TBR Approves Philip Oldham as TTU President

The Tennessee Board of Regents unanimously approved Philip Oldham as the next president for Tennessee Technological University today.

Oldham will assume his leadership role July 1 after current president Bob Bell retires.

The Board met via telephone at 10:30 this morning to consider TBR Chancellor John Morgan’s recommendation for Oldham, who currently serves as provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Oldham was selected after an extensive nationwide search that began earlier this year. He has served the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for the last five years. His prior experience was at Mississippi State University, where he was dean of Arts and Sciences before moving to UTC.

“My family and I are incredibly honored and humbled by the support and encouragement we have received from the entire Tennessee Tech community,” said Oldham. “I have had great conversations with President Bell and fully appreciate the great work that he has done over many years there at Tennessee Tech and know that there’s a great legacy to follow. I am committed one-hundred percent to helping Tennessee Tech become the institution that everybody dreams that it can be.”

The TBR is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system, governing 46 post-secondary educational institutions, including TTU. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 27 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to more than 200,000 students.