Two UT faculty members are representing the university in Leadership Knoxville’s Class of 2014.
Ernest Brothers, assistant dean of the Graduate School, and Victoria Niederhauser, professor and dean of the College of Nursing, are two of the forty-eight area leaders in this year’s class of accomplished professionals from an array of backgrounds.
This is the thirtieth year of Leadership Knoxville, whose mission is to “…build a stronger Knoxville by developing people and groups, leading to a greater community.” Those accepted into the program spend ten months in intensive study of the community and its history, opportunities, and challenges.
Brothers currently oversees the Office of Graduate Training and Mentorship. His research focuses on retention of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; managing diversity; and cross-cultural mentoring. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in natural science, both from Delta State University. He also holds a master’s degree in public policy administration from Mississippi State University and a doctorate in urban higher education from Jackson State University.
Niederhauser’s teaching and research focus on child and adolescent health promotion and disease prevention, with an emphasis on immunizations and childhood obesity. She earned her registered nurse diploma from Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing and holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts, a master’s degree in nursing from Boston College, and a doctorate in public health from the University of Hawaii.
Brothers and Niederhauser started their Leadership Knoxville journey with an orientation and opening retreat in August and will begin attending monthly sessions in October. They’ll graduate from the program in May.
Learn more about Leadership Knoxville at the program’s website.