UTM has a new Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs after the resignation of Dr. Margaret Toston from the position in June.
Starting Jan. 1, 2019, Dr. Andy Lewter will be taking over the position from John Abel, who is the current interim vice chancellor. He will be leaving behind his previous position as Dean of Students at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.
The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is responsible for overseeing the university’s student services both inside and outside of the classroom. The various organizations under the umbrella of Student Affairs include Student Health and Counseling, Student Conduct, Minority Affairs, Dining Services, Residential Life and Housing, Campus Recreation and Student Life. Student Life, in turn, provides oversight for The Boling University Center’s services and for student clubs, organizations and Greek organizations.
The Vice Chancellor, therefore, has a position of oversight reaching into nearly every corner of student life on campus. This oversight also extends to UTM’s outreach centers in Jackson, Parsons, Ripley, Selmer and Somerville.
The elevation of Lewter to the position follows a months-long selection and approval process by the university’s search community. The committee was chaired by Dr. Todd Winters, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and included faculty and staff from several departments. Each of the four finalists in the search were invited to the campus, where they participated in an open forum with the faculty, staff, students and members of the community.
In the end, Chancellor Keith Carver made the final selection among the four finalists, a decision that came after consideration of the search committee’s recommendations.
“[I’m] impressed by the quality of the candidates. The on-campus interview process was essential, as it gave the campus an opportunity to evaluated each candidate and provide feedback to the search committee,” Carver said. “I seriously considered the recommendations from the committee, and I made calls to colleagues across the country to better assess the candidates’ ability.”
As an undergraduate pursuing a political science degree here at UTM, he was heavily involved in campus life as a member of a fraternity, student government and more.
While he initially was led to pursue a career in law, a conversation with a professor here at Martin steered him in the direction of student affairs. After graduation, he went on to receive a master’s in education from the University of South Carolina in Columbia and a doctorate in education from UTK. He served in a variety of student affairs positions from 1996-2013 during his tenure at Maryville College and has around two decades of experience working in the field.
In a recent forum, Dr. Lewter discussed his appointment and the improvements that he could bring to UTM.
Lewter pointed out the broad experience that he possessed in the field of student affairs. He also talked about some of his plans moving forward as he transitions into his new role.
He said, for example, that he wanted to develop a culture of trust by being as forthcoming with information to students as was possible. He also touched on the fact that parental involvement in higher education has increased over the years, and suggested that his own experiences as a parent have helped inform the ways that he works with both students and their parents.
In the broad sense, he fondly recalled his memories as an undergrad at UTM and wants to bring the same sort of experiences that he had to the current crop of Skyhawks.
Lewter said, “It is important to me that we give our students the best possible collegiate experience. When I was here as a student, I had an amazing experience and I want to make sure that when I am in this role I will give future students a chance to have the same experience that I had.”
