Moore to be Recommended as UT Board of Trustees Secretary and Special Counsel

KNOXVILLE – After a national search, the chair of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees will recommend Cynthia Moore for appointment as secretary and special counsel.

The UT Board of Trustees will vote on the recommendation during the Nov. 8 meeting.

Moore currently serves as the University of Pittsburgh’s deputy secretary of the Board of Trustees. If approved by the Board, she will assume the office of secretary and special counsel on Jan. 1, 2020.

Moore said she was honored to be selected to serve the UT Board of Trustees.

“This is such an exciting time to join the University of Tennessee,” she said. “I look forward to being an engaged member of the UT community and working collaboratively with Interim President Randy Boyd, the senior leadership team and all the many dedicated individuals from across the system who are contributing daily to its progress and future success.”

Board Chair John Compton said Moore’s experience made her a standout candidate.

“As we work to advance the University of Tennessee, we know Cynthia’s experience and knowledge will be a tremendous benefit to us, the University and the communities we serve,” Compton said.

Catherine Mizell, current UT secretary, chief of staff and special counsel, is retiring at the end of this year after almost 40 years in the UT Office of General Counsel. She served as both general counsel and secretary from Jan. 1, 2000 until transitioning to her current role on Jan. 1, 2017.

“Catherine’s long-standing leadership is to be commended,” Compton said. “She has been a trusted advisor to many, and I greatly appreciate her faithful service to the University.

In 2001, Moore joined the Office of University Counsel at the University of Pittsburgh. Since 2015, she has overseen the day-to-day operations of the University of Pittsburgh Office of the Secretary in support of the university’s board of trustees, which has an average of 80 trustees, including 36 voting members, as well as ex officio and emeriti trustees. She serves as liaison between the board and the university administration; prepares board and committee agendas, meeting materials and minutes; and provides advice and resources to the board. During the past five years, she supported a leadership transition at the university, which included elections of a new chancellor and a board chairperson.

In addition to her board and governance work, she previously provided legal advice on a variety of university matters including complex business transactions, compliance, development, diversity and inclusion, faculty and student affairs, international activities, legislative and regulatory actions, research and innovation, privacy and information technology, risk and litigation.

Previously, she served as corporate counsel to SLI, Inc., a multinational corporation based in Boston, from 1999 to 2001, where she was responsible for corporate governance and legal affairs. As an attorney with Schifino and Fleisher in Tampa, Florida, from 1993 to 1999, she specialized in corporate and securities law representing governmental agencies, private and public companies, investment banking firms and financial advisors. She also served as a law clerk in public finance with Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy in Atlanta from 1989 to 1993, as executive assistant to president and compliance officer at Tucker Federal Savings and Loan Association in Atlanta from 1988 to 1989 and as a supervisory analyst and bank examiner with Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta from 1986 to 1988.

Moore earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Alabama in 1986 and a Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University in 1993.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and Memphis; the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT system manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 50,000 students statewide; produces about 10,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 387,000 alumni around the world.

 

Tags: Catherine Mizell, Cynthia Moore, Featured, John Compton, UT Board of Trustees