The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT on March 27.
Following interim guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus), the meeting will be held virtually. All board members will participate electronically or by telephone. Interested individuals are encouraged to watch the meeting online. The meeting will be webcast live and archived for later viewing; a link to the webcast will be available at tennessee.edu.
The Board’s Standing Rule Governing Requests to Address the Board has been extended to include this special meeting. Requests to address the Board may be submitted using the online form or the pdf at: trustees.tennessee.edu/requests-to-address-the-board/. Requests will be accepted until 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 23. While the Board’s Standing Rule will apply, given the current environment regarding COVID-19, accommodations will be granted to allow for remote participation by scheduled speakers.
At the meeting, the Board of Trustees will consider appointing Interim President Randy Boyd to the position of president up to June 30, 2025. In addition, the Board will be briefed on the University’s actions and plans in response to COVID-19 and may take action, as necessary, including considering revisions to the tenure policy to extend the probationary period.
Boyd, a UTK alumnus and Knoxville businessman, has served as interim president since November 2018. At the November 2019 Board of Trustees meeting, discussions began to consider removing the interim title. In December 2019, Board Chair John Compton initiated a formal review of Boyd’s performance, which included requesting feedback from leadership of faculty, staff and students as well as alumni, legislators and others. After extensive discussion of Boyd’s review and leadership during the February 2020 Board meeting, Compton recommended to the Board consideration of the appointment of Boyd without undertaking a national search.
“The recommendation was informed by a number of considerations, including the positive momentum of the University, the strategic initiatives that are underway, and, most notably, the favorable feedback received from key stakeholders,” Compton said.
The Board requested that Boyd participate in a series of town hall meetings across the state to share his vision for leading the University and to give constituents the opportunity to ask questions. Town hall meetings were held in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Martin and Memphis between March 4-11. Recordings of those meetings are available online.
The agenda for the meeting has been posted to the Board website and is accessible at: trustees.tennessee.edu/. Meeting materials are anticipated to be available online no later than March 20.
Anyone with a disability or otherwise needing assistance to attend this virtual meeting may contact the individuals listed below to request auxiliary aids or services needed to facilitate attendance. Contact may be made in writing, by email, or by telephone and should be received no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, March 25.
Visit cdc.gov/COVID19 for the latest information and resources about COVID-19. The designated location for the meeting is the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials Executive Conference Room, UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm, 2641 Osprey Vista Way, Knoxville.
The University of Tennessee System distributes this notice to all faculty and staff as part of its compliance with the adequate public notice requirement of state open meetings law.
