Susanne Cox named interim director at Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Morristown

Susanne Cox, who has worked at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Morristown since 1990, will serve as interim director of the college from Jan. 1 until a successor to retiring Director Jerry M. Patton is named.

Cox has been assistant director of TCAT-Morristown since Oct. 1, 2014. Her appointment as interim director was approved today by Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor David Gregory and announced by Vice Chancellor James King, who heads the Colleges of Applied Technology in the TBR system.

The Board of Regents has appointed a 15-member search committee to receive applications, review candidates and select finalists for the next director. The committee, chaired by Regent Danni Varlan of Knoxville and Vice Chancellor King, includes representatives of the college’s faculty, staff and students, the Morristown community and the region.

As assistant director, Cox has provided leadership to TCAT-Morristown’s operations and executive leadership in the absence of the director, including facilitating procurement, facilities maintenance, fiscal management and daily operations; assisting the director with student conduct, attendance and academic matters; supporting student services, and other management activities.

Cox joined the campus in September 1990 as a bookstore clerk and administrative assistant. She served as office manager from 2000 to 2005, worked part-time from 2005 to 2010, and returned to full-time status as a financial aid officer from 2010 to 2012. She was the financial aid coordinator from 2012 until her appointment as assistant director in 2014.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Tusculum College and is currently working on a master’s degree in educational leadership, with a concentration in career technical education, at Tennessee State University.

Patton’s postsecondary career with the Tennessee Board of Regents began at Walters State Community College. He was student services coordinator at TCAT-Morristown from 1992 to 2000, when he was named director of TCAT-Elizabethton. He served there for 10 years until his retirement. He returned to service in January 2014 when he was asked to serve as interim director at TCAT-Morristown and was appointed director by the Board of Regents in March 2014.

During his time at Morristown, the college has added new programs and has opened a branch campus in Sevier County. It has also established a chapter of the National Technical Honor Society and greatly expanded its participation SkillsUSA, an organization of students, instructors and industry working in partnership for a skilled workforce.