JOHNSON CITY – Jeffery Blanton, who has served in various leadership roles for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has joined East Tennessee State University as Assistant Vice President for Administration and Director of Emergency Management.
Blanton has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience at the local and federal levels. Most recently, he was the supervisory senior resident agent for the Johnson City office of the Knoxville Division of the FBI where he led a team of 30 agents, task force members and support staff and was responsible for all FBI investigations in upper East Tennessee.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for ETSU to have Mr. Blanton on our team overseeing our work in emergency preparedness,” said Jeremy Ross, chief operating officer. “A university campus resembles a small city in itself, and the issues that could potentially impact our community are very complex and ever-changing. Mr. Blanton brings unparalleled expertise to this role and we are very fortunate to have him leading these efforts.”
In his most recent job, Blanton also supervised a Joint Terrorism Task Force, served as the FBI Civil Rights/Human Trafficking Program Coordinator for the Eastern Tennessee district, the FBI Transnational Organized Crime Program Coordinator, and the FBI High Intensity Drug Task Force Commander for the region.
Blanton has held positions with the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and the Gaston County Police in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Honorable accolades of his career include receiving the FBI Special Agent of the Year award as well as the FBI Medal of Excellence in Leadership.
Blanton holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Davidson College and completed training with the North Carolina Magistrate School and the North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Academy as well as the FBI Academy and FBI Leadership Development Institute.
###