Theresa Lee, who was hired as dean in June after a nationwide search, has now arrived on campus to lead the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to her administrative appointment, she has an academic appointment of professor in the Department of Psychology. Her appointment began January 1.
“It’s an exciting time to join the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as the institution seeks to become a Top 25 public research university. The College of Arts and Sciences has a pivotal role to play in meeting this challenge and has already developed a five-year strategic plan that will position the college to advance in all aspects of its mission,” Lee said. “With the start of the new semester, I am looking forward to working with the faculty, students, and staff to implement the strategic plan and to build a supportive environment that continues to advance the college and the university while maintaining the great traditions of this institution.”
Lee came to UT from the University of Michigan, where she held a number of administrative positions, most recently chair of the Department of Psychology. She also was a professor in the neuroscience program and a research scientist in the reproductive sciences program.
Lee has a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Indiana University and a doctorate in biopsychology from the University of Chicago.
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest, largest, most comprehensive, and most diverse of the eleven colleges at UT Knoxville. Its twenty-one academic departments and schools, seven centers and institutes, and twelve interdisciplinary programs span the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the visual and performing arts.
More than 7,500 undergraduate students have an academic home in one of the college’s sixty undergraduate majors and pre-professional programs. The college also offers more than fifty graduate programs and is home to 1,400 graduate students. The college’s academic programs are served by roughly 600 faculty members, who also provide the university’s entire undergraduate student body with core instruction in the arts and humanities and the natural and social sciences.
Hap McSween, Distinguished Professor of Science and a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, served as interim dean from January through December 2011. McSween took over after former dean, Bruce Bursten, stepped down in December 2010 to return to the faculty.