Legislation that would vacate the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees and allow Governor Bill Lee to appoint eight new members advanced from the Senate Education Committee Wednesday on an 8-1 party line vote.
Senator Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, says he sponsored the bill as a response to the issues identified in an audit by the Tennessee Comptroller. Roberts told the committee that it’s time for a new vision and this change will be an opportunity for cooperation.
“The passion that I know I personally feel, and I think is shared among our colleagues in the Senate is this: we believe that the students of Tennessee State University deserve better than what they’ve received,” said Kerry. “It’s time for us to have a new vision of the school, a better vision, a stronger vision.”
The lone Democratic Senator on the committee, Senator Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, called the action extreme.
Akbari expressed concern that vacating the board would affect the school’s ongoing presidential search for Dr. Glenda Glover’s replacement after she retires at the end of the Spring semester.
Akbari said lawmakers should instead focus on addressing TSU’s historic underfunding. Last year the Biden Administration sent Governor Lee a letter claiming Tennessee has underfunded TSU by $2.1 billion over the years.
“They have been historically underfunded. I am not using that as an excuse to say there aren’t some changes that need to be made, some checks and balances need to be put in place. But this is a severe action and it troubles me,” said Akbari. “We can’t say we want TSU to be spoken of in the same ‘breath’ as UT if we’re not going to fund them appropriately and we’re not going to provide those supports. At the end of the day, whatever issues that we might see at the university, I think a lot of that has to do with just historic underfunding and not having the infrastructure and doing what they can with what they have. I am not saying Tennessee State is perfect, I’m not saying the board is perfect, I’m not saying any part of the administration is perfect because no one is perfect. But I am saying if we’re going to take this extreme action, then there better be some other extreme supportive stuff coming behind that.”
The bill now heads to the full Senate for approval. It also faces a vote in the House Government Operations Committee next week.
Committee provides neutral recommendation on TSU’s budget
The vote to vacate TSU’s Board of Trustees wasn’t the only action Senators took that will upset university supporters.
The Senate Education Committee also voted to send TSU’s budget to the Senate Finance Committee with a neutral recommendation.
The vote followed a presentation by outgoing TSU president Dr. Glenda Glover on the university’s existing plans and initiatives.
TSU is the only state-funded historically black college and university (HBCU) in the state. The school currently has a R2 Carnegie Classification that recognizes “high research activity.” Last May, the university announced its goal to achieve R1 status that would designate it as a university with “very high research activity” and has since begun implementing plans to advance.
TSU leaders say obtaining this status would increase external funding, attract high-quality faculty and high-caliber students, open the door for more collaborations and partnerships both in the industry and academically, and more opportunities for technology transfer and commercialization.
The school also started its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) initiative. TSU recently became a hub for AI due to Dr. Robbie Melton’s work and leadership at the TSU SMART Technology Innovation Center in AI research. TSU will host an upcoming national summit called “AI for ALL” that will focus on the best practices and AI tools for education and careers.
“TSU is now functioning on a national platform and students genuinely want to attend an HBCU, especially an R2 institution,” said Glover. “The demand to come to TSU is significant.”
