Sally Hunter, Ph.D.
It’s our pleasure to introduce Sally Hunter, Ph.D., who serves as a dedicated educator and advisor within HDFS. Through my interactions with Hunter, Ph.D., her abundant enthusiasm has been contagious not only to our staff and faculty, but also to our students whom she serves with energy and encouragement. This led us to ask how she came be to with us here at UT:
I’m a Clinical Professor in Human Development and Family Science, and I’ve been a full-time faculty member here for 11 years. In addition to teaching courses in the CHDFS department, I serve as one of two faculty advisors for the HDFS Student Organization and act as the department’s liaison to the CEHHS Advising Office.
When I’m not on campus, you’ll probably find me cheering on the sidelines of a sporting event. My older son, Isaac, plays college baseball, and my younger son, Owen, is a high school soccer player.
My connection to UT runs deep. My grandmother, Barbara Huff Beville, studied child development in the Department of Home Economics here in the late 1940s and taught young children at what is now the UT Early Learning Center. Inspired by her, I signed up for my first child development class at UTK in the late 1990s—and I loved it. During my time as a student, I also competed as a varsity athlete for four years with the Lady Vol Rowing team. I earned my bachelor’s degree in 2003, followed by a master’s in 2005 and a Ph.D. in 2009.
After several years of part-time teaching while raising my family, I returned to full-time faculty work in 2014. Most of my teaching is within our undergraduate HDFS program. I’ve taught HDFS 210 for many years, and I recently began teaching sections of HDFS 360 in Fall 2025.
Beyond my departmental role, I serve the broader university community as the Faculty Director of Well-being in the Division of Student Success. In this position, I facilitate groups for faculty who want to learn more about supporting student well-being and focusing on students’ strengths. I find it incredibly rewarding to collaborate with colleagues across departments and colleges. Looking ahead, I’m excited about opportunities to build community among our CHDFS faculty, especially as we’ve recently merged two departments and welcomed several new colleagues.