Donde Plowman wants state flagship universities to seize the moment and take the lead in the national conversation about higher education.

“No one is better positioned than the land-grant universities to remind people why higher education matters,” she said.

Plowman, chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has led the state’s flagship land-grant research university since 2019. She was the guest speaker Thursday for the 2024 James F. Patterson Land-Grant University Lecture at The Ohio State University. 

The lecture honors former Board of Trustees member Jim Patterson and supports his mission for a vibrant university fulfilling its land-grant mission in an ever-changing world. The lecture brings to campus a prominent figure to speak to the range of challenges facing land-grant institutions. 

Plowman said the challenge universities face now is a sharp decline in confidence in higher education. 

“I hear the criticisms, you hear the criticisms. It’s usually the same three things: Universities are elitist, and they’re out of touch. Degrees are unattainable. They’re unaffordable, and they’re really not worth it anyway,” she said. “We spend our time on esoteric research for academic journals instead of for the … everyday people in the states we serve.”

Plowman said despite this, land-grant universities have a chance to change the narrative because of their connection to their communities. It begins with the more than 160-year-old mission started with the Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862 and the clear mandate of education, discovery and community engagement, she said.

Land-grant universities, often through county extension services, have built up deep and decades-long relationships and trust in the community.

“Finally, it’s a sense of pride and promise that the state’s land-grant university actually belongs to everyone. It’s the people’s university,” she said. “Ask the people in your communities what they think about higher education, and there’s a decent chance they’ll scoff at you. Ask them what they think about The Ohio State University, and they will beam at you.

“Volunteers is synonymous with Tennesseans. Buckeyes is just another word for Ohioans. That kind of identity and pride is enviable. These advantages are unique to land grants. They provide us opportunities to rise above the criticism we hear about the value of higher education.”

At Tennessee, Plowman is working to put her words into practice. She has overseen a 19% increase in enrollment, even as enrollment has dropped dramatically at many other universities. The university has also set new records in student retention, alumni giving, state support and research expenditures.

Plowman said land-grant universities need to continue to make college an affordable option for students and their families. They need to make sure students are completing their degrees and leaving with applicable skills and workforce-ready knowledge.

She said land-grant universities also lead with applied research.

“It’s how we learn about problems and then leverage our expertise and capabilities to solve them – from University of Tennessee faculty helping locate hidden graves with forensic anthropology to using AI to detect sepsis sooner,” she said.“From Ohio State, it’s faculty building better prosthetics for amputees, to developing new technology to detect wildfires. The discoveries we make improve the lives of Volunteers and Buckeyes and people everywhere.”

Land-grant universities were created by law to deliver a practical education to everyday citizens and to democratize knowledge, Plowman said. Now is the time to keep that commitment and act as leaders in higher education.

“The leadership that Ohioans need from you, Ohio State, looks different than the leadership that Tennesseans need from the University of Tennessee,” she said. “But whatever it looks like, this is the time to be ourselves, unapologetically ourselves. To respond to the criticisms … because this is the moment for land-grant universities to step up and change the narrative.”