The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 03:01 PM
UT Pays Beverly Davenport $1.33 Million In Parting Payment After Firing
The idea was recommended by UT President Joe DiPietro. With the agreement, Davenport's employment with the university came to an end Tuesday.
A previous statement from the university system said no taxpayer dollars will be used towards the separation payment.
"The payment is a significant reduction of the amount the University would be contractually obligated to pay Davenport if she continues her employment in her tenured faculty position," the university system's statement said.
Davenport released a statement on her departure on Tuesday, thanking faculty and staff at UT, as well as alumni and donors she worked with during her tenure. She also thanked the city of Knoxville for being a "vibrant and growing city that values diversity and inclusion."
In the letter, Davenport said she owed a special debt of gratitude to the students at UT for inspiring and challenging her, calling them the "next greatest generation."
Davenport ended her statement, saying that higher education "is no small feat."
"It is not for the weak, but it has indeed been one of the greatest privileges of my life to have served as the eighth Chancellor of the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee."
If the separation proposal had not been approved, the university would have been obligated to pay Davenport about $2 million in salary and benefits during the first four years of her faculty appointment. Starting in the fifth year of her faculty appointment, the university would have been forced to pay her an annual salary of $164,632.
In December 2017, the board approved a policy that limits the future return to the faculty salaries to not more than 125 percent of the highest salary of full-time faculty in the department with the same discipline and rank, excluding governor's chairs and other special appointments.
Davenport's termination as chancellor was announced on May 2. Initially, university officials said Davenport's appointment as chancellor would end on July 1 as she becomes a member of the faculty in the College of Communication and Information.
Wayne Davis took office as interim chancellor on May 7. He will serve in the position for the next six to 12 months.
