The University of Tennessee Southern (UTS) is thrilled to announce and welcome Dr. Linda C. Martin as Interim Chancellor beginning July 1, 2022.
Dr. Martin joins UTS as an expert leader and accomplished innovator in higher education with an esteemed career that stretches beyond 35 years. She earned her undergraduate degree in Animal Science from The Ohio State University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and Colorado State University, respectively.
Prior to her most recent position as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success at The University of Tennessee, Dr. Martin served as the Associate Dean and Director of Academic Affairs in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University (2007-2017) and Assistant Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University (2002-2007) following 15 years of successful teaching and advising at Kansas State University.
During her 10 years of service at Ohio State University, Dr. Martin was named the Sanford G. Price and Isabelle P. Barbee Chair in Teaching, Learning and Advising in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and was appointed Director of the University’s Second-year Transformational Experience Program. Her responsibilities at Ohio State included providing leadership for CFAES student recruitment, student development, faculty development, teaching excellence, academic advising, first-year experience, study abroad, undergraduate research, multi-cultural student services, and career development. Under her leadership, undergraduate enrollment in CFAES grew over 25%; undergraduate participation in study abroad reached nearly 50%; and 4-yr graduation rate climbed to over 70%.
At Oklahoma State, she provided leadership for faculty development in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural resources (CASNR); worked with the CASNR Effective Teaching Committee to enhance teaching effectiveness college wide; and served in an advisory role to the OSU Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence.
In her Vice President role, Dr. Martin works closely with campus chief academic and student affairs officers to oversee academic and student affairs for the UT System. She coordinates the development of academic strategic plans, academic policy, new academic programs, admission and retention standards, faculty handbook revisions, and system-wide student success efforts. Most recently (2021-22), Dr. Martin served as the Interim Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.
Throughout her career, Dr. Martin has received over 25 different college, regional and national awards for teaching excellence including the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Distinguished Educator Award (2007); American Society of Animal Science Distinguished Teacher Award (2006); North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Teaching Award of Excellence (2001); and the National USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching in Food and Agriculture Sciences Award (1998). She also holds the distinction of being the first woman inducted into The Ohio State University Animal Science Hall of Fame (2005).
Dr. Martin will begin her role as the Interim Chancellor of UTS on the one-year anniversary of the historic acquisition that resulted in the UT System’s newest undergraduate institution. Having overcome many challenges and welcomed many changes over the last two years, UTS has been laying a strong foundation for a brilliant future for the students, the community, and beyond. Coming in with exceptional strengths and experience, Dr. Martin’s addition to the UTS campus will enforce this foundation and enhance UTS’ goals and values, bringing the institution to new heights.
The University of Tennessee Southern is an institution of higher education, originally formed under the name Martin Methodist College and founded in 1870. Offering associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees, UTS is located on an historic campus in Pulaski, among the beautiful rolling hills of southern Middle Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Southern is convenient to both Nashville (70 miles north) and Huntsville, Alabama (40 miles south).
The University of Tennessee Southern