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What can polling across the Americas tell policymakers about the health of democracy? How can better data improve what happens in classrooms? What research is needed to safely manage the nation’s nuclear legacy? ÌÀÍ·Ìõ is helping answer these questions through its research and expertise, and this September, the university brought those perspectives to Washington.Ìý

Throughout September, ÌÀÍ·Ìõ faculty, researchers and leaders met with lawmakers on issues ranging from democracy in the Americas and education research to nuclear waste management and Tennessee’s economic and workforce priorities. Organized by the Office of Federal Relations, the engagements demonstrated the value of federal investment in research and education while reflecting ÌÀÍ·Ìõ’s role as a major employer and contributor to the state.

Researching democracy across the AmericasÌý

Mariana Rodríguez, director of research and engagement at the Center for Global Democracy, traveled to Capitol Hill to brief congressional offices on the center’s latest AmericasBarometer report, the 2026 Pulse of Democracy. The report draws on more than 25,000 interviews across the hemisphere to examine what they reveal about public support for democracy, confidence in political institutions and perceptions of government performance.ÌýÌý

Rodríguez talked about how those attitudes intersect with issues such as migration, security and relations with the United States.Ìý

The report found a modest but widespread recovery in support for democracy across the Americas after more than a decade of decline, with support increasing in nearly every country surveyed between 2023 and 2026. The data also offer a closer look at attitudes toward government institutions, corruption and the United States across individual countries and demographic groups.ÌýÌý

Rodríguez discussed these trends with the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, & Global Women's Issues and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. She also met with the offices of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., BA’81, JD’84, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn.Ìý

Making the case for education researchÌý

Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at ÌÀÍ·Ìõ of education and human development, traveled to Capitol Hill as part of the Learning and Education Academic Research Network Coalition. Benbow, who co-chairs the coalition, joined leaders from research-focused schools and colleges of education to discuss federal investment in education research, including funding for the Institute of Education Sciences.Ìý

She met with Matthew Soldner, acting director of IES and acting National Center for Education Statistics commissioner, staff from the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the offices of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn.Ìý

Benbow pointed to as one example of the university’s work with IES. ÌÀÍ·Ìõ researchers partnered with IES’s National Center for Education Statistics and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on the international assessment, which measures how 15-year-old students apply their knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science.ÌýÌý

Benbow emphasized that sustained federal investment in education research and data is essential to developing and implementing evidence-based practices, measuring how well they work, and continuing to refine them based on what researchers learn about student achievement.