Bob Eby Elected Chair of Tennessee School Board

Bob Eby has been elected to a two-year term as the next chairperson of the Tennessee State Board of Education. Eby was elected to the Oak Ridge School Board four times prior to his appointment to the State Board by then-Governor Bill Haslam in 2018, serving as chair from 1991 to 1995 and as vice chair from 2009 to 2018. He was elected vice chair of the State Board of Education in 2019. Eby will succeed outgoing chair Lillian Hartgrove, who served five years in that capacity.

From the Tennessee State Board of Education Web Page:

Mr. Robert Eby was elected to the Oak Ridge Board of Education four times, accumulating 16 years on the Board. He served as Chairman from 1991-1995 and as its vice-chairman from 2009-2018. While serving on the Board, Mr. Eby spearheaded several major activities for the Oak Ridge Schools. Most notably, he was responsible for championing the recent school’s strategic plan—Oak Ridge 2020, which has become a model for school systems in the state. Oak Ridge 2020 exceeds the goals of Governor Haslam’s “Tennessee Drive to 55” initiative.

Mr. Eby is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering. He went on to receive a diploma from The Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. His strong technical background led to major development efforts in gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge and laser uranium enrichment technologies. Previously, he served as the Plant Manager at the 4,000-person Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Oak Ridge, and as Vice President in three major engineering firms associated with cleanup of radionuclides from the environment. He currently serves as the Executive Vice-President of Navarro Research and Engineering Company, which is headquartered in Oak Ridge with 21 offices across the country.

Mr. Eby is an Eagle Scout, the co-author of three patents in the field of radiochemical processing and is active in the community and volunteer efforts. Besides his ongoing service to the State Board of Education Mr. Eby is also currently a Board member on the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the East Tennessee Technology Council, and the KFI, a local organization dedicated to supporting the Ronald McDonald House of Knoxville, Tennessee.