UT MEDIA ADVISORY
April 27, 2009
WHO: Jimmy G. Cheek will be formally installed as the seventh chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Hosted by acting UT President Jan Simek, the ceremony will include representatives of the faculty, students, Board of Trustees and administration.
WHEN: 3 p.m., Friday, May 1
WHAT: An investiture is an academic ceremony held to formally recognize the appointment of a new chief executive some time after he or she has taken office. This ceremony is an alternative to a multi-day inauguration that would be held when a new chancellor or president first assumes the role.
The campus and the larger academic community will recognize Cheek, who has been serving since Feb. 1, 2009.
Cheek will speak and share his vision for the future of the institution.
WHERE: James R. Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building, located at the corner of Phillip Fulmer Way and Andy Holt Avenue. Parking is available in the University Center parking garage.
A live video webcast of the investiture ceremony will be available at http://chancellor.utk.edu/investiture/.
BACKGROUND: The investiture ceremony is open to all UT Knoxville-area faculty, staff and students. The program will include greetings from representatives of the student body, faculty, alumni and Cheek’s colleagues at the University of Florida, where he served for 33 years prior to his appointment at UT Knoxville.
Cheek was the first member of his family to attend college and has a lifelong commitment to learning. Much of his research has focused on education and learning, and he has authored or co-authored nearly 200 publications.
During the ceremony, Simek will present Cheek with the Chancellor’s Medallion, which was designed in 1994 for the investiture of Chancellor William “Bill” Snyder during the university’s bicentennial.
For more information, visit http://chancellor.utk.edu/investiture/.
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Contact:
Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409, jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034) amy.blakely@tennessee.edu