Director

Dr. Karen E. Holt became the first director of the realigned Fanning Institute on July 1, 2006. Holt came to Fanning after serving as Executive Director of Project Pericles, a not-for-profit organization located in New York City. Founded by the philanthropist Eugene M. Lang, who also established the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, Project Pericles works with colleges and universities to promote education for responsible citizenship.

Prior to joining Project Pericles, Holt led the University of Virginia’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, served in the General Counsel’s office for the University of Tennessee System in Knoxville, and worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Holt earned a doctorate in political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a juris doctor (J.D.) degree from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. She also graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a bachelor’s degree in zoology.