Carson-Newman College’s Board of Trustees selected Associate Provost Joe Bill Sloan as its interim president on Friday, Board Chair C.T. Cozart announced. Dr. Sloan, a Jefferson City native and 1967 C-N graduate, joined the faculty in 1969. He follows Dr. James Netherton, who announced his resignation as president earlier this year to accept a position at Mercer University.
“It is a pleasure to make this announcement because there is no question that Joe Bill brings to this task a lifelong commitment to Carson-Newman College,” said Mr. Cozart. “He grew up on this campus, obtained his undergraduate education here and has spent 38 years of his professional career as a teacher and administrator at Carson-Newman.”
Dr. Sloan, 61, is a second-generation C-N servant. His father, Professor Albert Sloan, was a longtime professor of mathematics and retired from the institution as treasurer of the college. As a student, the younger Dr. Sloan earned the B.A. in political science while serving in several leadership roles, which included being president of the Student Government Association.
As a graduate student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1969, he received a Ford Foundation Teaching Grant. He continued doctoral studies in political science and in counseling at UT during the 1970s and 80s.
Dr. Sloan joined his alma mater’s faculty after one year as a professor at Lees-McRae College. Known as an outstanding teacher, he has received a number of recognitions, including C-N’s highest professorial honor, the Distinguished Faculty Member Award (1986). He was selected as Outstanding Teacher of Freshman in 1989, and he holds the distinction of being the College’s only two-time recipient of the Outstanding Student Advisor Award (1981 and 1988).
Beyond his excellence as a professor, Dr. Sloan has chaired the Faculty Council twice (1986-1988 and 1998-2001). He was a member of the president search committee (1999-2000). As an administrator, he chaired the History and Political Science Department (1994-2000), and is presently a member of the institution’s president search committee. He served as dean of Social Sciences beginning in 2001 until he assumed his current responsibilities as associate provost in 2004.
“For 156 years Carson-Newman has been a Baptist institution whose mission is Christian, liberal arts education. Its impact, history and heritage have been outstanding. As a Board, we believe that Joe Bill Sloan, a lifelong Baptist and Christian educator, is uniquely qualified to lead the College at this time in its history,” said Mr. Cozart.
A member of Jefferson City’s First Baptist Church, he has served as a deacon, a trustee and member of the chancel choir. He is married to Brenda R. Sloan, a 1974 Carson-Newman graduate and a licensed professional counselor.
“I am humbled by and grateful to the Board of Trustees for the opportunity to serve as interim president of Carson-Newman College,” said Dr. Sloan. “I look forward to the tasks that are before us. I will work diligently to earn the trust and confidence of the C-N family and supporters of the College as we continue to educate and prepare young men and women for service in their professions, churches, and communities.”