Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has named Chandra Alston, MBA, as the associate vice chancellor of Human Resources, effective immediately. Alston has served as interim director for UTHSC Human Resources since July 2013, while simultaneously performing her duties as assistant dean for Finance and Administration in the College of Allied Health Sciences, a position she took in 2009. With a team of 15, Alston will supervise employment, compensation, HR records management, benefits, insurance, retirement planning, training, employee relations and performance evaluations. She will also collaborate closely with the UT System office on system-wide HR initiatives.
“My goal for Human Resources at UTHSC will be to focus on trends affecting the workforce, workplace and marketplace in higher education,” Alston said. “This will be accomplished through working HR’s strategic plan to achieve defined outcomes. Among the HR concerns that come to mind for the UTHSC community are: total rewards, succession planning, applicant tracking and enhanced recruitment,” she added. “Finally, HR will adopt a more interactive approach in working with and serving the campus as we work the plan.”
Holding a BS in marketing from UT Martin and an MBA in management from Union University, Alston has been employed with the university for 14 years. Among her previous roles, she has worked as a technical trainer in the Office of Information Technology, as the training administrator in the Office of Equity and Diversity, and as the interim assistant director in Human Resources. She earned the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) designation in 2004 and 2010. A passion for education has led to her current standing in her last year of doctoral studies at the University of Memphis. She plans to graduate with an EdD in higher education administration and has recently submitted the proposal for her dissertation.
Chandra has been married to Michael Alston, EdD, UTHSC assistant vice chancellor and director of Equity and Diversity, for 20 years. They have three adult children.
Tony Ferrara, CPA, vice chancellor of Finance and Operations, and Matthew Ennis, PhD, chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at UTHSC, co-chaired the search committee. A national search firm assisted in the selection of the new associate vice chancellor for Human Resources at UTHSC. The position will report directly to Dr. Ken Brown, UTHSC executive vice chancellor and COO.