Interim President of The University of Tennessee System, Randy Boyd, a Knoxville businessman and UTK alumnus, began his first day on the job at UTM.
Boyd, who was appointed by the Board of Trustees (BOT), replaced Dr. Joe DiPietro who had served as the president for seven years.
DiPietro retired from active service on Nov. 21, 2018. Boyd’s tenure as interim president will last for 24 months or until the BOT appoints a permanent replacement for DiPietro.
Boyd is a fixture in Tennessee politics and business. He served as chair of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. He also served as advisor for higher education to Gov. Bill Haslam.
Boyd assumed his duties in an official capacity over the Thanksgiving break, and his first day on the job was spent visiting the campus at UTM, ostensibly to communicate his commitment to the rural satellite campuses outside of the main flagship schools in Knoxville and Chattanooga.
During the visit, Boyd remarked to local media, “I think it’s important to make sure that everybody understands across the state of Tennessee that when you’re elected president of the University of Tennessee System, you are president for all the campuses. …”
“We want to make sure we are representing all of our campuses. So I’m excited to be here, to be back in northwest Tennessee and back in Martin.”
In a systemwide email, Boyd laid out several major agenda items that he wanted to address during his tenure.
The first was, naturally, the search for a permanent president to replace DiPietro and a new chancellor for UTK. He also wants to, “increase talent development,” which he clarified to mean improving graduation rates and recruitment.
“Together, we will focus on strategies that improve graduation rates, improve recruitment of both in-state and out-of-state students and grow online education programs,” Boyd wrote.
Another item on Boyd’s agenda was an enhancement of the relationship between the UT System and Oak Ridge National Laboratories in the eastern part of the state.
Boyd hopes to help bring visibility of UT programs to the 95 counties of Tennessee, clarify the relationship between the UT Administration and campuses and build the overall UT brand throughout the state.
“I have always been passionate about helping students achieve their dream of a college education,” he said in the closing of the communique, “I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue this work as a part of the University I love and that has meant so much to me, my community and my state. While these are my initial observations and priorities, they will likely evolve as I continue to listen, learn and discuss with individuals across the system and the state.”
