Dr. Shewanee Howard-Baptiste will join the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Division of Academic Affairs as vice provost for academic outreach, effective Aug. 1.
“Her academic outreach duties as vice provost will include overseeing programs for internal campus grants administered through Academic Affairs, faculty awards and professorships, and faculty and staff professional development opportunities,” said Jerold Hale, UTC provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Hale said the addition of Dr. Howard-Baptiste is part of an overall reorganization of Academic Affairs to better serve the campus and address strategic priorities.
“I think anybody that knows me knows that serving others is important to me,” Dr. Howard-Baptiste said. “And to be in a position where I can serve the campus and the community is just going to fuel my energy.”
Dr. Howard-Baptiste joined UTC in 2013. She spent the 2020-2021 academic year as the interim director for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Program in the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies.
Her academic journey includes serving as an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University and Ithaca College in New York state.
She has also taught and studied in Denmark, Switzerland, France, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Every summer Dr. Howard-Baptiste travels to Haiti to teach and develop a health and physical education curriculum and works with current teachers to create ways to make students healthier at home and at school.
Since 2019, she has participated in the UTC Faculty-in-Residence program, living in an on-campus apartment.
“It’s a way for me to stay grounded on what the needs and the pulse of the students are,” she said.
Since arriving in Chattanooga, Dr. Howard-Baptiste has established a strong community service base as a board member for the American Heart Association, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the new Montessori Elementary at Highland Park, Chattanooga Preparatory School and Cempa Community Care.
She received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Miami University in Ohio.