Chancellor Dr. Keith Carver announced the selection of Andy Lewter as the vice chancellor of Student Affairs Nov. 6, 2018.
“He emerged as the top person from an excellent candidate pool,” said Carver. “Dr. Lewter has the experience and vision needed to lead our Division of Student Affairs.”
Lewter is succeeding former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Margaret Toston.
“His professional background and familiarity with the university position him for success in this important role. I’m grateful to the search committee for their hard work identifying student-centered candidates capable of moving this division to the next level,” Carver said.
Lewter serves as the current dean of students at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.
“Dr. Lewter was selected from over 40 applicants. The applicants were evaluated by the search committee and a subset were selected based on their qualifications and experiences for Zoom interviews,” Todd Winters said.
“Dr. Lewter had a wealth of knowledge, experience and an outstanding record as an administrator in the area of Student Affairs. He is student-centered, strong in Diversity and Inclusion, and in Greek Life. He will work hard to build bridges between Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and the Community,” Winters said.
Lewter hails from Chapel Hill, Tennessee and graduated from UTM in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He earned his master’s degree in education from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, as well as a doctoral degree of education from UTK.
“I am going to spend time listening and talking to students and student affairs staff and other faculty and staff on campus before I can create a list of things, we will need to make priorities,” Lewter said.
“My approach is, I’m very relational when I talk to folks and meet students and spend time with them, so that may be a little different than how some things were done in the past, but I’m excited about having a chance to meet the students, spend time with them and help them be successful and have a great college experience.
Lewter’s main focus is to continue fostering a welcoming environment where all students matter and are successful.
“When I was a student at UTM I had a great experience,” Lewter says, “I loved all the things I was involved in. I was in many leadership positions and I want to give our Skyhawks a chance to have a similar experience I did and really love it there.”
“Returning to campus in this role has been a dream of mine since graduation [from UTM],” Lewter said. “I am excited about this opportunity to serve the students of UTM and look forward to working with the student affairs staff to ensure student safety, promote student success and provide students with an amazing college experience.”
In the move to Martin, Lewter will be accompanied by his wife, Megan, a UTM 1994 nursing graduate, and their two sons Andrew and Mitchell.
Lewter will begin acting as vice chancellor Jan. 1, 2019.
