The University of Tennessee at Martin will host a public forum for a candidate for the position of vice chancellor for communications and marketing.
The forum for candidate Justin Roberts will be held from 3 to 4 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Phillip W. Watkins Auditorium in the Boling University Center on the UT Martin campus.
In-person interviews with Roberts will also be conducted earlier in the day. The search will remain active until the position is filled.
Roberts most recently served as vice chancellor for marketing and communications at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where he led the university’s integrated marketing and communications operation for six years. Beginning as interim assistant vice chancellor in 2020, he advanced through successive leadership appointments, culminating in his promotion to vice chancellor in January 2025.
Throughout his tenure, he directed enterprise brand strategy, paid advertising, content and public relations, creative services, executive communications, digital strategy and web operations, overseeing 18 professionals and a $4.1 million direct operating budget. Roberts joined UMSL in 2016.
He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics and a Master of Public Administration degree.
A link to Roberts’ qualifications can be found at www.utm.edu/executive-search.
The UT Martin vice chancellor for communications and marketing oversees the Office of University Relations, which plans, initiates and coordinates the news, photography, printing, publications and other communications needs for UT Martin. It also includes marketing and branding responsibility for the university.
The position became available following the announced retirement of Robert “Bud” Grimes, who has been in the position since October 1990. Grimes received his Bachelor of Science degree in communications from UT Martin in 1978, and will retire in December. The position is expected to be filled by January 2027.
UT Martin is a primary campus in the University of Tennessee System, offering 23 undergraduate degree programs that include 155 specialized concentrations and nine graduate degrees featuring 29 specialized concentrations.
In addition to the main campus, the university has regional centers in Jackson, Parsons, Ripley, Selmer, Somerville and Springfield. UT Martin Online offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including the online Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree and Master of Business Administration degree for working adults.
For more information about UT Martin, visit www.utm.edu or call 731-881-7000.
