UT paying $75K to search for Knoxville campus chancellor

The University of Tennessee is paying the Parker Executive Search firm $75,000, plus expenses, to help in its nationwide hunt for a new chancellor for the Knoxville campus, reports the News Sentinel.

In addition to the search fee, the university also agreed to pay expenses of up $7,500 – in addition to the cost of advertising the job and the travel expenses for candidates and search committee members.

The UT system has a standing five-year contract with the firm, not to exceed $3 million, that began in April 2014 and runs through the end of April 2019. The contract lays out terms for any search administrators, coaches, deans, academic chairs or other high-level administrators. The fees range from $60,000 to $75,000, depending on the salary of the new hire.

The contract locks in terms that can be used by Tennessee Board of Regents and any of the UT campuses for searches, but neither are required to use Parker. The next Knoxville chancellor will be tasked with filling out his or her cabinet, including a provost and an athletic director.

The university has also recently conducted searches for a new chancellor of the Martin campus and a new chief financial officer for the system, both of which were conducted in-house. The current search for a new chancellor for the agriculture campus is also being conducted internally, said UT spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter.

Though behind schedule – UT officials had hoped to bring finalists to campus for interviews at the end of October – the university still expects to name a successor to Chancellor Jimmy Cheek by the end of the year, officials said recently.