Longtime leader at the University of Tennessee Dr. Warren Neel has died at age 85. He served in the cabinet of Gov. Lamar Alexander and was Commissioner of Finance and Administration for Gov. Don Sundquist.
Dr. Neel joined the University of Tennessee College of Business Administration as a faculty member in 1969 in the department of management and was named associate dean of the college in 1974. In 1977 he was named dean and served for 25 years in that role. He also served a year as interim president of Lincoln Memorial University in 2009.
He returned to the University of Tennessee to co-found the Center for Corporate Governance in 2003 and served as director until 2013. The center was named for him in 2014.
A celebration of life will be held at the Church of the Ascension, 800 S. Northshore on Sunday, April 2, at 2 p.m. The full obituary is here.