Dr. Robert Dooley’s journey in coming home to lead, inspire and give back

There’s an old saying that you can’t go home again, but for Dr. Robert Dooley, returning to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was both a reconnection to his roots and a leap forward in his career.

Born and raised in Athens, Tennessee, Dooley had deep ties to UTC as both an alumnus and as someone who witnessed the city’s remarkable evolution. When the opportunity arose in 2011 to become dean of what is now known as the Gary W. Rollins College of Business, he embraced it.

“On a baseline level, it was my alma mater,” Dooley recalled of his return to Chattanooga. “I spent my formative years on campus, so I had that emotional attachment to the institution. The people that I met here and the faculty that I had were very influential. I met my wife here. It has that tie that a lot of people have back to their alma mater.

“But the thing that made UTC special and made this position really appealing to me is what has happened in the city of Chattanooga and what has been happening on this campus. If you look at it from a career point of view and the opportunity, it has just been a phenomenal transformation. This city has transformed dramatically since I was first here in the 1980s.”

That transformation has mirrored his journey. Over the last 13 years, Dooley has become a pivotal figure at UTC, steering the Rollins College of Business to new heights and leaving an indelible mark on the University. Now, as he assumes the role of interim chancellor on Jan. 1, he is poised to continue shaping UTC’s future in profound ways.

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Dooley’s connection to UTC began in 1979 when he arrived on campus as a philosophy and religion major. The University was less than half the size it is today, and the city of Chattanooga was still shaking off its industrial past.

During his undergraduate years, Dooley never imagined he would one day lead the College of Business—or even pursue a career in academia.

“During my entire time at UTC as an undergraduate, I never set foot in the business building,” he joked, “and I know this will come as a shock, but philosophy and religion majors weren’t in great demand.”

He said his liberal arts education “provided a foundation in critical thinking and communication,” skills that he carried with him after graduating in 1983. However, the Chattanooga of the early 1980s offered little in the way of opportunities.

“It was one of the rustbelt Southern steel towns that had a lot of pollution problems,” he recalled. “Walter Cronkite’s famous news show where he said Chattanooga is the dirtiest city in the country pollution-wise—that was still the case. UTC was close to my home in Athens, but there was no compelling reason to stay in Chattanooga. So I moved back home and worked on a loading dock for about a year.”

Soon after, the business world piqued his interest, and in 1991, he earned an MBA from UTC—focusing on finance. It was during this time that a pivotal encounter with Professor Steve White changed the trajectory of his career.

“Steve and I got to be pretty good friends,” Dooley said of White, who retired in 2016. “I took a class with him as an MBA student and I wrote a paper for the class. Steve said, ‘I think this is pretty good. I think we can get this published.’ I had never really thought about a career in academia.

“Professor Steve White is the reason I became an academic.”

That encouragement led Dooley to pursue a Ph.D. in strategic management at UT Knoxville, which was followed by an extended career at Oklahoma State University—where he rose to associate dean for graduate programs and research in the Spears School of Business.

“I spent 15 years there. I probably would still be there if not for the opportunity to come back to Chattanooga,” he said.

When Dooley took the reins as dean of the College of Business in 2011, he inherited a college poised for growth but with unrealized potential. Over the next decade, he became a catalyst for change, leveraging partnerships, alumni support and his own vision to elevate the college into a regional powerhouse.

One of the most visible milestones came in 2018 when Gary and Kathleen Rollins made a $40 million gift to name the Rollins College of Business—the first named college on the UTC campus. It was the largest private donation in UTC’s history, supporting scholarships, faculty development and facilities. In 2024, the college received a second $30 million gift from Gary and Kathleen Rollins and matching funds from the state to support an 82,000-square-foot building expansion of the current Fletcher Hall.

“If you think about the nature of this gift for the college, for the University and the campus—and even in some ways for the city—it is unprecedented in terms of both size and its immediate impact,” Dooley said, “but it really has laid the foundation for us to dream bigger than we ever have before.

“The Rollins gift is allowing us to recruit world-class faculty. It has enhanced the quality of students coming to campus and the profile of the college itself.”

Dooley’s leadership extended beyond securing game-changing gifts. Under his guidance, the college launched the Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, empowering veterans to transition into business ownership; the Joseph F. Decosimo Success Center, providing academic and career support to students; and the SMILE Fund, a student-managed investment program that gives participants real-world financial experience—to name just a few of the many initiatives. The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship further strengthened the college’s ties to Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, connecting students to a vibrant community of resources and opportunities.

“UTC and Chattanooga’s renaissance are intertwined,” Dooley said. “The city’s rebirth as a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation has created unparalleled opportunities for our students, and we’ve built programs to ensure they’re ready to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Dooley’s impact on UTC isn’t confined to his administrative achievements. Together with his wife, Kim, a fellow UTC alum, the Dooleys have made a lasting commitment to students through the Kim and Robert Dooley Scholarship for International Study Fund.

The endowed scholarship supports students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Gary W. Rollins College of Business who have not had the opportunity to study abroad.

“We established the scholarship because we both would have welcomed the opportunity to study abroad when we were here,” Dooley said, “but financially, neither one of us could afford it.”

The Dooleys’ passion for international education began during Robert’s tenure at Oklahoma State, where they organized student trips to Southeast Asia and Africa. These experiences, he said, were life-changing for students—giving them confidence, perspective and a deeper understanding of the world.

“By the time they leave a study abroad trip, they’re a little bit more self-confident,” Dooley said. “They’re much more self-aware in terms of their interaction with the world. They have a little bit deeper understanding of the complexities of the world, and I think it personally transforms many of them.”

In acknowledgment of his international contributions, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Moi University in Kenya for his work on faculty development.

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Now, Dooley begins his next chapter at UTC as interim chancellor. Announced by UT System President Randy Boyd on Nov. 13, Dooley’s appointment reflects his years of leadership and deep connection to the institution.

Dooley’s leadership will focus on sustaining the growth and innovation that have defined UTC in recent years while fostering student success and community engagement.

With his deep ties to both UTC and Chattanooga, he brings a blend of experience and perspective to leading the University during this period of transition.

“I’m so honored to serve during this transition period for the campus,” Dooley said at the time of his appointment. “It has been a privilege to work with Chancellor (Steve) Angle, and I’m proud to have been a part of what he accomplished. I look forward to the opportunity to continue that great work and build on the momentum we’ve gained.”

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