KNOXVILLE – University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro has been appointed a member of the board of trustees of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The organization is the recognized regional accrediting body for accrediting degree-granting institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia and some institutions in Latin America.
As a board member, DiPietro will be part of a 77-member body representing more than 800 institutions in 11 Southeastern states and some institutions in Latin America. Trustees have responsibility for determining policy, reviewing and making decisions on the accreditation of institutions, conducting initial review for any proposed dues changes or modifications to commission standards, and serving as a liaison between membership and commission staff. DiPietro will serve as a member of the Tennessee delegation.
“Accreditation in higher education, as in all education institutions, is important for setting standards and achieving and maintaining quality, and accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the gold standard to which all its member institutions aspire, including the University of Tennessee,” DiPietro said.
“I am a strong proponent of standards for students and of standards to ensure excellence in the institutions that educate students. I’m honored to have the opportunity through serving on this board to impact the quality of higher education throughout Tennessee and beyond.”
DiPietro’s fellow Tennessee delegation members represent the full range of colleges and universities – public and private, large and small – operating in the state. He begins his service to the board at the 2014 annual meeting of SACSCOC in December in Nashville.
DiPietro became the 25th president of UT on Jan. 1, 2011. In that role, he is chief executive officer of the statewide UT System that includes the flagship campus in Knoxville, campuses in Chattanooga and Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis, the Space Institute in Tullahoma, and statewide institutes of agriculture and public service.
DiPietro also serves as chairman of the Board of Governors of UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy, and as a member of the UT Board of Trustees and the board of directors of University Health System, which operates UT Medical Center.
Prior to becoming president, DiPietro was chancellor of the UT Institute of Agriculture from 2006 to 2010.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ board of trustees is the representative body of the College Delegate Assembly and is charged with carrying out the accreditation process. The mission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is to assure the educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions.
President DiPietro’s photo is available for download here.
Tags: Joe DiPietro, Southern Association of College and Schools, UT Board of Trustees, UT Presidents