New UT president comes to UTC

In his first visit since being elected, the UT system president-elect made the rounds Friday at UTC, and the current system president said it's nice to finally see a UT insider take the reins.

"In the past, [being] the best included being from the outside," said UT Interim President Jan Simek. "I'm glad the inside candidate got a good solid look. He had the most experience with legislators. He already had the connectivity."

Joe DiPietro, who has worked as chancellor of the UT Institute of Agriculture for six years, is the first person to be promoted to the system's top post from a position within the University of Tennessee in more than a decade.

"This has been a whirlwind experience," DiPietro told a crowd gathered at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. "It's been a real high ... I am tickled to death about the job and opportunity. I understand the challenges."

During the UT presidential search process, which took place as the system dealt with some of the most severe budget cuts in its history, trustees expressed concern over a pattern of controversial, out-of-state presidents.

John Petersen, the most recent UT president, came from the University of Connecticut, served less than five years and left in February 2009 after tangling with trustees over budget issues and donor relations.

Before Petersen, John W. Shumaker came from the University of Louisville and resigned in 2003, and Wade Gilley came from Marshall University in West Virginia and resigned in 2001. Both left the UT system embroiled in scandal.

Trustees voted 11-10 to promote DiPietro, 43, who beat out the leader of the West Virginia higher education system, 43-year-old Brian Noland, for the job. Noland previously served as associate executive director for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

"The trustees have moved a long way," Simek said. "The close vote reflects the board's willingness to look at different kinds of candidates."

Students and administrators at UTC who listened to DiPietro's comments said they believe he will work to promote UTC as much as the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In the past few years, UTC's role in the system's future has been questioned by some faculty, students and Chattanooga trustees, who argue that UT gets preferential treatment.

"I'm excited," said Matt Huckabee, a UTC sophomore. "He seems to think we are more than a branch campus."

The UT system is facing a $110 million shortfall, which could trigger cuts to programs and jobs systemwide. DiPietro said he plans to work closely with all campuses to make the tough budget cuts coming when federal stimulus dollars run out next year.

But DiPietro said he needs more time to evaluate the UT system's athletics, although he said athletics play an important role in the overall health of the system.

"[Athletics] are the front door on the university," he said. "It is an opportunity to help us engage with people. Athletics adds a robustness."

He said he still is learning "the moving parts of the place" but has confidence in UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and UT Athletic Director Mike Hamilton, who now reports directly to Cheek.

He also said his first impressions of newly hired UT football coach Derek Dooley are positive.

"The fellow seems to be a very sincere, talented coach," he said. "He has got the right attitude."

DiPietro said he couldn't comment on an NCAA investigation of Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl's recruiting practices.

"I start the job Jan. 1," he said. "So I don't know a lot of details in that case."

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