For the first time in its 138-year history, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is poised to name a woman as chancellor.
Two finalists — Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs and Campus Life Alysson Satterlund of the University of California San Diego and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Lori Mann Bruce of Tennessee Technological University — visited campus this week to pitch their agendas for the future of Chattanooga’s largest university.
The finalists were selected after a national search led by the UT System and the executive search firm WittKieffer. Both candidates participated in public forums, fielded questions from faculty and staff and shared how their decades of experience shape their higher education leadership styles.
Satterlund, a first-generation college graduate who manages a $140 million portfolio at one of the nation’s top public research universities, emphasized cultural engagement, access and institutional storytelling. Bruce, currently provost at Tennessee Tech, proposed a strategy grounded in academic rigor, inclusive excellence and regional research expansion.
Student Government Association President Jordan Fall, the sole student on the search committee, said the selection process came down to more than just resumes.