KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Four finalists have been named candidates to become the next University of Tennessee Knoxville chancellor, including a state education leader who previously was a contender to be system president.
The university announced Wednesday morning that Brian Noland of East Tennessee State University, Bill Hardgrave of Auburn University, William Tate of Washington University and Donde Plowman of the University of Nebraska would interview for the position to oversee the Knoxville campus.
They'll be on campus April 16-18.
According to the university, the candidates will take part in public forums that will be streamed live here.
Noland is president of East Tennessee State University. He previously was a candidate to become president of the UT system. Noland has been ETSU president since 2012, not long after he was a candidate to be UT president.
He has bachelor’s and master's degrees from West Virginia University. He has a doctorate in political science from UT Knoxville.
Noland will take part in a public forum 2:30-3:30 Wednesday, April 17, at the Student Union Auditorium.
Hardgrave is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Auburn. He previously was dean of Auburn's Harbert College of Business, and before that was the Bradberry Chair in Information Systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
He'll face the public 3-4 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in Room 101 of Strong Hall.
Tate is dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University, located in St. Louis. According to his biography, he has been a research fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Maryland at College Park and the University of Ghana.
He'll meet the public 9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m. April 18 in the Student Union Auditorium.
Plowman is executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln. She previously was dean of the College of Business Administration in Lincoln, and also has been head of the Management Department at the University of Tennessee.
She'll appear at a public forum 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. April 16 at the Student Union Auditorium.
Wayne Davis is interim UT chancellor. He replaced Beverly Davenport, who was fired in 2018 after a brief tenure.
Acting President Randy Boyd has made finding a chancellor one of his top priorities. He's working over the next year or so to help guide the system through transitional times with the recent departures of Davenport and UT President Joe DiPietro.