UT’s president says chancellor’s dismissal was not personal

KNOXVILLE — UT President Joe DiPietro said this week he’s not planning to set a retirement date until after the new board of trustees meets this summer, and said his decision to fire Chancellor Beverly Davenport was not personal.

DiPietro made the remarks in a question-and-answer session with media Monday after his introduction of Wayne Davis, who is taking over as interim chancellor of the University of Tennessee.

Davis, who was set to retire from his role as dean of the Tickle College of Engineering, said he’s humbled and honored to be asked to serve in the interim chancellor role for a year.

DiPietro appointed Davis interim chancellor last Thursday, a day after firing the institution’s first female chancellor, Davenport, a little more than a year into her leadership.

$45,833 PER MONTH, PLUS EXPENSES

While Davenport became the highest-paid chancellor in UT’s history with a base salary of $585,000, Davis will be compensated $45,833 monthly, which equates to $550,000 annually, with $1,666 per month as a non-accountable expense allowance and another $1,666 per month for housing allowances, according to an offer letter he received from DiPietro.

DiPietro said he appreciates Davis stepping up at at time when he’s needed.

Plus: “Every now and then he’ll smile and tell you a good joke.”

Davis said he was born in Orange County, and graduated from Orange County High School, in North Carolina.

“My life started with orange,” he said.

Davis talked about his long career at the university and his commitment to UT. He called himself “extremely student-oriented.”

“I was truly going to retire and I was looking forward to it,” he said, to laughter. But, when asked to fill the role, he said he knew he could help move the university through the process of a search for a new chancellor.

Additionally, Davis said Davenport did implement some programs he intends to keep, including online learning programs.

DIPIETRO ON DAVENPORT,

HIS OWN RETIREMENT

DiPietro notified Davenport of her termination in a letter detailing what he viewed as shortcomings she hadn’t made an effort to improve upon, including sour relations with him and some members of his leadership team, “very poor” communication skills and “lack of organization.”

On Monday DiPietro said the decision to terminate Davenport was not personal and, over the course of a year, he met with her frequently to outline the problems.

Her personnel file was devoid of any criticism because the file is not covered under the public records law in Tennessee, he said in response to a media question.

He called her termination “a very unpleasant decision.”

DiPietro said it was important to him to not have the performance issues passed along to anyone else to handle and said the letter he wrote to Davenport stands for itself.

Davenport is being given the opportunity to stay on campus as a tenured communications professor and will earn $1.75 million for four years of work before then earning an “average” professor’s salary from the fifth year forward.

When asked if, given her communications issues, Davenport would serve in a faculty role, the president said he did expect she would do so. And he lauded her previous experience as a faculty member.

DiPietro said it’s prudent to not set a date for his retirement until the new board of trustees meets. The board doesn’t convene until July 1.

DiPietro said the decision Davenport made to not outsource facilities is likely to stand, as he always said he’d stand by that decision.

DAVIS’ EXPERIENCE, ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Davis, a UT alumnus who has been part of the faculty and administration at UT for 44 years, will turn 70 on May 21 and has postponed his retirement to take that role, according to DiPietro.

On top of his position as engineering dean, Davis served as assistant dean of the Graduate School from 1985 through 1988 and as its associate dean from 1988 through 1991. He became interim dean of the Tickle College of Engineering in 2008 before taking over the role permanently in 2009.

Included in his list of academic accomplishments is enrollment growth of almost 2,000; near-doubling of doctoral enrollment and graduate rates; more than doubled endowment faculty positions supported by $19 million in gift funds; an increase of 42 full-time faculty positions; a doubling of research expenditures to more than $70 million per year; and an increase in partnerships and research with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and businesses throughout the state.