Campus Leadership Updates
I want to keep the campus updated on new leadership and structure in the Division of Finance and Administration.
In addition to appointing an interim senior vice chancellor for finance and administration following Chris Cimino’s retirement, I am elevating the Office of Information Technology to a stand-alone unit and have created a new cabinet-level position to lead technology and digital strategy for our campus.
These changes support the needs of our campus community to have agile systems and processes that bolster the important work of our faculty and staff and prepare us for a future in which digital innovation will be increasingly important.
We are fortunate to have two exceptional leaders ready to step into these positions at the first of the year.
Finance and Administration
Allen Bolton will join the cabinet as interim senior vice chancellor for finance and administration beginning January 3, 2023. Allen is a 1985 graduate of UT Knoxville and has spent his career in research and higher education administration. He has a track record of mentoring administrative professionals and improving administrative efficiency and effectiveness through the effective use of budget models, including RCM models; enhancing workplace environments; and fueling strategic plans with resources and supporting operations plans.
Allen served as senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and as senior vice president for administration and finance and chief operating officer at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Since his retirement in 2021, he has served Southern Research in Birmingham in a transitional role of executive vice president of finance and strategy and is currently senior advisor to the executive team.
Allen is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in education from UT Knoxville and an MBA and MPH from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Office of Information Technology
Ramon Padilla Jr., UT System chief information officer, will take on a dual role with the UT Knoxville campus as vice chancellor for information technology and digital innovation, also on January 3. In this role, he will serve as a campus employee leading the Office of Information Technology and as chief technology and digital strategist on my cabinet. Ramon will also retain his system position, providing opportunity for greater collaboration and a unified technology strategy that benefits both the flagship campus and the system.
As UT System CIO, Ramon is currently leading the efforts to replace IRIS with a new enterprise resource planning system. Before joining the UT System in 2020, he served as vice chancellor and CIO for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ information technology services, associate vice chancellor and deputy CIO at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and assistant vice chancellor and chief information officer for the State University System of Florida.
Ramon holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from the University of Louisville.
I am impressed with both Allen’s and Ramon’s thoughtfulness and collaborative nature in surfacing solutions. I am excited for each of them to join my cabinet and help us work to make our campus run at its very best.
Please join me in welcoming Allen and Ramon to our UT Knoxville team.