KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee has announced three finalists in the search for a new vice president for agriculture. The finalists are:
– Dr. Kenneth Ebenshade of North Carolina State University, associate dean and director of academic programs at NC State-s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
– Dr. Joseph A. DiPietro of the University of Florida, dean of Florida-s College of Veterinary Medicine.
– Dr. Cameron Hackney of West Virginia University, dean of WVU-s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences and director of the West Virginia Experiment Station.
The position was vacated by Dr. Jack Britt, who became UT-s executive vice president in 2004. Buddy Mitchell, associate vice president for development, is currently serving as interim vice president for agriculture.
The vice president for agriculture oversees the operations of the UT Institute of Agriculture, which includes the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station and UT Extension.
The three candidates were chosen from about 50 applicants and nominees for the position. UT Knoxville Chancellor Loren Crabtree is the chair of the search committee, and interviews will be conducted throughout the first half of December.
As part of the selection process, the finalists will each present a seminar in Jackson at UT-s West Tennessee Research and Education Center to the university-s West Tennessee faculty and staff. The next day, finalists will be in Knoxville for a day of interviews.
Interested parties can view web casts of the candidates- presentations in Knoxville on the UT Web site. The video will be available at http://oit.utk.edu/dst/webevents.html beginning five minutes before the scheduled start times below:
– Dr. Ebenshade: Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
– Dr. DiPietro: Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.
– Dr. Hackney: Dec. 13 at 10:15 a.m.
Contact: Tom Milligan (865-974-9438)
Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409)