University of Tennessee President Dr. Joe DiPietro has announced he will retire. Dr. DiPietro made the announcement by email, saying November 21st will be his last day of active service.
Here’s the press release released Thursday morning September 17th. A video message from DiPietro can be found at the end of the release.
University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro announced today that he will retire Feb. 14, 2019.
He will step down from active service Nov. 21 to use his remaining vacation time.
Joe DiPietro
DiPietro, UT’s 25th president, has led the University of Tennessee system since January 2011. He serves as the chief executive officer of UT and its campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and the Institute of Public Service.
The time has come for him to step down, he said.
“I am very proud of all we have accomplished together, which would not have been possible without the important efforts of our talented faculty, students, staff and administrators and the steadfast support of the Board of Trustees,” DiPietro said. “The University is well positioned for success—we are coming off a record-breaking year in research funding as well as private fundraising, and we have a committed group of chancellors and system administrators to move the University forward.”
UT Board of Trustees Chair John Compton praised DiPietro. “We should all be thankful for Joe’s leadership. He and the former Board of Trustees accomplished a great deal together. All stakeholders in the University system have been well-served by his tireless commitment to continual improvement across all of our campuses. Our new board will convene soon to discuss next steps in selecting a new leader for the University of Tennessee system.”
During DiPietro’s tenure, he oversaw a record four years of low tuition increases, including a zero percent tuition increase this year for UT Knoxville and UT Chattanooga. In 2017, UT research achieved a record-high, system-wide $481 million in sponsored-program expenditures. The UT Foundation experienced a record fundraising year of more than $397 million given during 2017-2018 fiscal year. The record year of giving included the naming of two colleges at the UT Institute of Agriculture and UT Chattanooga, which join two other colleges named at UT Knoxville since 2014. The UT Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service had more than 5 million contacts with Tennesseans statewide.
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