Carl Pierce Named Director of Baker Center

After an exhaustive search led by Dean Jan Williams of the College of
Business Administration, Carl Pierce has been named Director of the Howard
H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.  Pierce served as Interim Director of
the Baker Center since June 1, 2009, following Alan Lowe’s departure to head
the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, Texas.

Pierce will report to Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and lead the Baker Center as it
works closely with Senator Baker, UT deans and faculty, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, and numerous other partners.  “I’m pleased Carl has accepted
this position,” Chancellor Cheek said.  “We’re privileged to have the Baker
Center as part of our campus.  As it continues to grow and evolve, the
Center will help put UT-Knoxville on the map as a leader in public policy
thinking.  I look forward to working with Carl to develop a strategic
mission for the Baker Center.”

Pierce earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree from Yale University, and
moved to the Knoxville area in 1972.  Since then, he has served in numerous
capacities at the UT College of Law, including a term as assistant dean from
1972 to 1974 and as the first director of the Clayton Center for
Entrepreneurial Law from 1997 to 2000.  He has also served as the law
school’s legal historian and currently holds the title of W. Allen Separk
Distinguished Professor of Law.  In his 37 years at the law school, his
teaching and scholarship have focused primarily on corporate law, American
legal history, and the regulation of the legal profession, and he has
received numerous awards for institutional and public service.

“I’m pleased to continue leading the Baker Center as we further define its
mission and develop a plan for achieving that mission,” Pierce said.  “The
Baker Center — just like Senator Baker himself — is an incredible asset to
the university, our local community, our state, our nation and, indeed, to
the world.”