KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee administrator Keith Carver has been named executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro.
Carver, who began his new job on Jan. 3, has worked at UT’s campuses in Knoxville, Martin and Memphis. He was most recently interim vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis since April 2010.
“Because of the key role the executive assistant will play on my leadership team, it is critical that the individual selected has leadership experience at the University and an understanding of the entire University and relationships among all its entities. Clearly, Keith brings that experience and understanding,” DiPietro said.
The executive assistant to the president replaces the chief of staff position on the president’s staff. The executive assistant carries out several duties including:
- Maintaining a standard of excellence for the staff in the Office of the President;
- Coordinating and institutionalizing the planning function, such as the University strategic plan and institutional goals;
- Representing the President at events, activities, meetings and to constituent groups as required, and
- Serving as liaison with all levels of administration statewide.
Prior to working at UTHSC, Carver was assistant vice chancellor for development at UT Martin from 2006 to 2010. He held several positions at UT Knoxville including assistant director and director of development and alumni affairs for the College of Law, program director for the Office of Student Activities and co-director of TeamVOLS. He also worked as director of special projects and coordinator of experiential education at Marietta College in Ohio for two years.
Carver earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of Memphis, his master’s in college student personnel and educational leadership at UT Knoxville and his doctorate in philosophy at UT Knoxville. His dissertation was entitled “A Study of Presidential Derailment in Public Research Universities,” and he is contributing a chapter to an upcoming book on presidential derailment from the Association of Governing Board of Universities and Colleges.