Emerson Harold "Eli" Fly (February 5, 1935 – August 8, 2017) was an American academic.

[2] In 2001, Fly was named UT's acting president, which its board of trustees later designated as permanent.

He retired in 2002, only to be asked to return as interim executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2003.

After leaving active duty he joined the Naval Air Reserves and completed his undergraduate degree at UT Knoxville on the GI Bill.

[3] He died on August 8, 2017, aged 82, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease and is survived by his wife Catherine and their four children.