The Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) Board of Trustees announced Thursday that Dr. Tyler Forrest will become the next president of the university on July 1. Forrest is currently the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The TWU Board of Trustees is pleased to announce Dr. Tyler Forrest as our next President. Read more and welcome Dr. Forrest to the Bulldog Family! https://t.co/hJzqfTYWAb
— Tennessee Wesleyan (@TNWesleyan) May 19, 2022
Forrest will be the first TWU president to have been born and raised in Athens, Tennessee, as noted in a press release by the private university, which is located in Athens. The new president has a Ph.D. in Learning and Leadership, an MBA, and a B.A. in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to serve Tennessee Wesleyan University in my hometown of Athens,” Forrest said in a statement. “It is an honor to follow Dr. Knowles, who, along with the TWU team, has put the campus in an excellent position. I look forward to working closely with the students, faculty, staff, and community to advance TWU to even greater heights. A special word of thanks is owed to Board Chair Bobby Goodfriend, Search Chair Jim Winer, the Board of Trustees, and the Search Committee, who invested countless hours into the search process. I am very thankful for their support. My family and I are incredibly excited to be a part of TWU.”
The board of trustees “overwhelmingly” elected Forrest for his “financial and administrative expertise and natural leadership skills,” according to the press release.
“Tyler Forrest is the right person at the right time. He has the background to build on the exceptional accomplishments of retiring President Dr. Harley Knowles,” Dr. Bobby Goodfriend, TWU board chair said in a statement. “His proven talents on the operational side of higher education, his energy, commitment, and deep knowledge of best practices, the state, and the community are the perfect complement to support and build on our strong academics, student life, and athletics. We couldn’t be more excited to bring such a talented higher education executive to Tennessee Wesleyan University.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Tyler Forrest” by Tyler Forrest. Background Photo “Tennessee Wesleyan College” by Brian Stansberry. CC BY 3.0.
