John Zomchick
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek announced interim appointments Friday for two key positions on his staff.
In a message to faculty and staff, Chancellor Cheek said that he had decided to suspend the searches to fill the provost and vice chancellor positions, explaining that the next chancellor should have the opportunity to make decisions about his or her leadership team.
Last week, Chancellor Cheek announced his plans to return to the faculty over the next academic year.
John Zomchick, vice provost for faculty affairs, will serve as interim provost beginning Aug. 1, when Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Susan Martin will return to the classics faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Zomchick has been serving as vice provost for more than four years. Prior to joining the provost's staff, he was executive associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. He came to UT in 1985 as an assistant professor of English and earned the rank of professor in 2000. He has held a number of administrative appointments including associate dean for academic personnel, interim associate dean for academic programs and department head.
He is an award-winning teacher and a gifted scholar of 18th-century English literature. He has a bachelor of arts from Pennsylvania State University and a master's and doctorate in English literature from Columbia University.
Jacob Rudolph, marketing director in the Office of Communications and Marketing, will begin serving as interim vice chancellor for communications July 1. Vice Chancellor Margie Nichols will begin her transition to retirement in early July.
Mr. Rudolph came to UT in 2011. He has served as marketing director for three years and has played a critical role in strategic communications planning and campus branding and marketing initiatives, officials said. Before that he spent seven years in public relations and marketing in the tourism industry. He has bachelor's degrees in journalism from UT and in film studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a master's in educational media from Appalachian State University.
Jacob Rudolph