| About Chancellor Rakes | |
| Dr. Tom Rakes became the ninth UT Martin chancellor May 7, when University of Tennessee President Dr. John Petersen made the announcement. He began his new role July 1.
Rakes joined UT Martin in 2002 as vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of educational studies. He was named provost in 2005.Rakes has identified eight specific areas of focus in the next several years.
Increasing academic rigor and completion rates, reviewing levels of student and academic program services, refining the enrollment management plan, enhancing security measures and continuing to assess resource allocations are among his priorities. UT Martin’s role as a catalyst and resources in West Tennessee’s economic development is also an area of emphasis. |
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He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Milligan College, a master’s degree in reading from East Tennessee State University and a doctor of education from UT Knoxville.
Before coming to UT Martin, he was interim president at University of Louisiana at Monroe. He began his employment at Monroe in 1995 as College of Education and Human Development dean and professor. Also, he served as vice provost and Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. He became UL Monroe provost and vice president for academic affairs in 2000. Rakes previously served as a University of Memphis professor and director of the Division of Research and Development in the College of Education. |
He also served as chair and professor in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership. Also, the new chancellor has been a UT Knoxville instructor, and University Reading Center assistant director. His first education position was in Johnson City, Tennessee, as a teacher and basketball coach.
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Rakes has completed a variety of scholarly activities including more than 160 refereed presentations and publications. He is a member of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission Performance Funding Standards Review Committee, Tennessee P-16 Mathematics Curriculum Alignment Committee and the National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal editorial board, a recipient of the Tennessee Institute for Pre-professionals Outstanding Service Award and chair of the UT Martin Enrollment Management Task Force, among numerous other honors and leadership appointments. Additionally, he has been involved in consultation and presentations for professional development and accreditation for more than 40 different institutions of higher education. Since 1978, he has been associated with 11 training programs that have been developed for business or nonprofit organizations operating in six states. Corporate consulting has involved communications improvement and human resources evaluation for hotel, manufacturing, insurance and retail businesses.
Rakes’ wife, Dr. Glenda Rakes, is a UT Martin professor of education. The couple has two children, Karee and Patrick.
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