KNOXVILLE — Dr. Clifton Woods III will head University of Tennessee academic programs until a permanent provost is named, UT President J. Wade Gilley announced Wednesday.
Woods will become interim provost June 1 when Dr. John G. Peters assumes the presidency of Northern Illinois University.
Dr. Anne Mayhew, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of history, will step into Woods’ associate vice provost position on an acting basis, Gilley said.
A search advisory committee will be appointed soon to assist in the selection of the new provost, Gilley said.
“I am happy that Dr. Woods and Dr. Mayhew have agreed to step into these two very important posts,” Gilley said. “They are recognized on campus as two of our outstanding faculty leaders.”
Woods joined the UT chemistry faculty in 1974. He earned three degrees in chemistry from North Carolina State University and was a professor of chemistry before being named associate dean of research in arts and sciences in 1990. His appointment as assistant vice provost was made in 1997.
Mayhew came to UT in 1968. She earned bachelor and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas and the master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She was appointed assistant dean of arts and sciences in 1996.