing with employee suicides, homicides, and deaths from natural disasters. He will also touch on the creation of a "compassionate culture" within one's organization. 

This event will take place on Friday, August 30, from 10:00 to 11:00 am in Toyota Auditorium and is free and open to the public.  

UTK Professor, Dr. Daniel Simberloff, will be presenting "Managing Biological Invasions: Progress, Problems, and Polemics." He is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with research focusing on causes, consequences, and management of biological invasions.

This event will take place on Thursday, September 5 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm in Toyota Auditorium and is free and open to the public.  

Dr. Tarek Masoud, professor of public policy and Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, will be addressing the outcomes Western intellectuals and politicians act upon fears of Muslim entrance into Western nations. 

On Tuesday, September 17th, celebrate Constitution Day with the Center's Leadership and Governance program. We will co-host a panel discussion on the 19th Amendment alongside the College of Law, Department of Political Science, and Phi Beta Kappa. The panel, moderated by Dr. John Scheb of UTK Political Science, will include Assistant Professor Emily Schilling, UTK Political Science; Professor Joan Heminway, UTK law;  and Stephanie Slater, Clerk for TN Court of Appeals.
This event will take place from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in Toyota Auditorium and is free and open to the public.  

As part of the Baker Cafe series, join Associate Director Dr. Katie Cahill for coffee and a light discussion about voting in Tennessee. She will share data on county voter turnout as well as make projections for 2020.

This event will take place on Friday, September 20 from 10:00 to 11:00 am in Room 202 and is free and open to the public.  

Join the Baker Center, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, and the College of Arts and Sciences as we co-host Dr. Hugh Possingham of the Nature Conservancy and University of Queensland. He will discuss collaboration efforts to tackle global challenges and to advance a shared conservation agenda and his work at the Nature Conservancy.

This event will take place on Monday, September 23 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm in the Toyota Auditorium and is free and open to the public.  

Celebrate National Voter Registration Day by learning how to vote! The Baker Center is partnered with UT Libraries as part of the VolsVote initiative. On National Voter Registration Day, September 24, VolsVote will host a workshop on the voting process. Ask questions about the voting process, find sample ballots, learn where to find election information, and more. 

This event will take place in John C. Hodges Library, 209. There will be workshops from 4:15 to 4:45 pm; 5:40-6:10 pm; and 7:05 to 7:35 pm.

Dr. Katie Cahill, Associate Director of the Baker Center, is conducting a study to investigate the health and social well-being of Appalachian communities. 

The conclusions of the study will be provided to state-level leadership in the Appalachian Region, to the Appalachian Regional Commission, to non-profit organizations, and be the topic of a public forum at the Howard H. Baker Center Jr. Center for Public Policy about policy changes that can support rural healthcare services. 

Read more about the study here. 

The Appalachian Leadership Institute is a comprehensive leadership and economic development training opportunity for people who live and/or work in Appalachia and are passionate about helping their communities thrive.

Appalachian Leadership Institute Fellows, lead by UTK professors, Dr. Katie Cahill and Dr. Tim Ezzell, will participate in a extensive training curriculum developed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy; Tuskegee University; and Collective Impact. 

Read more about this project here.

Dr. Charles Sims and Dr. Scott Holladay, in collaboration with Chien-fei Chen and Dr. Islam El-adaway (Missouri University of Science and Technology), will use the grant to investigate how distributed energy resources (DER), like rooftop photovoltaic systems and battery storage, are influencing electric utilities. 

This project will provide new knowledge about when and where utilities should make new investments in generation and transmission, how these investments will influence DER adoption, and who bears the costs of increased DER penetration.  The project will also identify several policy recommendations for smoothing the transition from a centralized electrical grid to a grid with greater penetration of DER.

Dr. Jon Ring has been appointed Interim Director of Student Programs for the Baker Center. His academic interests are in international relations, comparative politics, and formal models. His research addresses norm diffusion, the process by which ideas and policies are spread from one country to another. His current work focuses on various human rights policy areas such as personal integrity rights protections, quotas for women’s political representation, and LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws.

Contact him with questions regarding all student programing at the Center.