On Thursday, Tennessee House Republicans voted to vacate the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees per a report by Melissa Brown of The Tennessean. The legislation was quickly signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Per the report, The Republican House supermajority went back on their previous agreement that occurred in committee with House Democrats to keep three current members of the board.
After undergoing a state audit and facing financial difficulties, Tennessee State University has tackled the identified issues. The audit did not uncover any instances of fraud but did reveal 56 observations and 60 recommendations. Notably, the audit emphasized the unsustainable 250% surge in scholarships between 2019 and 2023, leading to a shortage of campus housing. The audit also indicated a failure to bill $1.46 million in tuition and fees to graduate students.
This housing shortage, linked to the historical underfunding of Tennessee State, has raised concerns among state Democrats and HBCU supporters.
“Tennessee State University was denied those resources, and because they were denied the resources there were problems that occurred,” Democratic Representative Justin Pearson said in a quote obtained by the Tennessean. “But instead of us rectifying the problems that we created through racist policies by underfunding Tennessee State University, we're now advocating to vacate their board.”
Democratic Representative Bo Mitchell argues that Tennessee State is being treated differently than other state universities that found themselves in the same situation.
“I worked in Gov Ops many years as a staffer. I've seen many audits of many universities that look horrendous. Have we ever, ever vacated an entire board of a university before? Have we ever done that? But an HBCU that we owe $2 billion to? Oh yeah, we're going to take their board.”
Tennessee State released a statement following the House vote, emphasizing that the audit found no irregularities.
“This is unprecedented, unfortunate, and uncharted waters for any public university in the state. We believe this legislation will disrupt our students’ educational pursuits, harm the image of the University, and remove a Board that had achieved success in its enhanced governance of TSU…TSU would undoubtedly be in a different position today if it had received the funds promised by the state over the course of the last three decades. While we are very disappointed by today’s vote, we will continue to work with the General Assembly and the Governor’s office to pursue options, both in funding and governance, that allow TSU to continue the momentum it has achieved in enrollment, research, academics, and providing great opportunities for students.”
In 2023, Tennessee State received $250 million from the state government. Governor Bill Lee earmarked the funds in January 2022, labeling it an “investment”—the largest single investment in an HBCU by a state. This follows years of underfunding, with an investigation in 2021 revealing that Tennessee State was owed over $500 million. The State’s Office of Legislative Budget Analysis found that the university had been underfunded for decades and is owed between $151 million to $544 million in land-grant funding.
The vacating of the Board of Trustees comes as Tennessee State looks for a new university president following the retirement of the current president Dr. Glenda Glover. The search has been narrowed down to three finalists: Charles Gibbs, William E. Hudson, and Michael Torrence, per a report by Todd A. Price of The Tennessean.
Governor Bill Lee names his new board appointees
Following the signing of the legislation to vacate the current Tennessee State University Board of Trustees, Governor Bill Lee announced his eight new appointments to the 10-member board. The other two seats of the board are afforded to a student trustee and faculty member. A press release from Lee's office noted that his appointees are all Tennessee State alumni.
The eight appointees are below.
- Trevia Chatman, president, Bank of America Memphis
- Jeffery Norfleet, provost and vice president for administration, Shorter College
- Marquita Qualls, founder and principal, Entropia Consulting
- Terica Smith, deputy mayor and director of human resources, Madison County
- Charles Traughber, general counsel, division of real estate, retail and financial services at Bridgestone Americas
- Dwayne Tucker, CEO of LEAD Public Schools
- Kevin Williams, president and CEO of GAA Manufacturing
- Dakasha Winton, senior vice president and chief government relations officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
“Tennessee State University is a remarkable institution and my administration, in partnership with the General Assembly, is committed to ensuring students are being served. I’m pleased to appoint these highly qualified individuals who will work alongside administrators and students to further secure TSU’s place as a leading institution,” he said in the statement.
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