C. E.Brehm was elected by the board of trustees as the 15th president of UT in 1948 after serving as acting president from 1946 to 1948. He served until 1959. Born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, he was raised on a farm and earned the BS from the College of Agriculture at the Pennsylvania State University in 1911. After his graduation, he worked as a nurseryman and seedsman and also taught horticulture at Purdue University. Additionally, he authored textbooks for the International Correspondence Schools.
He joined UT in 1917 as a specialist in marketing and rural organization. In 1919 he became assistant director of the Agricultural Extension Service, was named director in 1935, and was named dean of the college in 1942. In 1946 he became director of the Agricultural Experiment Stations. In 1926 he compiled Tennessee, a book of photographs and information about Tennessee, published by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. In 1944 the Progressive Farmer named him Man of the Year.
In 1937 he was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of science by Clemson College (now University). In 1949 he was awarded the doctor of laws honorary degree by Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania); in 1954 he was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree by Roanoke College. During World War II, he served as secretary of the Tennessee Agricultural War Board in addition to his regular UT duties. In 1953 he was named the Pennsylvania State College’s Distinguished Alumnus.
He was a member of the Rotary Club, was a Mason, and served as the first president of the East Tennessee Heart Association. He served on the board of directors of the William Henson Orphanage, the Mid-South Cotton Association, Tennessee Livestock Commission, and the Nashville branch of the Federal Reserve Board. An active member of the Lutheran Church, he filled the pulpit of his local church on many occasions.