KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee Executive Vice President Dr. Jack Britt has announced his intention to retire at the end of March 2007, and UT President John Petersen plans to recommend to the board of trustees that Dr. David Millhorn succeed Britt. Millhorn is currently vice president for research and economic development.
Jack BrittBritt has served as executive vice president since being named to the post in September 2004. At that time, Britt promised UT President John Petersen he would serve two and one-half years as executive vice president before pursuing longstanding plans to retire.
“Dr. Britt has been invaluable to the institution, and to me personally, during these past two and a half years,” Petersen said. “His lead in developing our new Strategic Plan, working on our staff reorganization, and providing timely and honest counsel on all university-related matters will serve us well as we move ahead. I appreciate Jack’s years of service and his devotion to the University of Tennessee.”
Millhorn joined UT in August 2005. When his responsibilities for research oversight were expanded over the past year to include economic development, his title was changed to reflect those added responsibilities: vice president for research and economic development.
“David’s keen intellect, visionary outlook, and outstanding professional performance have made him instrumental in leading a number of our strategic initiatives, hiring new scientists as Governor’s Chairs of Excellence and raising our goals for research funding,” Petersen said.
A national search will be launched immediately to fill this critically important vice presidential position. In the interim until his successor is found, Millhorn will maintain responsibilities as both executive vice president and vice president for research and economic development.
Britt came to UT in July 1998 as vice president for agriculture. He had been North Carolina State University’s associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine and assistant director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service.
Britt’s academic background is in reproductive physiology. Before he joined NC State, he was on the faculty and head of the dairy science department at Michigan State University. A native of Glasgow, Ky., he earned the bachelor’s degree in agriculture and biology at Western Kentucky University and master’s and doctoral degrees at NC State.
Millhorn is an internationally renowned biomedical researcher and native Tennessean. He was formerly director of the Genome Research Institute at the University of Cincinnati. Millhorn earned a bachelor’s degree from UT Chattanooga and a doctorate from Ohio State University.
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Contact: Karen Collins (865-974-5186 or 865-216-6862)