Oldham named new provost

By Katherine McGehee
News EditorPhilip Oldham will take over as Provost July 1 from Herbert Burhenn, acting Provost, according to university administrators.

"[Dr. Oldham] made himself stand out by his experience," Fran Bender, professor in the English department and head of the Provost search committee, said. "Specifically, he has been a department head for five years and a dean for six years in the college of arts and sciences at Mississippi State.

Philip Oldham, who is currently the dean of the college of arts and sciences and a professor of analytical chemistry at Mississippi State University, said: "I have a lot of experience as a faculty member and as a dean of a very diverse campus."

Oldham continued: "I'm a native Tennessean. I understand the dynamics of Southern culture, and I understand what current students and faculty are interested in."

Bender said there were many factors that contributed to their selection of Oldham.

"He said during an interview that he considers himself a faculty member, . and he still maintains an active research agenda, which we thought was important," Bender said.

"He puts students first, which we like, and we knew the students would like," Bender said. "He said 'students first, faculty are second."

Bender said Oldham's not afraid to take a chance or a risk to try an idea that has worked at other campuses and might work at UTC.

"For example, he heard about a program at Virginia Tech called the Math Emporium, which had a math lab that was open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week." Bender said. "He heard about this and he actually went to Virginia Tech's campus, observed it, and brought that idea back to Mississippi State, where they have what is called the Math Domain, but it's the same idea."

"The faculty are there during normal working hours, and graduate students are there otherwise," Bender said. "It increased their success rate in math by over 30 percent."

Bender said the search committee was also impressed with Oldham's commitment to student activities.

He likes involving students in co-curricular activities, which are activities that coordinate with classes students are taking, like an art student taking a trip to Italy or studying a particular political institution and then going to Washington to observe it, Bender said.

He said he believes involving students in any activities, extracurricular or co-curricular, will increase retention, Bender said.

Bender also commented on Oldham's personality during his interview.

"He was a little shy at first, but he has a sense of humor," Bender said. "He's a good storyteller, and he seems just to be a nice person, a good person. He was not off-putting at all."

Herbert Burhenn, acting Provost, said Oldham would face at least one challenge that he didn't have to overcome because he was already a part of the faculty when he took the job as acting Provost.

"I think for a new person coming in one of the important challenges is simply to be become familiar with the place," Burhenn said. "That doesn't happen automatically. You really have to get out of the office and meet people."

Burhenn said Oldham should use whatever opportunities he can find to visit with faculty, staff and students to find out their concerns.

Oldham said he already has goals in mind to get started working at UTC.

"I think my first goal is to learn the current situation and a people and work with them to find and prioritize what needs to be done," Oldham said. "I'll come on the tail end of the strategic planning process, so I have an advantage there."

Oldham's personal interests can also be fulfilled in Chattanooga.

"I'm an outdoor enthusiast. I love the mountains and white-water canoeing and rafting," Oldham said. "[My family] loves to camp and hike, and Chattanooga is a wonderful location for outdoor recreation."

"My family and I are terribly excited about the opportunity," Oldham said.

Burhenn said he was looking forward to having more time to dedicate to the college of arts and sciences.

"Being dean, you can stay much more in touch with the teaching and learning environment than you can as a provost," Burhenn said. "Simply by being in the dean's office, I'll have opportunities to talk to faculty and students, and I'm going to be teaching a course next fall.