University of Tennessee
Faculty Senate Legislative Task Force


The Legislative Task Force is an initiative to promote productive one-on-one discussion and collaboration between faculty members and legislators in the state of Tennessee. The initiative is driven by the Faculty Senate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville & the UT Institute of Agriculture. The faculty liaisons are composed of UTK & UTIA tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure faculty.
0. Sign up to be a Faculty Liaison!
  1. We currently have 56 faculty liaisons, but there are 33 senators and 99 representatives, so we still need 76 more faculty volunteers!
  2. Any UTK/UTIA tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure faculty member can serve as a liaison. (You don't have to be a faculty senator.)
  3. This service load is estimated to be an hour or so per semester and is an opportunity to use your unique voice to build bridges between UTK/UTIA and state legislators.
  4. Submit your name and you will become a liaison in the Taskforce! sign up

Faculty Liaison Instructions for November-December, 2018

There is a three-step process for the initial contact between faculty liaisons and state legislators as outlined below.

1. Know Who You Are Talking To
  1. Find the Name of Your Legislator on this spreadsheet
  2. Visit your legislator's official website
  3. Learn about your legislator's voting record at votesmart.org
  4. Learn about your legislator's counties (listed in spreadsheet)
  5. Learn about your legislator's committee assignments
 2. Complete Faculty Liaison 5-Minute Training
  1. Review these Instructional Slides
 3. Conduct Interview & Record Responses
  1. Print example script with 3 questions
  2. Get Telephone Number for Your Legislator
  3. Call Number and Schedule Interview with Legislator's Staff
  4. Ask 3 Questions during Initial Legislator Contact
  5. Record Legislator Responses in this survey (pdf preview)
Contact:  Prof. David Keffer
Task Force Initiated:  August, 2018
Site Last Updated:  November, 2018