Next week, the last of our five finalists for UT Knoxville chancellor will visit campus.
I’d like to remind you of the campus community forums that have been scheduled and urge you to attend. Your participation and feedback are highly valued and encouraged throughout this process.
Joining us next week is Dr. Jimmy G. Cheek, who is currently senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida.
Dr. Cheek will speak and answer questions at campus forums at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the Hodges Library Auditorium and again at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, in the University Center Auditorium.
These hour-long forums will provide ample opportunity for faculty, staff, students and the Knoxville community to get to know the candidate. The forums will be webcast live and archived on the chancellor search Web site, http://chancellor.utk.edu/search/.
During the forums, Dr. Cheek will make brief statements and then field questions from the audience. Those watching the webcast will be able to submit questions, too, by clicking on the “ask” button and following the prompts.
All members of the campus community will be invited to submit feedback about the candidate, which will be shared with those involved in the selection process.
We ask that your feedback on all of the candidates be submitted by the close of business on Friday, Sept. 26, so that it can be considered by the committee in its deliberations and included in the summary to President John Petersen.
You can learn more about all of the chancellor candidates at http://chancellor.utk.edu/search/. There, you’ll find each candidate’s photo, a brief introductory statement, their curriculum vitae and their answers to a series of questions posed by the search committee.
I’m pleased that, between the live forums, the live webcast and the archived webcasts, 250 to 300 people have heard each of our candidates to date.
As chair of the search committee, I encourage you take advantage of these opportunities to provide input about the leadership that will guide UT Knoxville into the future.