UTC Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Matt Matthews. Photo by Angela Foster.
On July 1, Dr. Matt Matthews became the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, returning to a campus where he spent 20 years as a faculty member and academic leader before joining the UT System.
For many across UTC, Matthews’ return feels less like an introduction than a homecoming. His appointment brought back a familiar presence at an important time for the University, pairing institutional knowledge with a broader perspective he gained while serving as UT System associate vice president for academic affairs.
He joined the UTC faculty in 2004 as an assistant professor of mathematics, later serving as department head, full professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before becoming vice provost and helping lead Academic Affairs.
When Matthews left UTC in August 2024 for the UT System, he described it as “the beginning of a new way” to work with UTC, one that would allow him to stay closely connected not only to Chattanooga but to all five UT campuses through system-level work in academic policy, programs and faculty affairs.
As he begins this interim chapter, Matthews steps back into Academic Affairs with both a long history at UTC and a wider view of higher education across the UT System.
Earlier this year when Dr. Jerold Hale announced his intention to retire, what was it like to get the call from Chancellor Lori Bruce asking you to return to UTC as interim provost?
“I was stunned. I had stayed in touch with the campus as part of my job at the system, and I had imagined that if the job ever became open, I would apply for it. I approached UTC the same way I did every other campus, working as hard as I could for them from the system role. When Chancellor Bruce called me, she said there was something important she needed to discuss, and I thought it must have to do with tenure or policy or something. I had no idea what it was about.
“My mind just went reeling with a possibility I had not realistically allowed myself to entertain. I was in the middle of holding an academic leadership conference for leaders across the UT System. I had to gather my thoughts quickly.
“When I talked to Dr. Bruce again, I had my thoughts much more in order. But I was stunned and it is hard not to say just how honored I felt. I thought, ‘Wow, they were considering me.’ I felt humbled that I had been on the list.”
What has it been like working with Dr. Bruce and what stands out to you about her approach?
“I knew her before she was a chancellor. When she was the provost at Tennessee Tech, we first interacted at a student success and retention summit. I remember walking away from that joint presentation thinking, ‘That provost really has plans, has energy, is trying all kinds of novel things.’
“Then when I stepped into the system role, I was at the table with chief academic officers from every public university in the state representing the UT System, and she was a strong voice at the table. Since April, when she first reached out to me about this role, we’ve had an ongoing conversation about her aspirations for UTC, what I would like to accomplish here in this role and where those areas overlap.”
For people who know your name but not your full story, what should they know about you?
“I’m human, and I see the other humans around me. That is my basic approach to the job. Yes, there is a lot of tough work that needs to be taken care of. Administrative jobs are not small ones. But the work is not abstract for me. It is about the people I know and the people I have met.
“The number of people who knew me by name across the spectrum of roles at UTC tells me I have been relatively successful in how I approach people. Folks know me not as Provost Matthews or previous Vice Provost Matthews, but as Matt. I ask about their families and they know about my family. We have shared work that we did when I was here before and what is going on with that work now. That human-to-human interaction is what makes me work.”
Dr. Matt Matthews joined the UTC faculty in 2004 as an assistant professor of mathematics, later serving as department head, full professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before becoming vice provost and helping lead Academic Affairs.
What did your time in the UT System teach you that will be especially valuable in this role?
“I spent the previous 20 years at one campus from 2004 to 2024. I saw how one campus did things. From 2024 to 2026, I saw how four other campuses in the UT System do things we also do here. I intentionally used my time there to visit campuses and say, ‘I want to learn about UT Martin. I want to learn about UT Southern. I want to learn about UT Health Science Center.’ Their missions are different, and I got to hear how things worked at different campuses and from a broad spectrum of leaders I had never had an opportunity to talk with about our shared work.
“The other thing it afforded me was the privilege to be at the table for a lot of important discussions. I was in conversations with our higher education commission and with leaders across higher education in Tennessee, talking about issues like the new proposal for focused baccalaureate degrees. Bringing ideas and experience back from that breadth will help me serve the chancellor, our faculty members and our students better than if I had just spent the last two years at this campus.”
You’re returning to a different UTC than the one you left. What changes stand out to you, and where do you see the biggest opportunities right now?
“It is a little bit early because I have not seen the students here yet, and seeing what this campus is like when the students come back will be important to me. But I can already see a campus that is coming together in a way it has not before. When this construction is finished, you are going to come up Douglas Street or be on Oak Street, and you are going to see what I feel is a unified campus. Somebody walking across campus from one end of Vine Street to the other, or along Oak Street from end to end, is going to feel that.
“I also learned while I was away that UTC was doing some things really, really well. I felt proud of some of the things that I had worked on here when I saw what the comparable process looked like elsewhere. But there are also areas where I think other campuses are doing inventive things that we could learn from. I would like to see us really expand our dual enrollment opportunities. If a Chattanooga family thinks about where to send their high school student for a university-level class, we should make sure their first option is UTC.
“The main thing is to center our work on the strategic plan, as something we all understand and rally around. We would like to work on excellence in academic programs and, at the same time, improve enrollment. We would like to invest in our people. Some of that is sharpening our marketing message, while some of that is better communication. We all have to understand how new initiatives connect to the goals of the strategic plan.”
What do you want faculty to understand about how you approach leadership and decision-making?
“I am never making a decision in a vacuum. I do not think I have ever made a decision without checking with others to say, ‘Here is where I think I am on this. Let’s talk about whether that is the right way.’ I know that I have limits on my knowledge, my wisdom and my experience. So even when I think I know an answer, I say, ‘This is what I think it is. Tell me how I am wrong or tell me what I am missing.’
“I also want folks to understand that I will do everything I can to make decisions that honor the people and respect the people we work with. But some of our work by necessity means we must choose certain directions and focus our time and energy in certain places. That should not make people feel like I do not see them. It may just mean that my focus is on certain groups at certain times and other groups at other times.”
What will success look like for you in this interim role?
“Success for me will be taking a couple of the dreams I have for our faculty and our students and getting them from idea to fruition in the time that I am afforded. I do not know what my time here is going to be like, but I know what I am going to try for. I am interested in investing in our faculty and their success in ways that I imagined when I was here before but did not have the resources to make happen.
“I also want us to move forward on new programs that open doors for students. Whether it is in quantum or a workforce-focused new three-year degree, if I could get something like that through in my time here, that will be success for me.”
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