Marleen Kay Davis is leaving her post as dean of the University of Tennessee-s College of Architecture and Design, Provost Loren Crabtree said Monday.
Crabtree said Davis will stay at UT as a tenured full professor of architecture.
Davis came to UT as professor and dean from Syracuse University in 1994.
“I appreciate Marleen-s service to the college and her contributions to the state through her work in community design projects and to the university-s master plan,” Crabtree said. “She will continue to be a valuable asset to the college as a teacher and educator.”
Davis remarked, “It has been a privilege and an honor to have a leadership role in the College over the last nine years. Our College takes great pride in the collaborative effort of faculty, students, staff and alumni who have worked together to achieve the many goals of our professional programs.”
During Davis- tenure the college has made significant progress in student quality, graduation rates and participation in international study opportunities. The college has maintained its full accreditation and the faculty have been highly productive in scholarship, service and teaching.
Davis encouraged community outreach initiatives with a range of programs in Nashville, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities, Memphis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Knoxville. The college, Davis said, uses the state as a laboratory to demonstrate how design can improve the quality of life.
As chair of the UT Campus Planning Advisory Committee, Davis helped to develop the recently adopted UT Master Plan with the goal of making the campus more pedestrian friendly. She also co-chairs the Nine Counties One Vision planning efforts for downtown Knoxville.
In 2002 she was named as a Professional Peer for the Design Excellence Program of the federal government and has been appointed to the National Architectural Accreditation Board.
A licensed architect, she earned the Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and the Master of Architecture, with Distinction, from Harvard University. Her academic interests include architectural design, theory and urban design. While at Syracuse, she was named the Scholar Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Jan Simek, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, will serve as interim dean until Davis- permanent replacement is appointed.
Crabtree said Simek is a “proven administrator” who, in addition to serving as head of the anthropology department, also was interim head of the School of Art.
“Dr. Simek will not be a candidate for the deanship, but he has proven himself a highly effective administrator who can lead the college during this interim period.”
Simek will be assisted by Professor Marian Moffett, who will serve as interim associate dean. Moffett is a long-time architecture professor who also served earlier in the provost-s office under Provost John Peters.