UT New Year News to Celebrate

January 11, 2006

TO: UT Students, Faculty and Staff
FROM: Loren W. Crabtree, Chancellor
SUBJECT: New Year, New Era

As we celebrate the new year and start a new semester of classes today, I want to fill you in on some important moves in UT administration.

In keeping with the critical importance of the duties of lead academic officer on the Knoxville campus, we have decided to elevate the title of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to Provost and have begun a search. We're looking for the individual who can meet the high standard set by Vice Chancellor Anne Mayhew over the last several years. As many of you may know, Anne plans to retire in August.

We're expediting the Provost search so the Provost will be in place before Anne retires. Hap McSween, distinguished professor of science in Earth and planetary sciences, is search committee chair. Our goal is to finish interviews by the end of spring semester and hire a Provost before fall semester. You'll find names of the search committee members and the latest information on the process at http://chancellor.tennessee.edu/provostsearch

I am gratified to tell you that on Dec. 13 the university announced its reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). We received a clean bill of health and will require no monitoring for 10 years.

This honor and trust recognizes the superior quality of our faculty, staff and students and is due in large part to our dedication to an ambitious Quality Enhancement Plan to broaden students' knowledge and experience with cultures other than their own, both here and abroad.

QEP has the potential to transform campus culture and curriculum so that our graduates not only will survive in the global environment but also thrive in a world where opportunities are diverse and complex. I don't have to explain to you how commerce and technology continue to transcend geography and unite our communities. We're becoming more and more interdependent. Faculty and staff must be -- and we must prepare our students to be -- world citizens.

Jan Simek and Mary Papke will continue to co-direct QEP, the cornerstone of a new era in Tennessee education that will attract creative and energetic individuals from across town and across the world to take part in the UT learning, research and service environment.

You'll be happy to know that Jan Simek, distinguished professor of science in anthropology, has been named executive assistant to the chancellor. Jan has ably served in a variety of administrative roles in recent years, from head of the anthropology department to interim dean of architecture and design. His experience and problem solving abilities will be an asset to my staff.

I made another key appointment in December when my long-time assistant, Mary Robinson, retired. Traci Leonard has filled the vacancy -- she holds bachelor's and master's degrees from UTK and has extensive experience as a human resources professional. She brings great skills and energy to the position.

I'm proud of the solid accomplishments of our past and satisfied that we are true to our mission in the present. I'm also excited about achievements to come that will place UT among the top research and teaching institutions in the nation. I know you are, too.

Let's make it a great spring semester!