UT Board approves change related to leadership for research activities
With most of the duties of former Vice President Stacey Patterson assumed by others, UT President Randy Boyd recommended that research leadership be overseen by the VP for Academic Affairs and Student Success who gets a revised title.
A change related to leadership for research at the system level was approved by the University of Tennessee (UT) Board of Trustees at its meeting on Friday. The action followed last fall’s departure of Stacey Patterson, then the Vice President for Research, Outreach and Economic Development for the UT System, who joined Florida State University as its Vice President for Research.
After several hiring decisions following Patterson’s departure, UT President Randy Boyd recommended that the duties of the redefined Vice President for Research be combined with those of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success. The Board approved the change, and the expanded title is Vice President for Academic Affairs, Research and Student Success. Those hiring decisions included:
- The appointment of Maha Krishnamurthy as President of the UT Research Foundation;
- The hiring of Victoria Hirschberg as an Assistant Vice President leading economic development activities; and
- The appointment of Sarah Pruett, who most recently served in the role of Assistant Vice Chancellor of the Responsible Conduct of Research and Research Integrity Officer in the Office of Research and Engagement at UT, Knoxville as Executive Director of Institutional Compliance for the UT System.
During his explanation on this recommendation, UT President Randy Boyd said an Assistant or Associate Vice President will be hired to serve as the UT System’s primary liaison with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, another role that Patterson played.
In addition, the Board also approved new academic units for UT, Knoxville, that include: (1) converting the School of Music to a stand-alone College of Music; (2) transforming the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy into a School of Public Policy and Public Affairs; and (3) establishing the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies.
Finally, the Board approved campus master plans for the Knoxville campus and UT at Chattanooga.
