University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor-elect Dr. Steven Angle and Interim Chancellor Dr. Grady Bogue announce the appointment of Dr. Jerald Ainsworth as Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the campus. Dr. Ainsworth currently serves UTC as a Dean of the Graduate School.
Ainsworth will assume his new responsibilities beginning June 1. He will work with Interim Provost Mary Tanner on a transition plan for Graduate School leadership.
“Dr. Ainsworth has an impressive record of outstanding teaching, administrative leadership, and scholarly research to bring to the provost’s role,” said Dr. Angle. “As a relative newcomer to UTC, he has the unique opportunity to bring both a new and a familiar perspective to the campus leadership team. I very much look forward to working with him.”
Ainsworth joined UTC in 2010 as dean and holds a tenured faculty appointment in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
During his tenure as dean of the UTC Graduate School, Dr. Ainsworth has been successful in modifying and developing policies for continuous improvement in graduate program quality and operations.
Prior to coming to UTC, Ainsworth served as Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University.
“Dr. Ainsworth certainly distinguished himself from a very strong pool of candidates, and four especially outstanding finalists who visited campus,” said Angle. “Dr. Bogue and I want to thank the search committee for doing a tremendous job on a short timeline. And we also want to acknowledge the faculty, staff, students, alumni, foundation board, and community members who participated in the interview process. Their feedback and input was invaluable in the selection of Dr. Ainsworth.”
Ainsworth received a B.S. in biophysics from Delta State University and a M.S. in immunopathology and Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He also completed a NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Department of Medicine.
Prior to joining Southeastern Louisiana University, he held various positions at Mississippi State University, including Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and head of the Department of Basic Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Ainsworth has published extensively and has served as a manuscript reviewer for publications such as the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health, the Journal of Fish Biology, the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, and the American Journal of Veterinary Research. He received the SmithKline Beecham Award for Research Excellence in 1990 and 1992.
