January 07, 2008
To: UT System-wide Faculty and Staff
From: President John Petersen
Subject: Interim Chancellor Named for UT Knoxville Campus
Dr. Jan Simek, chief of staff for UT Knoxville Chancellor Loren Crabtree, has agreed to serve as interim chancellor for the UT Knoxville campus.
Jan will assume responsibilities as interim chancellor effective immediately, filling the vacancy created by Chancellor Crabtree's resignation on Jan. 3. I expect a search committee to fill the post to be named within two weeks.
Jan is an archaeologist and came to UT Knoxville in 1984 as an assistant professor of anthropology. He is now a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, was head of the Anthropology Department for eight years, the interim director of the School of Art and served as interim dean in the College of Architecture and Design for two years. Jan has served as Chancellor Crabtree's chief of staff since 2005.
I am grateful to Jan for his willingness to further serve the university in this critical capacity as interim chancellor. He is a respected member of university leadership and has proven experience with both the faculty and the administration. I am confident in his ability to lead our flagship campus through this transition, and I believe he will have the full confidence and support of the faculty, administration and students.
As I sought input in filling this position, Jan received a strong endorsement from Dr. Crabtree, and he was among those suggested to me last week by members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. I look forward to working with him in the weeks ahead, and I know he shares the commitment to resolve issues and move forward in continuing to build on UT Knoxville's prominence and opportunities as our flagship campus.
This is a great university and we will work together to attract excellent leadership who will continue the Knoxville campus' role in making UT one of the top-tier universities in the country.
— John Petersen
