Matt Murray Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Los Alamos National Lab director to give talk at UT on Oct. 1

Posted at 11:33 am September 26, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Charles McMillan

Charles F. McMillan, nuclear physicist and director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, will give the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy’s annual Distinguished Global Security Lecture on October 1 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

McMillan will speak on “The Timeline of Technology” at 5:30 p.m. in the Toyota Auditorium at the Baker Center, 1640 Cumberland Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

McMillan’s lecture will look at how innovations from the previous century are being used to solve today’s national and global security, energy, and environmental issues. Then he’ll pose a question to policy makers: “Are we prepared for the policy needed in the 22nd century with the scientific and technical expertise we have today?” [Read more…]

UT report: State economy looking more robust as year end approaches

Posted at 10:17 am September 25, 2014
By University of Tennessee 1 Comment

Matt Murray

KNOXVILLE—More jobs. An unemployment rate that’s trending down. Increasing personal income.

Thanks to these gains, there is a positive ring to this fall’s Tennessee Business and Economic Outlook report prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“Tennessee’s economic outlook is very similar to the national outlook, with moderate to strong growth expected for the second half of the year and a continuation of growth through 2015,” said Matt Murray, associate director of CBER, who directed the report.

Job growth [Read more…]

Remembering Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator, Reagan chief of staff

Posted at 2:06 pm June 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Howard Baker

KNOXVILLE—Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator and founder of UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, died on Thursday, June 26. He was 88.

Baker earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in 1949. UT’s Baker Center was founded in 2003 as a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. Baker received the university’s first honorary doctorate in spring 2005.

“Our country has lost a great statesman and a great Tennessean,” UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said. “Senator Baker will live on in our hearts forever as a man who believed that government was to serve the people.”

Baker’s body will lie in state at the Baker Center at 1640 Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, June 30. His funeral will be on Tuesday, July 1, at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Tennessee, where he was born. Huntsville is in Scott County, north of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center, said the senator’s work will continue to influence students and inspire aspiring public servants for generations to come. [Read more…]

UT study: Lackluster growth in first quarter, but overall gains expected in 2014

Posted at 10:39 am May 30, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—An abnormally harsh winter led to lackluster economic growth the first quarter of 2014, but a dip in unemployment rates and expected increases in housing investments signal stronger gains for the remainder of the year.

The gross domestic product is expected to increase 2.4 percent this year as a whole, compared to 1.9 percent last year, according to the spring 2014 Tennessee Business and Economic Outlook released Friday at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The national unemployment rate will likely average 6.5 percent this year compared to 7.4 percent last year, the report shows. It is expected to decrease to 6 percent in 2015.

The study, prepared by UT’s Center for Business and Economic Research, predicts the direction of the state and national economies by examining many economic and fiscal factors and trends. [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Moniz to give lecture on energy, environment at UT on Friday

Posted at 11:52 am April 21, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ernest Moniz

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will give a lecture on energy and the environment at the University of Tennessee on Friday. It’s free and open to the public, a press release said.

Moniz will also talk about the U.S. Department of Energy and its activities in Tennessee, a press release said.

It’s the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, and it’s scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the UT College of Law, Room 132. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live here.

The College of Law is at at 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. in Knoxville. Paid public parking will be available in the Volunteer Hall Garage. A map of campus is available at utk.edu/maps. [Read more…]

UT report to governor: Economy to see stronger growth in 2014 and 2015

Posted at 9:59 am January 31, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Matt Murray

KNOXVILLE—After five years of sluggish recovery, the U.S. and Tennessee economies are poised for strong growth in 2014 and 2015.

Despite the slow pace of the recovery, many indicators—including an increase in consumer confidence, rallying stock market prices, and rising home prices—point to brighter growth prospects in the quarters ahead, according to the forecast in the 2014 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, released Friday.

The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, predicts the course of the state and national economies by examining many fiscal factors and trends.

Household net worth grew by almost 10 percent in 2013, surpassing its pre-recession level for the first time. [Read more…]

Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to lecture at UT

Posted at 11:58 am October 22, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw, one of America’s best-known journalists, will be in Knoxville on Nov. 13 to give the Baker Distinguished Lecture at the University of Tennessee.

Brokaw is a former anchor for NBC News, and he is also an author and special correspondent for NBC News. He will speak at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in the University Center Auditorium.

The lecture is presented by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. It is free and open to the public, but reservations must be made. Seats will be held only until 10 minutes before the event begins. Overflow seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in the Shiloh Room (Room 235). Visit this Web page to reserve a seat. [Read more…]

UT report: Economy shows signs of strength, finds ‘firm footing’

Posted at 6:00 am June 6, 2013
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—Falling unemployment rates, an increase in vehicle sales, and a long-awaited rebound in the residential housing market are all indications that the national and state economies are making a comeback.

Despite sequestration of federal spending and a payroll tax increase that have slowed consumer spending, the economy is poised for strong growth in both 2014 and 2015, according to the spring 2013 Tennessee Business and Economic Outlook released Wednesday.

The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, predicts the trajectory of the state and national economies by examining many economic and fiscal factors and trends. [Read more…]

Report: Slower economic growth in 2013, followed by increase in 2014

Posted at 11:55 am February 6, 2013
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—The U.S. and Tennessee economies continue to dig their way out from the Great Recession, but they will be digging at a slower pace this year than last.

The debate over the nation’s debt ceiling, the looming risk of sequestration of federal spending, and the payroll tax increase contribute to the slowdown in predicted gains, according to the forecast in the 2013 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, released today.

[Read more…]