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Board approves chancellors for UT Chattanooga and UT Southern
Summary
The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved two chancellor appointments — Dr. Lori Bruce Mann for UT Chattanooga and Dr. Melinda Arnold for UT Southern — in a roll-call vote during a special electronic meeting.
Chairman John Compton and the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees on Oct. 26 approved President Randy Boyd’s recommendations to name Dr. Lori Bruce Mann as chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Dr. Melinda Arnold as chancellor of UT Southern.
The appointments were moved and approved by roll-call vote after Boyd described an extensive national search process and presented highlights from campus visits, town halls and more than 200 survey responses used to vet final candidates. The board voted unanimously; the resolutions were approved by recorded “aye” votes from trustees present.
The selections follow multi-stage searches that the president said began with more than 50 applicants per campus, were narrowed to 10, then to finalists who spent roughly 48 hours on campus meeting faculty, students and community members. Boyd said search committees included campus and system representatives and thanked search chairs Don DePlowman (UT Southern search chair) and Yancey Freeman (UT Chattanooga search chair).
Boyd described Dr. Lori Bruce Mann as a provost-level leader at Tennessee Tech who oversaw a tripling of research from about $16 million to over $46 million and said campus observers called her an effective advocate for UTC and supportive across academic disciplines. On Dr. Melinda Arnold, Boyd said she comes from Texas A&M University–Texarkana, led double-digit enrollment growth there and was described in campus feedback as “student focused” and a capable fundraiser.
Both candidates are expected to begin July 1; Boyd said each agreed to attend the board meeting that begins June 30 so trustees could meet them in person. Trustees who spoke during the electronic meeting praised the search process and the recommended candidates.
Votes at the meeting were recorded by roll call. The transcript shows the following trustees voted “aye” on the chancellor appointments: John Compton, Brad Box, Charlie Hatcher, DeCosta Jenkins, Shana McKinney, Chris Patterson, Bill Rhodes, Donnie Smith, David Watson, Lang Weisman and Jamie Woodson. The motion was announced as approved.
The board chair said the appointments will be reflected in forthcoming personnel materials and noted both chancellors will join system leadership as the campuses implement their respective strategic priorities.
