Dr. Archie Dykes became chancellor of the Knoxville campus September 1, 1971, after having served for four years as chancellor of the Martin campus. Born in 1931 in Rogersville and reared in Church Hill, he earned both the bachelor’s degree (1952) and master’s (1956) degree at East Tennessee State University and the doctorate in educational administration from UT in 1959. He was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship as a student at UT.
He began his career at Church Hill High School where he was a teacher and principal, and then he became the superintendent of the Greeneville (Tennessee) city schools. In 1962 he became director and professor of the Center for Advanced Graduate Study in Education at Memphis State. He left UT to become president of the University of Kansas (1973–80), after which he became president and CEO of Security Benefit Group of Companies in Topeka, a post he combined with work as a director for companies such as Pet, Fleming, Whitman, and Midas. In 1988 he became chairman of Capital City Holdings. Dykes also served as a director of PepsiAmericas in Chicago.
He was named the outstanding alumnus of East Tennessee State University in 1970, the first person to receive the designation, and was presented the Distinguished Alumnus in Higher Education award by ETSU in 2002. The Archie R. Dykes Library at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City pays tribute to his service as president of the University of Kansas. A highly popular chancellor, Dykes was noted for his follow-up letters to students, faculty, staff, and the public. He visited UT for the Bicentennial Convocation in 1994.