Scott Poole, dean of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design, is stepping down from his position in June 2021. He will return to teaching, research, and writing.

Poole was appointed head of the college in spring 2011. For much of his tenure, Poole has developed partnerships with organizations to work with the school like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; the National Park Service; and the Tennessee Valley Authority. In his own research, Poole has focused on the architecture of Finland, where he traveled as a Fulbright scholar in 1983 and 1984. In 1992, Poole published The New Finnish Architecture, a monograph of designs from the Scandinavian country.

The school has said that a search committee will be formed to conduct a national search for a new dean.