Joel Cunningham (born 15 June 1944) was the fifteenth vice chancellor of the University of the South and the former president of Susquehanna University. He grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and graduated summa cum laude from the

University of Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was found ...

in 1965 with majors in mathematics and psychology and completed his master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Cunningham is a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. He began his career in academe as a member of the faculty at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, where he taught mathematics for five years. He made his first return to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, to his alma mater, in fact, when he was appointed dean of continuing education and mathematics faculty member at the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...

, in 1974. He served a year as an American Council on Education Fellow with the Chancellor of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, Knoxville, and the President of the

. He left

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

in 1979 to become vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty, and professor of mathematics at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. In 1984 he was named president there where he remained until 2000, when he was elected vice chancellor by Sewanee's board of trustees and made his second Tennessee homecoming. He served in this position until 2010. Highlights of Cunningham's service include a wide range of construction projects that take in both new facilities and major renovations, and a capital campaign, The Sewanee Call, which exceeded its $185 million goal to raise more than $205 million. The first two major projects completed under Cunningham were Humphreys Hall, the first new residence hall in more than 30 years, and Nabit Art Building, a project long sought and long deferred. Cunningham gained control of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

house for conversion to university use as the McGriff Alumni House. Gailor Hall was renovated to become the Gailor Center for Languages and Literature, St. Luke's Hall was converted into a desirable residence hall, and All Saints' Chapel was refurbished. Cunningham presided over the celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the university's founding in 2007–08, which coincided with the end of the successful capital campaign and the dedication of the state-of-the-art science building Spencer Hall. During the final year of Dr. Cunningham's service, a major renovation and addition to Snowden Hall took shape as a new home for the forestry, geology and natural resources departments. He joined the faculty full-time after stepping down as vice chancellor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Joel 1944 births Living people People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee University of Oregon alumni University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty University of Kentucky faculty Susquehanna University faculty