To: UT Faculty and Staff
From: Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek
Subject: Top 25 and SACS Reaccreditation
We are making a few administrative changes to continue our focus on becoming a Top 25 public research university and to prepare us for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools re-accreditation review in 2015.
Mary Albrecht, associate vice chancellor, has been overseeing the Top 25 initiative and the SACS process since August 2010. Mary will begin working on SACS full-time as her full attention is needed to meet several of the university’s reporting and assessment deadlines. Site visits will occur in 2015.
Melissa Shivers, assistant vice chancellor for student life, will begin leading our Top 25 effort for the university and report directly to me on the initiative. She will monitor our progress and keep people engaged and informed about our work to improve undergraduate and graduate education, research and engagement, faculty and staff priorities, and goals for enhancing infrastructure and resources.
We have made great progress in the last three years and we appreciate Mary’s diligence and commitment to our goals. We will continue to benefit from her knowledge and close attention to detail.
Melissa will be adding the Top 25 role to her Student Life responsibilities. Her new title will be assistant vice chancellor for student life and strategic initiatives. She is an enthusiastic leader with a great passion for our students and for helping the university reach its full potential.