Civil rights pioneer at U of Tennessee.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE PROFOUND than transforming a bitter situation into something better. That is what Rita Geier and the University of Tennessee are doing. The higher education system in Tennessee, once Geier's legal adversary, will now become her employer. Geier, a civil rights veteran of 39 years, is now working as the associate to the UT Knoxville chancellor.

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In her new role, Geier will lead diversity efforts and support UT's Ready for the World initiative. She also will serve as senior fellow at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

The appointment represents a significant shift for Geier and UT. In 1968, when Geier was a 23-year-old faculty member of Tennessee State University, she sued UT when the university announced plans to expand into Nashville.

The lawsuit was Geier's effort to stop UT Nashville from becoming a predominantly white school with top-notch faculty, while historically black TSU struggled. Her actions resulted in the 2001 Geier Consent Degree, which provided $77 million in state funds for six years to further diversity efforts in the state.

"In the course of nearly 40 years many things tend to change and evolve, and one of them is that legal adversaries turn into friends and eventually partners in common cause. That is what has happened with my relationship with the University of Tennessee," says Geier.