Amber Williams
Senior Vice Provost for Student Success
Amber Williams is a visionary practitioner-scholar and higher education leader dedicated to redefining student success through a personalized, strengths-based lens.
As the senior vice provost for student success & chief honors officer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she has propelled the university to the national forefront of innovation by grounding her strategy in the PASS Project’s Ecological Validation Model and Martin Seligman’s PERMA framework for well-being.
Under her transformative leadership, UT achieved a historic 10% increase in graduation rates, a record 92.4 percent retention rate, and a 90% positive career outcome rate sustained over six years. Williams is the architect of the Vol Success Teams and the pioneering Vol Edge platform.
Her philosophy was forged at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she enrolled the largest class in history and served as the founding director of the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy.
A certified CliftonStrengths coach with an EdD in educational leadership & policy, Williams is committed to ensuring every scholar is seen, supported, and empowered to flourish.
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Arranger, Responsibility, Strategic, Ideation
Executive Leadership
Pat Akos
Associate Vice Provost for Student Success & Executive Director of University Honors
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Maximizer, Ideation, Individualization, Futuristic
Patrick Biddix
Associate Vice Provost & Executive Director of the Quality Enhancement Plan
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Learner, Ideation, Context
Laverne Harris
Assistant Vice Provost & Chief Financial Officer
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Developer, Harmony, Responsibility
Melissa Irvin
Senior Associate Vice Provost
CliftonStrengths: Deliberative, Analytical, Learner, Intellection, Relator
Krystyne Savarese
Associate Vice Provost & Executive Director of CCDAE
CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Intellection, Individualization, Developer, Empathy
Virginia Stormer
Chief Strategy Officer
CliftonStrengths: Context, Harmony, Learner, Arranger, Consistency
Adam White
Senior Director, First-Year Experience & Undergraduate Pathways
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Individualization, Competition, Significance, Futuristic
Departmental Leadership
Talisha Adams
Director, University Honors
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Achiever, Strategic, Futuristic, Learner
Sean Basso
Director, Assessment
CliftonStrengths: Competition, Achiever, Analytical, Futuristic, Focus
Tom Cruise
Director, Veterans Success Center
CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Individualization, Adaptability, Maximizer, Futuristic
Eugene Henderson III
Deputy Chief of Staff
CliftonStrengths: Connectedness, Restorative, Arranger, Strategic, Input
Sally Hunter
Faculty Director, Volunteer Experience
CliftonStrengths: Woo, Communication, Activator, Strategic, Maximizer
Megan King
Director, Academic Success Programs
CliftonStrengths: Positivity, Futuristic, Relator, Learner, Achiever
Isabelle Langham
Director, Advising & Technology Initiatives
CliftonStrengths: Futuristic, Strategic, Ideation, Context, Restorative
Phoebe Bates
Lead Director, Communications & Marketing
CliftonStrengths: Focus, Competition, Achiever, Significance, Activator
Meredith Malburne-Wade
Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, Fellowships & Service Learning
CliftonStrengths: Input, Learner, Intellection, Activator, Ideation
Whitney Prescott
Director, Career Coaching & Education
CliftonStrengths: Activator, Maximizer, Includer, Positivity, Woo
Jayetta Rogers
Chief Veterans Benefits Officer, Veterans Benefits Administration
CliftonStrengths: Context, Consistency, Belief, Empathy, Responsibility
Amanda Sharp
Director, Academic Success Center
CliftonStrengths: Individualization, Ideation, Responsibility, Maximizer, Achiever
Ali Smith
Director, Strategic Programming
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Strategic, Learner, Responsibility
Brooke Squires
Manager, Training & Development
CliftonStrengths: Learner, Responsibility, Relator, Arranger, Developer
Jenny Ward
Director, Academic & Career Exploration
CliftonStrengths: Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Relator, Learner
Katie Wiley
Director, Employer Development
CliftonStrengths: Woo, Positivity, Communication, Includer, Maximizer