Governor Phil Bredesen today named five appointments to fill vacancies on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, including Jim Hall of Signal Mountain.
“The people I appointed today share my commitment to making education our number one priority in Tennessee,” Bredesen said. “I am confident these individuals will work hard to help accomplish our goals in Tennessee of raising college graduation rates, and most importantly, ensuring that our state’s educational system remains focused on its most important goal - preparing students for a promising future through education.”
The UT Board of Trustees governs the entire UT system, including campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and Martin. The system serves a total of 42,000 students across the state. By state law, today’s appointments to the UT Board must include one student, one faculty member, citizen representatives from Tennessee’s Third and Seventh Congressional Districts and a citizen representative who lives in Anderson, Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Lincoln, Moore or Warren County. Today’s appointments include:
Anne Holt, Seventh District Citizen Representative. Holt is an anchor at WKRN-TV in Nashville, where she has worked as a reporter and anchor for more than 30 years. She has received numerous awards for her work, including a lifetime achievement award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, a distinguished alumni award from the University of Tennessee College of Communication, and a distinguished service award from the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. H
Ms. Holt earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the UT College of Communication and Information. She has served on the UT Athletics Board and the National Alumni Association Board of Governors. Other community involvement includes service on the boards of Book'em, Leadership Nashville, Cumberland Valley Girl Scouts, Middle Tennessee March of Dimes, and the United Way of Middle Tennessee, among others. She is appointed to a six-year term.
Jim Hall, Third District Citizen Representative. Mr. Hall currently serves as managing partner of Hall & Associates, LLC, and serves Of Counsel to Chicago-based Nolan Law Group and Nashville-based Farmer & Luna. His previous experience includes having served as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a post he held from 1994 to 2001 after being nominated to the board by President Bill Clinton in 1993. In 1996, President Clinton named him to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.
Mr. Hall began his career in Washington as counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and as a member of the staff of Senator Albert Gore, Sr. He maintained a private legal practice in Chattanooga, before serving in the cabinet of Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter. From 1987 to 1992, he served as director of the state's Planning Office. In 1992, he returned to Washington, D.C., to serve as chief of staff for Senator Harlan Mathews, before being appointed to the NTSB.
Mr. Hall graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1967 with a baccalaureate of legal letters degree. He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1973, receiving the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service in Vietnam in 1969. He is on the board of directors for U.S. Xpress Enterprises, serves as chairman of the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga and on the Board of Directors of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority. He is appointed to a six-year term.
Charles Wharton, Citizen Representative. Mr. Wharton has been president and CEO of Poplar Creek Farms, LLC, a diversified holding company with operations including land development, timber interests and agricultural activities, since 1995. Prior to that, he served as executive director of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, an international law firm in Los Angeles from 1985 to 2002, and worked as chief administrative officer for the law firm Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston from 1980 to 1985. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from UT Knoxville and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders & Exhibitors Association.
Mr. Wharton is the past chairman of the UT Development Council and currently serves as the chairman of the fundraising campaign for the UT College of Agriculture. he is appointed to a six-year term.
Deseriee Kennedy, Faculty. Ms. Kennedy is the immediate past president of the UT Knoxville Faculty Senate and is an associate professor of law at the UT College of Law, where she teaches courses in civil procedure, business torts, and family law, among others. After receiving an LLM from Temple University School of Law, she joined the UT faculty in 1995. Prior to that, she practiced commercial litigation in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn., and a doctor of jurisprudence from Harvard University, Boston. She serves on the board of directors for the YWCA in Knoxville and is co-chair of the 2007 YWCA Race against Racism. Kennedy is appointed to a two-year term, serving her first year as a non-voting Trustee and her second year as a voting member of the board.
Anna York, Student. A Crossville native, Ms. York is a junior at UT Knoxville majoring in global studies and serves as a member of the university’s Student Government Association. She currently serves as the association’s student services director. She is a member of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is appointed to a two-year term, serving her first year as a non-voting trustee and her second year as a voting member of the board.