Leadership Transition Announced for UTIA

Jan 30, 2023


The University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd and University of Tennessee, Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman announced on Jan. 26, leadership transitions at the UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Carrie Castille will become a special advisor to the president of the UT System and Keith Carver, chancellor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, will serve as the new leader of the UTIA. Pending board approval, Carver will begin on March 1.

UTIA is thriving with record research expenditures, increased enrollment, expanding programs, including its first School of Natural Resources, and a strong Extension presence in all 95 counties.

Over the next several months, Castille will advise the president on issues of agriculture-related policy, and federal grant opportunities.

Carver, who previously served as executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro, will head UTIA in a two-year limited duration appointment to provide stability and leadership to the institute. UTIA provides solutions to problems across the state through UT Extension, UT AgResearch, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Herbert College of Agriculture.

“We appreciate Carrie’s service and are very excited to have Keith move into this statewide role with UTIA,” said Boyd.  “His experience across the UT system, collaborative spirit, and his deep appreciation for UT’s land grant mission made him an obvious choice for this role.”

“Agriculture is central to Tennessee’s economy and way of life,” said Plowman. “Keith will hit the ground running and support the important work happening across UTIA. I look forward to working with him in this new way. I appreciate the energy and passion for agriculture that Carrie has and wish her all the best in her new pursuits.”
UT Martin Provost Phillip Cavalier will serve as interim chancellor at UT Martin.  The university will launch a search for a new chancellor in the coming weeks.

For more content like this, check out the latest issue of The Cooperator! 
 
 

Read More News

Apr 14, 2025

In the next few weeks, the brood of periodical cicadas that last emerged in 2008 will be singing and looking for mates before laying their eggs for the next emergence in 17 years.

 

The 17-year periodical cicadas of Brood XIV will begin to emerge when the soil temperature at 8 inches deep reaches 64 degrees, which is estimated to be in late April to early May.

Apr 07, 2025
As of Mar.1, there were 74.5 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, down slightly from March 2024 and down 1% from Dec. 1, 2024, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
 
Mar 31, 2025
The Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation is proud to announce the launch of Round-N-Raise, a fundraising initiative taking place April 1-30, 2025, to support local Tennessee 4-H clubs and FFA chapters. During this month-long campaign, customers can contribute to the future of agriculture by rounding up their purchases at participating Co-op locations.