Keith Carver

by Accolades Staff
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Major: College student personnel (master’s degree); higher ed leadership (PhD in philosophy)

Hometown: “I consider it a blessing to have grown up in rural West Tennessee.”

About his job: “I serve as the executive assistant to University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro. If I had to summarize the job in one word it would be “operations.” I do some policy work, a little bit of advocacy, some fundraising, and lots of work with personnel across the UT campuses and institutes. I spend a great deal of my time focused on the UT Systemwide strategic plan, too. Prior to this position, I had the great opportunity to work on three of UT’s campuses (Martin, Knoxville, and Memphis), so my job allows me to maintain relationships with good people from all across the system.”

Favorite part of the job: “There are two great aspects of my job.  First, I interact daily with faculty, staff, students, and alumni from all our campuses and institutes. My work takes me across the state frequently, so I have the great opportunity to build and maintain relationships with people from Memphis to Mountain City. Second, there is no “normal” day on the job. There’s no way to predict what project can unexpectedly hit my desk and create a whole new route for my day. It makes life interesting and fun.”

How CEHHS prepared him: “I have been fortunate to have faculty members who did phenomenal work as professors. They also taught me how to conduct research and the importance of asking good questions. Outside the classroom, the faculty in my programs have remained great mentors. I have often called Norma Mertz and Grady Bogue for advice. I can’t think of a job
search that I’ve entered without getting
their counsel. The faculty truly care about their current students and graduates.”

All about the family: “I’ve been married to my college sweetheart, Hollianne, for nineteen years. She is a graduate of CEHHS as well.  We have three wonderful children: Carson, a sophomore at West High School; Jack T., a sixth-grader at Bearden Middle; and Britton, a third-grader at Sequoyah Elementary. We have a great time together and are enjoying the craziness associated with having three very active kids. My mother recently moved to Knoxville, which has been a blessing to us.  All of the other grandparents live in West Tennessee, but we are able to see them on a regular basis.”

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