Twenty-five faculty and staff members, representing each University of Tennessee campus and institute and overseeing critical functions across the UT System, have been selected to be part of the fourth Executive Leadership Institute class.
This 12-month program, created by UT President Emeritus Joe DiPietro in 2018, was designed to prepare internal candidates for senior leadership roles.
Led by Bob Smith, special adviser for executive leadership and talent development to the UT president, the institute offers attendees special development plans, executive coaching, mentoring and experiential learning. The class meets six times throughout the year for multi-day leadership sessions.
Participants were nominated by their supervisors and competitively selected by campus and institute leaders. The institute complements existing programs within the University and is part of succession planning efforts to address upcoming workforce needs.
“Exceptional leadership is critical to our higher education system and the people that serve it,” UT System President Randy Boyd said. “We want to ensure that there are ample opportunities for great leaders within our system to emerge, develop and reinvest in their campuses and communities.”
The 2023 Executive Leadership class members are:
UT System
Austin Oaks, assistant vice president for capital projects
Bernie Savarese, acting vice president for academic affairs and student success
Jeannie Tennant, assistant director and senior business partner, human resources
UT Knoxville
Betsy Adams, assistant dean of operations and strategy, Haslam College of Business
Lamar Bryant, associate vice chancellor of strategic initiatives, Division of Diversity
and Engagement
Beth Foster, director of the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations
Sean Patterson, assistant chief of police, UT Police Department
Lance Taylor, executive director of advancement operations
UT Institute of Agriculture
Brad Collett, director, Tennessee Riverline
Tom Gill, Smith chair in international sustainable agriculture
UT Space Institute
John Schmisseur, executive director
UT Chattanooga
Cassie Mathes, vice chancellor of communications and marketing
Matt Matthews, vice provost for faculty affairs and academic policy
Abeer Mustafa, associate vice chancellor
UT Martin
Dominique Crockett, director of equity and diversity, Title IX coordinator
Andy Lewter, vice chancellor for student affairs
Anderson Starling, interim chair, department of accounting, finance, economics and political science
UT Health Science Center
Ashley Harkrider, chair, department of audiology and speech pathology
Wendy Likes, dean, College of Nursing Charlie Snyder, associate vice chancellor, student success
Nick Verne, senior associate dean, College of Medicine, Department of Medicine
UT Southern
Brandie Paul, associate vice chancellor and director of athletics
UT Institute for Public Service
Paul Jennings, executive director, UT Center for Industrial Services
Jon Walden, executive director, UT County Technical Assistance Service
UT Foundation, Inc.
Mike McCay, assistant vice president and executive director, UT Alumni Association
More information about the institute, including attendee biographies, is available at https://president.tennessee.edu/executive-leadership-institute/.
The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Memphis and Pulaski; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT System manages Oak Ridge
National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 54,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 433,000 alumni around the world.
