JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Dr. Tony Pittarese, who served as interim dean of East Tennessee State University’s College of Business and Technology for a year and held the roles of senior associate dean and chair of the Department of Computing through 2021, will lead the college as dean.
Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, provost and senior vice president for Academics at ETSU, announced the appointment in May following a months-long search.
“Dr. Pittarese has been an integral part of the ETSU family since 2007 when he first
joined us as an assistant professor,” said McCorkle. “Dr. Pittarese’s successes at
ETSU, including strategic planning, the expansion of academic programs that result
in high-demand career opportunities for our students, and faculty recruitment, allowed
him to emerge from a field of exceptional candidates. We are certain that we will
see more amazing accomplishments by Dr. Pittarese and his team.”
Most recently, Pittarese has helped pioneer a partnership with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee that led to the establishment of the BlueSky Tennessee Institute. The groundbreaking collaboration will provide Tennessee students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in computing and a job offer from BlueCross in just over two years.
“The opportunity to build a partnership with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee emerged in late 2020 as we were in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We put together a team of ETSU faculty and developed a format for an accelerated program that allowed us to meet all of BCBST's strategic employment goals while still retaining our ABET accreditation and program quality,” Pittarese said.
The accelerated degree will provide a new pathway into one of the fastest-growing careers in the country by developing much-needed technology talent to then prepare the next generation of technology leaders in fields such as cybersecurity, cloud computing, data analysis, health care information systems and more.
“I regularly tell our people that I believe the most important word in the name
of our college is the ‘and’. There are many exciting educational opportunities that
come from bringing business and technology together.”
Prior to his move to Johnson City, Pittarese held the chair’s position for the Department of Computer Science at Pensacola Christian College, where he also served as a faculty member for 15 years. He earned his doctoral degree in computer science and software engineering from Auburn University. He was awarded his Master of Science in computer science and software engineering and his MBA in management and marketing from the University of West Florida. Throughout his career he has received multiple outstanding service and faculty awards.