October 24, 2008
To: All UT Faculty and Staff
From: President John Petersen
I wanted to take a moment to update all members of the Knoxville campus community about my plans to recommend Dr. Jimmy Cheek, senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida, to serve as your next Chancellor.
Members of the Board of Trustees will consider this recommendation at their full board meeting set for 1:15 p.m. today at the Ellington Plant Sciences Building. You can watch the meeting via the Web at http://bot.tennessee.edu/.
Pending the board's approval, Dr. Cheek would begin on Feb. 1, 2009.
I believe that Dr. Cheek is an excellent choice and the best fit for the university. He was chosen from an outstanding field of candidates.
Appointed to the vice president post at Florida in 2005, his current role involves managing the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences which includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, elements of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station,13 Research and Education Centers throughout Florida and the Florida Cooperative Extension Service.
Prior to that, he was dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for five years and assistant dean for seven years.
He earned a doctorate in interdisciplinary education from Texas A&M University. A native of Texas, he and his wife, Ileen, have two adult children and one granddaughter.
I am very grateful to the members of the search committee and to Dr.Harry "Hap" McSween for his service and effectiveness as committee chair.
I also appreciate Interim Chancellor Jan Simek for his willingness to lead the Knoxville campus over this past year. He has demonstrated a strong commitment to the university in many ways, and he will continue in this role until the transition in February.
If you'd like to know more about Dr. Cheek, visit http://chancellor.utk.edu/announcements/chancellorcheek.shtml.
— John Petersen
