University of Georgia Provost Pamela Whitten is one of three finalists for chancellor of the University of Tennessee.
Whitten visited the Knoxville campus on Wednesday. She told faculty and staff at the forum that she is “a defender of an inclusive campus who understands the nuances of a Southern, football-crazed, land grant university,” the News Sentinel reports.
Photo Credit: Andrew Tucker/UGA
UGA President Jere Morehead hired Whitten as provost in 2014. Previously, she headed the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State.
Morehead gave a statement to the Athens Banner-Herald giving Whitten his blessing.
“I am very happy for Dr. Whitten and pleased that she has been named a finalist. It should come as no surprise, given her record, that she is being considered for a college presidency,” he said. “I think it reflects well upon the University of Georgia that our senior administrators continue to be identified for executive leadership opportunities outside of UGA.”
Whitten likely would be in line for a raise if she gets the job. Her salary at UGA was $387,000 in 2015. The outgoing Tennessee chancellor, Jimmy Cheek, earns $447,492 annually. Morehead makes $811,375.
Tennessee is refusing to name the other two finalists for the university’s top job.
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