KNOXVILLE — Ken Lowe, chairman, president, and CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., will deliver the commencement address for the College of Communication and Information (CCI) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Lowe will address graduates and their families at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, May 10, in Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena.
“As one of the communication and information industry’s top executives, Ken Lowe’s remarkable career has been characterized by innovation, across-the-board excellence, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said CCI dean Mike Wirth. “We are very fortunate to have Ken as our commencement speaker, and we know that the wisdom and advice he shares will provide our graduates with an inspirational send-off as they leave UT to pursue professional careers.”
Lowe was president and CEO of the E. W. Scripps Company from 2000 to 2008, when Scripps Networks Interactive became a separate, publicly traded company.
Prior to 2000, he served as chairman and CEO of Knoxville-based Scripps Networks. He built the company into one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most successful creators of unique brands for television and the Internet. He founded and launched HGTV in 1994; oversaw the acquisition and transformation of the Food Network into an American pop culture icon; and presided over the launches of the DIY Network and the Cooking Channel, as well as the acquisitions of the Travel Channel and the Great American Country network.
Lowe joined Scripps in 1980 as general manager of the company’s radio properties. In 1988, he became vice president of programming, promotion, and marketing for the company’s nine network-affiliated television stations.
The many honors and awards Lowe has received during his career include the Museum of the Moving Image’s 2011 media industry leader of the year award, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s 2008 Vanguard Award for Programmers, and the T. Howard Foundation’s 2008 Executive Leadership Award. Lowe was inducted to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2005.
More than 300 students will graduate with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the college this semester.
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C O N T A C T :
Charles Primm (865-974-5180, charles.primm@tennessee.edu)