Johnson Named EVP & COO
Tonjanita Johnson, UT vice president for communications and marketing since June 2013, was named UT executive vice president and chief operating officer by vote of the UT Board of Trustees in October.
Johnson’s new role was effective immediately upon the board’s vote. Her responsibilities now include oversight of five system-level departments that formerly reported to the UT president. Those are academic affairs, communications and marketing, facilities planning and capital projects, human resources, and institutional research.
Johnson’s appointment and the administrative restructuring come on the heels of an external consultant’s recommendation to reduce the number of direct reports to the UT president to enhance the president’s ability to focus on other strategic areas.
Golden Named Executive Assistant to UT President
David Golden succeeded Keith Carver as executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro on Dec. 1. Carver became chancellor of UT Martin in January.
Golden, a professor of food microbiology at UT Knoxville for 23 years, served as a special assistant to Chancellor Jimmy Cheek since August 2016 and is a former member of the UT Board of Trustees and UT Knoxville Faculty Senate president.
“David’s 23-year career with the university, educating students and conducting research, coupled with his administrative experience and keen understanding of our statewide mission, make him an ideal candidate for this role,” DiPietro says. “I look forward to working closely with him to engage our stakeholders and advance what we’re trying to do at the system level.”
The executive assistant is a member of the president’s senior staff, reporting directly to the president and responsible for a broad set of assignments.
Miller Named CFO
David Miller began serving as UT System chief financial officer on Jan. 1. Miller joined the university following an 18-year tenure as vice president for administration and fiscal affairs at the University of Wisconsin System. He also has government relations experience, having worked as a legislative analyst for the Tennessee Legislature and as a policy analyst
and legislative aide for the Wisconsin Legislature.
In his new role with UT, Miller oversees all of the university’s financial operations statewide. He succeeds Butch Peccolo, who retired as treasurer and chief financial officer in December 2015 after 40 years of service.