UT has a strong reputation for environmental research, with an ecology program that draws students from all over the country. Nevertheless, its attention to its own backyard has been erratic. While UT's stewardship of its built and natural environment has improved in recent years, this improvement has been minor and fragmented. For example, although a waste recycling program has been instituted, historic buildings and neighborhood residences have been demolished and the pedestrian campus envisaged in the 1994 Master Plan is still a dream, even as some other universities have moved decisively away from catering to automobiles. Like other public and private institutions, UT must adhere to environmental regulations.
Regulatory compliance is only a starting point for environmental stewardship, however.
At other urban universities such as UT Chattanooga, aggressive measures are being taken to improve both the campus and its relationship to adjacent neighborhoods. Many corporations, including those that provide advice to UT, have formal environmental policies. So too have some Carnegie Research I universities such as the Georgia Institute of Technology. As UT embarks on its partnership with Battelle to manage Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University's environmental stewardship offers extraordinary opportunities. Other universities that manage national laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy, such as the University of California at Berkeley, Iowa State University, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, have programs to address environmental health and safety concerns.