The University of Tennessee Knoxville has a new chancellor.
The university’s board of trustees voted Thursday in support President Joe DiPietro’s recommendation that Beverly Davenport be appointed the next chancellor.
DiPietro said he is confident that Davenport is a strong and effective leader who will be an asset to UT Knoxville, one of “the most visible and impactful institutions within the UT system and the state of Tennessee.”
Davenport, the first woman to lead UT Knoxville and only the second woman chancellor in UT System history, will begin her role Feb. 15.
“I am honored beyond the words that I can speak,” Davenport said following a unanimous vote of acceptance. “I am so excited about coming to the University of Tennessee and to be the chancellor of the flagship of this great state.
Davenport has served as interim president at the University of Cincinnati since June 2016. Previously, Davenport was Cincinnati’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost for three years. Before her tenure at Cincinnati, Davenport was vice provost for faculty affairs at Purdue University, dean of social sciences at the University of Kansas and chair of the department of communication at the University of Kentucky.
She also served as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Chisholm Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Davenport earned a doctoral degree in communication with a minor in organizational behavior from the University of Michigan, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication and journalism from Western Kentucky University.
Davenport succeeds Jimmy Cheek, who announced his decision in June to step down as UT Knoxville chancellor to return to the classroom. Cheek has served as chancellor since 2009.
“I will honor your confidence and we will have a great, great future ahead of us,” Davenport said. “I just can’t wait to be on this campus to do the work you hired me to do.”
This story originally stated March 1 as Beverly Davenport’s start date. Davenport will begin her role Feb. 15.
