KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee National Alumni Association approved new officers at its June 24 board meeting in Knoxville.
A. Dean Skadberg Sr. will lead UTNAA as president in 2005-2006, having served this year as president-elect. Also taking office on July 1 will be President-elect Deborah “Debbie” L. Diddle, Vice President Deborah “Debbie” Bryson Ingram, and Treasurer Stephen L. Carter. Spruell Driver Jr., 2004-2005 UTNAA president, will serve as national chair of annual giving.
They will lead more than 300,000 members of UTNAA.
Skadburg is a 1961 alumnus of the UT Knoxville College of Business Administration. He is a retired director of industry affairs for Procter & Gamble, Inc. He has served as president-elect of UTNAA and as president of the executive committee of the UTNAA board of governors. Skadburg and his wife, Ann (Knoxville ’62), have three children and live in Knoxville.
President-elect Debbie Diddle is a 1972 graduate of UT Knoxville. She is a past chair of the UTNAA Women’s Council, a member of the UT Development Council, and was a member of the UT Presidential Search Advisory Council. Diddle is a certified public accountant. She and her husband, John (Knoxville ’71), have three children and live in Knoxville.
Vice President Debbie Bryson Ingram received the master’s degree in education from UT Chattanooga in 1984 and the doctorate in education from UT Knoxville in 1994. She is currently the academic coordinator of clinical education at UT Chattanooga. Ingram received the Outstanding Achievement Award for doctoral studies in higher education from UT Knoxville in 1995. She and her husband David (Knoxville ’77), have one child and live in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Treasurer Stephen Carter is a 1977 graduate of UT Knoxville. He is the director of human resources for National Service Industries, Inc. in Doraville, Ga., and has been involved in the Atlanta and national chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management. Carter and his wife Marilyn have two children and live in Douglasville, Ga.
Spruell Driver Jr., outgoing UTNAA president, will serve as the chair of annual giving. He is a 1987 UT Knoxville industrial engineering graduate, a graduate of Duke University School of Law and is an attorney with Miller and Martin in Nashville. He has served as a member of the UTNAA board of governors as well as treasurer, president-elect and president of UTNAA. Driver and his wife, Elaine (Knoxville ’85), have one daughter and live in Nashville.
“The University of Tennessee is grateful for the time and energy the National Alumni Association and its members give to UT,” President John Petersen said. “These new officers, led by Dean Skadburg, are a wonderful example of loyal, dedicated service and strong volunteer spirit.
“Just being around this group from all across the country this weekend was very energizing for me,” Petersen said.
Skadburg is the son-in-law of Andy Holt, who served as UT president from 1959 to 1970 and oversaw the creation of the five-campus University of Tennessee system.
During his UTNAA presidency acceptance speech, Skadburg reminded the audience of “the Holt pledge,” the series of promises Holt encouraged new graduates to take.
“Many of you who graduated in the 60s and 70s may recall that the pledge included promises to participate in your alumni association and to support it financially as much as possible,” Skadburg said.
“I would add this request: show up at UT events, attend alumni meetings, boast about UT to all, and help lead this great university into the future,” he said.