Published: February 23, 2009 02:29 pm      

UT president suddenly resigns

University of Tennessee President John Petersen abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he has accomplished most of his goals for the university and believes it is in the institution's best interest for him to step down now with steep budget cuts on the horizon.

"This was my choice," Petersen told a news conference, insisting he was neither forced out nor contemplating retirement at age 61, though his future plans are undecided.

Petersen, who has been at the helm of the 42,000-student, five-campus University of Tennessee system since 2004, will take administrative leave beginning March 1. His resignation is effective June 30.

He will receive one year of his $410,177 base salary as severance, split in two payments, the university said.

Jan Simek, an archeologist and former UT-Knoxville interim chancellor, will be recommended to the UT Board of Trustees as interim president for up to two years.

Petersen said it was important for the university's next leader to be involved in budget discussions leading up to a trustee vote on cuts in June, because that person, even if only in an interim capacity, will be responsible for carrying them out.

Simek, who has no desire to hold the job permanently, said with budget cuts on the table that could mean program reductions and layoffs "we have to make sure the enterprise comes out of this in as strong a position as it possibly can."

Gov. Phil Bredesen, who serves as chairman of the UT trustees, said he appreciated Petersen's service, particularly his accomplishments in fund-raising and "taking advantage of the combined strength of UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory."

Petersen cited as highlights of his tenure raising $800 million in four years for the university; strengthening its relationship with the governor, the Legislature and alumni; developing a successful UT branding campaign and building the partnership with the Oak Ridge lab for a biofuels research push.

Petersen said he decided it was time to go while charting those successes in his five-year self-evaluation for the UT trustees.

"I am proud of what these people have done and really happy for them," Petersen said. "And I enormously want to see that success continue here."

U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both praised Petersen.

"His vision for UT has been one that has created great strategic partnerships for the university to build upon for years to come," said Corker.

Petersen became the university's 23rd president in 2004 following an unprecedented open search process. The process was intended to avoid the scandals that befell Petersen's predecessors, Wade Gilley and John Shumaker, both of whom were forced out for abusing their office.

As state revenues have fallen and pinched millions from UT spending, Petersen's critics have grown more vocal. The university is preparing for up to $100 million in cuts next year that could shred programs and eliminate 700 jobs.

The resignation 14 months ago of popular Knoxville Chancellor Loren Crabtree during a turf battle with Petersen over control of the main UT campus hurt Petersen's standing. A more recent flare-up involving Petersen's wife, Carol, that humiliated a donor didn't help. Neither did offering fired football coach Phillip Fulmer a position as a presidential aide, which Fulmer turned down.

Petersen on Thursday only mentioned the threatened closure of the UT-Knoxville audiology department, which led to protests and a decision to move the clinic off the Knoxville campus balance sheet, among his regrets.

UT Trustee Vice Chairman Jim Murphy of Nashville said the trustees' opinion on whether Petersen should be retained wasn't "fully formed at this point." Petersen's contract has been in limbo since it expired in June.

"John decided really to make a decision earlier (before a review was completed) that he wanted to leave," Murphy said.

Besides, college presidents don't last much more than 5 years today because of the constant pressures of the job, Murphy said. Petersen came to Tennessee from the University of Connecticut, where he was provost and executive president for academic affairs for four years. Before that he was a chemistry professor at Clemson University and dean of science at Wayne State.

"President Petersen did the right thing by stepping down," UT-Knoxville Faculty Senate President John Nolt said, while also expressing faith in Simek. "He had a grand vision for the progress of UT, but we need now to focus just on maintaining our core missions.

Simek has been with the university since 1984 in both administrative and academic roles.