On June 5, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees Audit and Compliance Committee will consider a recommendation by UT President Joe DiPietro to approve a separation agreement and payment of $1.33 million to former UT Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport.
If approved, her employment with the University will end June 5. No taxpayer dollars, no student tuition or fees, and no donor funds will be used to fund the separation payment.
The payment is a significant reduction of the amount the University would be contractually obligated to pay Davenport if she continues her employment in her tenured faculty position. Davenport’s appointment letter allowed her to return to the faculty in a tenured appointment for an indefinite period of time after serving as chancellor. The University would be obligated to pay her about $2 million in salary and benefits during the first four years of her faculty appointment. Beginning in the fifth year of her faculty appointment, the University would be obligated to pay her an annual salary of $164,632.
“I believe it is important for us to reach this agreement to allow everyone to move forward,” said DiPietro.
In December 2017, the Board approved a policy limiting future return to the faculty salaries to not more than 125 percent of the highest salary of full-time faculty in the department with the same discipline and rank (excluding Governor’s Chairs and other special appointments).