Contributed photography / Kim White will be the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs and executive director of the University of Chattanooga Foundation, effective Dec. 1.Kim White, former Chattanooga mayoral candidate and CEO of downtown development firm River City Company, will join the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga leadership team on Dec. 1.
As vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs and executive director of the University of Chattanooga Foundation, White will earn $250,000 annually and report to UTC Chancellor Steve Angle.
"Kim brings to the role an extraordinary blend of experience, expertise and skills," Angle said in an announcement. "She is a proud Moc, having graduated from UTC, and has served our institution and the UT System for many years in a variety of roles.
White, a native of Hixson, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UTC in 1982.
"Anybody that knows me knows there are two things that are always part of me, and it's the passion I have for this city and the university. They go hand-in-hand," White said in the announcement. "It's exciting to be able to spend the next part of my career giving back to a university that has given so much to me."
In 2018, White was appointed to the UT system Board of Trustees by then-Governor Bill Haslam. She will resign from that position before assuming her role at UTC.
Lofton Stuart had served as interim interim vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs and executive director of the UC Foundation since February 2020. The role was previously held by Bryan Rowland from 2014 until January 2020, when he left UTC.
Over the past 18 years, White has held multiple leadership positions at UTC and within the UT system, including president of the UTC Alumni board and an active member of the UC Foundation board. She was the second woman in the foundation's 50-plus year history to serve as chair. She also represented UTC while on the board of the UT Foundation, chairing the real estate committee and serving as a member of the foundation's executive committee.
"The foundation is extremely pleased to have Kim on board as executive director," said Doug Brown, chair of the UC Foundation's board of trustees. "She is a proven leader, and her experience as a previous board chair gives her a unique ability to move the Foundation forward as we focus on student success."
White, 60, was CEO of the nonprofit River City Company for nearly 11 years, and stepped down in the spring of 2020. In September 2020, she announced her candidacy for mayor. White beat out 13 other candidates in the March 2 general election, coming in second place by 273 votes and earning a spot in the April 13 runoff election against rival Tim Kelly, who won the runoff with nearly 60% of the vote.
In her new role, she'll continue to work to strengthen connections between the university and the broader community, White said.
"What I want to do is take the community engagement aspect and bring it to the table, to make sure that the community understands what a vitally important role UTC plays in the health of the city," White said. "UTC is an economic driver. It's a talent driver. People that love this city should be giving back to the university in a variety of ways."
White has served the city on numerous boards, including the Enterprise Center and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. She has been a member of the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club and spent six years as an Erlanger Hospital Authority trustee.
Her career honors include being selected as one of the 100 most significant alumni in the history of the University of Tennessee system. She received the UTC Outstanding Service Award in 2015 and the Erlanger Foundation's Gordon Street Distinguished Community Leadership Award in 2020.
- Compiled by staff writer Mary Fortune