KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After less than a year on the job, the leader of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture in Knoxville is switching to a new, brief role.
Carrie Castille, tapped in early 2022 to lead the institute, will for a short time be a special adviser to UT System President Randy Boyd, records show.
Keith Carver will leave his job as chancellor at UT-Martin to take over at UTIA. It's described as a two-year appointment "to provide stability and leadership to the institute," an announcement from the system reads.
Carver previously was executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro. Assuming the UT Board of Trustees approves the move next month, Carver is expected to take over March 1, according to the system.
Carver has worked in some capacity for a component of the UT system since the late 1990s.
Castille's job change is abrupt. It, too, is subject to trustee approval.
Her Jan. 26 "appointment letter" from Boyd states that she'll serve as a special adviser through no later than June 30.
In her new role, Castille will advise Boyd on topics that include "developing strategies to grow academic programs and federal and state research and development expenditures relating to agriculture across the UT System."
Castille was director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture before being hired as senior vice chancellor and senior vice president for the UT Institute.
UTIA is composed of the UT AgResarch, UT Extension, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Herbert College of Agriculture.
Castille has drawn a salary of $400,000. Carver's pay is $346,973, according to a public salary database provided by the system, and will go up to $400,000.
UT Martin Provost Phillip Cavalier will take over as interim chancellor at UT Martin.
"The university will launch a search for a new chancellor in the coming weeks," according to the system's announcement.
