Former UT System President Petersen dies
Former University of Tennessee System President Dr. John Petersen died Sept. 11, 2025, at the age of 77 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Tennessee Municipal League Executive Director Anthony Haynes said Petersen helped support and grow higher education at UT and the services the university provides to the public.
“Dr. Petersen helped strengthen UT’s presence and co-leadership at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL),” Haynes said. “He was an early advocate for degree attainment and performance-based funding for public higher education. And his support for the outreach mission of the university through the Institutes of Agriculture and Public Service was unwavering. Our condolences go out to his wife, Carol, and their family.”
Current UT System President Randy Boyd also recognized Petersen’s importance to UT.
“A chemist by training, his tenure saw notable research milestones, including the opening of the Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL, and a record $65 million NSF grant that positioned UT and ORNL as leaders in supercomputing,” Boyd said. “Our heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends.”
A native of Los Angeles, Petersen earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from California State University in 1970 and his doctorate in inorganic chemistry in 1978 from the University of California.
After serving as an assistant professor of chemistry at Kansas State University, he joined the faculty of Clemson university in 1980 and was associate dean and head of the chemistry department. He spent a year at Universität Regensburg in Germany as the Alexander von Humboldt research fellow and guest professor before going to Wayne State University, where he served as dean of the College of Science from 1980 to 1995.
Petersen served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the University of Connecticut from 2000 until 2004, when he was appointed president of the UT system.
Petersen would serve as UT’s president until 2009, during which time he helped increase the university’s research output, expanded partnerships, and invested in university infrastructure.
After his departure from UT, Petersen served as executive director of RTP Solar Fuels Project and IUPAC before retiring. He was a longtime member of the American Chemical Society and served on their executive compensation committee.
Petersen is survived by his wife, Carol, two children, two grandchildren, and a large extended family.