KNOXVILLE—Four experienced leaders from inside and outside the University of Tennessee were recommended to executive positions by UT President Joe DiPietro and appointed by the UT Board of Trustees during its meeting today in Knoxville.
Tonjanita Johnson will assume the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective immediately, for a limited duration term of up to three years. Johnson joined UT in 2013 as vice president for communications and marketing and has been serving as interim chief operating officer for the UT System since September. In her new role, she will have primary responsibility for directing the UT System strategic plan, initiating and managing strategic partnerships and participating in the development of operating and capital budgets.
Under a new reporting structure also approved by the board, Johnson will oversee five system-level offices that formerly reported to the president. The offices include academic affairs, communications and marketing, facilities planning and capital projects, human resources and institutional research.
Creating a separate executive vice president position and reducing the number of direct reports to the president were recommended by an external consultant following a comprehensive performance review of DiPietro’s first four years in office.
David Millhorn was appointed senior vice president for research, outreach and economic development—a transition that enables him to focus on an aggressive and expanded research agenda. Millhorn joined UT in 2005 as vice president for research and assumed the added responsibility of executive vice president in 2007. He also was appointed president of the UT Research Foundation in 2014.
The board approved David Miller as UT’s next chief financial officer, responsible for the administration of all financial operations of the University system. Miller, currently vice president for administration and fiscal affairs with the University of Wisconsin System, will take office Jan. 1 and succeed Butch Peccolo, who retired as treasurer and chief financial officer in December 2015 after 40 years of service.
Miller’s 18-year tenure with the UW System includes, among other positions, serving as senior vice president for administration and fiscal affairs, associate vice president for capital planning and budget and assistant vice president for university relations. He served the Wisconsin legislature for five years as a policy analyst and legislative aide and also worked as a legislative analyst for the Tennessee legislature.
Keith Carver, executive assistant to the president since 2011, was appointed the next chancellor of UT Martin. He will take office Jan. 3 and replace Tom Rakes, who in April 2015 announced he was returning to the classroom.
Previously, Carver served in roles at UT campuses in Knoxville, Martin and Memphis, including serving as interim vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis and assistant vice chancellor for development at UT Martin. He held several positions at UT Knoxville including assistant director and director of development and alumni affairs for the College of Law.
Photos and a UT System administration organizational chart are available for download here.
Additional information regarding the appointments may be found here.
Tags: David Miller, David Millhorn, Executive Leadership, Featured, Joe DiPietro, Keith Carver, Tonja Johnson, UT Board of Trustees, UT Presidents