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FOR
IMMEDIATE USE
Dr. John
Petersen is
president.
Petersen, provost
and executive vice president at the University of
after an unprecedented search involving broad input and
candidate
interviews broadcast over the Internet.
Petersen is expected to be on the job
July 1.
“Under Dr. Petersen's leadership, UT can
renew its mission and set
its sights on a successful future,” Governor Phil Bredesen, who is chairman
of the board, said. “In launching the search process, I was
convinced an
open process would restore confidence and attract the right
caliber of
candidates.
“I commend the presidential search
committee and the advisory council
for a job well done,” Bredesen said.
When the search began last fall, the
governor called for an open
process. That challenge is reflected in the guiding
principles of the
search.
The principles state that the search
would be conducted in an open,
fair and competitive manner. Minorities and women were to be
affirmatively
sought for inclusion in the candidate pool.
Further, no candidate was to be
considered by the search committee or
the board unless his or her candidacy had first been
evaluated through a
public evaluation process.
“The guiding principles served us well,
and I think we lived up to
our promise,” Trustee Andrea Loughry,
head of the search committee, said.
“I
thank the members of the advisory council and search committee for their
hard work.”
Immediately following Petersen's election
as UT's 23rd president, he
met students, faculty and staff at a reception in the
Receptions at UT's other campuses across
the state are planned
Thursday and Friday.
"You can't imagine how excited Carol
and I are to have this
opportunity, and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank
you," Petersen
told the board, "not only for the hospitality you've
shown us while we've
been here during the process of the search, but also for the
opportunity to
work with all of you on the board and all the campuses in
the system, and
the people of
Prior to coming to the
was dean of the
department head of chemistry and associate dean for research
in the College
of Sciences at
He received the Ph.D. in inorganic
chemistry from the University of
University.
A 19-member Presidential Search Advisory
Council, which included
faculty, students, staff, trustees and alumni leaders,
screened resumes of
47 applicants.
It also conducted background checks on 12
that were invited for
interviews. The council further reduced the number to six
and sent those to
the board's search committee.
Meeting Tuesday in
the field to three: Dr. Jack Burns, vice president for
academic affairs and
research of the
of
Interviews were conducted by the full
board before Wednesday's
election of Petersen.
Baker-Parker, a search consulting firm in
assist with the search. Andrea Loughry,
a trustee from
the search committee. Jim Murphy, a
council. Margaret Perry, chancellor emeritus of UT Martin,
was the
executive director of the presidential search.
The reception schedule is as follows:
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of Public Relations
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