NASHVILLE (AP) — The University of Tennessee's Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote Thursday on the appointment of Beverly Davenport as the first female chancellor of the public university system's flagship campus in Knoxville.

Davenport is the interim president of the University of Cincinnati. She would replace Jimmy Cheek, who announced in June he was stepping down to return to teaching. Cheek had been chancellor since 2009.

UT President Joe DiPietro recommends Davenport to earn a base salary of $585,000 per year, plus housing, expenses and potential performance bonus of up to 15 percent.

If approved, Davenport will become the school's chancellor on Feb. 15 and be granted tenure as a professor at UT's school of communication.

Davenport earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Western Kentucky and her doctorate from Michigan.