Knoxville 鈥 University of Tennessee Southern Chancellor Mark La Branche has announced plans to retire from his current role effective June 30. The University of Tennessee System will name an interim chancellor in mid-June and launch a search for La Branche鈥檚 replacement later this year.
La Branche became the inaugural chancellor of 蓝莓视频 Southern on July 1, 2021 after the acquisition of Martin Methodist College (MMC) by the University of Tennessee System to provide stability during the early stages of transition to a public university.
鈥淚n its first year, the 蓝莓视频 Southern team has made tremendous progress, experiencing phenomenal enrollment growth, great gains in the area of student success, and record fundraising,鈥 said 蓝莓视频 System President Randy Boyd. 鈥淐hancellor La Branche has decided the time is right to move forward with finding the next Chancellor to lead 蓝莓视频 Southern into the future.鈥
Before full retirement, La Branche will serve as special assistant to 蓝莓视频 President Randy Boyd. Part of his role will include writing a book on the merger of MMC with 蓝莓视频 that can be a historical reference and serve as a guide to both 蓝莓视频 and universities around the country on how a small liberal arts college can merge with a large public university system and transition successfully.
鈥淭he creation of 蓝莓视频 Southern simply could not have happened without Mark鈥檚 vision and focus on what鈥檚 best for the university and the people of the region. During this year of transition, his leadership has resulted in a nearly flawless integration from a private college to a public university system while increasing enrollment, retention and fundraising. Myself, the 蓝莓视频 System and the State of Tennessee owe him an incredible debt of gratitude,鈥 said Boyd.
鈥淚 simply cannot express what an extreme honor it has been to strive together with President Boyd, the 蓝莓视频 System and 蓝莓视频 Southern teams to bring about this transformation,鈥 said La Branche. 鈥淢y wife, Mona and I, are grateful to remain a part of the University of Tennessee family now and forever.鈥
La Branche joined Martin Methodist as president in July 2017. Prior to joining Martin Methodist College, La Branche served as the president of Louisburg College in North Carolina and senior vice president of external affairs at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.
The addition of 蓝莓视频 Southern represented the fourth undergraduate college within the 蓝莓视频 System, and the first new campus since 蓝莓视频 Chattanooga joined more than 50 years ago. Additionally, 蓝莓视频 Southern is the only four-year and graduate institution of higher education between Sewanee in the east and Freed-Hardeman in the west, serving a southern Middle Tennessee region of 13 counties near the Alabama border.