08/18/2014

As you are aware, Dr. Mary Jinks recently announced her retirement as Institute for Public Service vice president effective August 29, 2014. As I shared with you earlier this week, I am grateful for the 31 years of dedication and commitment Dr. Jinks has given to the University in every position she has held, and I wish her the best.

I am pleased to announce my appointment of Dr. Herb Byrd III as interim vice president for the Institute for Public Service. Herb is a recognized and familiar University leader who is currently director of Extension Evaluation and Staff Development for the UT Institute of Agriculture. Herb received a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies at UT Knoxville and is a member of the UTIA chancellor’s executive team. He is also a member of the Tennessee Extension administrative team.

Over his 30-year career with UT, Herb has worked with the statewide extension advisory committee in long-range planning; on oversight of statewide planning, evaluation and reporting, including Federal Plan of Work and Progress Reports; with county extension and outreach, human resources, equity and diversity offices; and in leadership training and professional development.

I am grateful to Herb for his willingness to further serve the University in this critical capacity as IPS interim vice president. Herb assumes this role on September 2, and in early 2015 I will launch a national search to fill the role permanently.

On Monday, August 25, at 4 pm, I will host a video conference with IPS employees statewide. I will introduce Herb, and he and I will be joined by Human Resources Vice President Linda Hendricks Harig. Together, we will outline next steps for IPS as Herb serves as interim vice president and the institute goes forward. We will provide location details for the video conference in a follow-up email. I look forward to being with you, and thank you for all you do.

All the best,
Joe