KNOXVILLE – In an effort to clarify the roles and responsibilities between the University of Tennessee System administration and the campuses and institutes it serves, UT Interim President Randy Boyd has announced the creation of a Task Force on University Administrative Effectiveness.
The task force will be co-chaired by David Miller, UT’s chief financial officer, and Richard Brown, executive vice chancellor for administration for UT Chattanooga. The measure is one of several announcements Boyd will be making as part of his six priorities announced last month.
One of the core responsibilities of the UT System administration is to perform operations on behalf of UT’s campuses and institutes that would otherwise create duplication and additional costs if each entity performed the work independently. This approach saves the institutions, taxpayers and students significant costs.
“The faculty and staff that make up the University of Tennessee are our greatest asset to helping ensure students can fulfill their dream of graduating college,” Boyd said. “My main goal is to determine if there are opportunities to share best practices, streamline processes, identify practical ways to do our jobs better, and ultimately reduce costs.”
To be most effective, Boyd said work must be differentiated between the campuses and institutes and the system office.
“Improving staff productivity to effectively meet the increasing challenges in higher education is a primary goal rather than reducing our workforce,” he said.
UT has engaged in periodic reviews of roles and efficiency projects since the 1980s.
He has encouraged the task force to seek best practices from the business world and adapt them for higher education.
Initially, the task force will explore five departments within institutional support:
- Capital Projects
- Communications and Marketing
- Human Resources
- Information Technology
- Procurement and Contracting
The task force will begin its work immediately, and its members will consist of:
- David Miller, UT System, chief financial officer (chair)
- Richard Brown, UT Chattanooga, executive vice chancellor for administration (co-chair)
- Tonja Johnson, UT System, executive vice president and chief operating officer
- Chris Cimino, UT Knoxville, senior vice chancellor for finance and administration
- Petra McPhearson, UT Martin, vice chancellor for finance and administration
- Tony Ferrara, UT Health Science Center, vice chancellor and chief financial officer
- Tim Fawver, UT Institute of Agriculture, chief business officer
- Gail White, UT Institute for Public Service, budget director
The task force will provide recommendations to Boyd for consideration by late spring 2019.
An overview of the President’s Task Force Effectiveness is available to view and download as a PDF.
FAQs are available to view and download as a PDF.