In April, David Sholl was named the executive director of the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) and vice provost of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, following his interim leadership since June 2023. His selection, endorsed by UT System and Oak Ridge National Laboratory leadership, came after a rigorous national search.
Sholl says serving as UT-ORII’s interim director gave him the chance to see firsthand the tremendous potential UT and ORNL have to solve some of the nation’s toughest scientific challenges.
Under Sholl’s interim leadership, UT-ORII launched two $20 million convergent research initiatives and expedited plans to recruit 100 new joint research faculty and 500 graduate students by 2030.
Boyd Seeks to Finish Greatest Decade
The UT Board of Trustees approved extending the employment of UT System President Randy Boyd through through June 30, 2030.
Boyd, who joined the UT System as interim president in November 2018 and was named its 26th president in 2020, expressed to the board at its March 1 meeting that he wants to complete what he calls the greatest decade in UT history. On June 24, in a unanimous vote, the trustees agreed to the extension.
“President Boyd is a visionary, energetic and servant leader,” UT Board of Trustees Chairman John Compton said. “His enthusiasm and optimism are contagious, and his positivity and sense of purpose has spread throughout the organization.”
Book Shares Story of UT Southern Acquisition
University of Tennessee Southern: The Rebirth of an Institution was published by the University of Tennessee Press July 1. In the book, authors Mark La Branche, UT Southern chancellor emeritus, and Jennifer Sicking, UT System director of publications and executive editor of Our Tennessee, detail the steps taken to merge Martin Methodist College, a faith-based institution, with the University of Tennessee System. Faculty and staff members share their thoughts and concerns as well as their preparations for the integration of two institutions of higher education with one passion for expanding educational opportunities for the residents of Tennessee. The book may be ordered at utpress.org.
