NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Thursday, Governor Bill Lee signed legislation passed by mostly-white lawmakers in Tennessee that stripped the state's only publicly-funded historically Black university of its board. Later the same day, he announced his eight appointees who would effectively replace Tennessee State University's board.
A list of the new appointees is available below. In a release, Gov. Lee said each appointee is a graduate of TSU and gave information about their current position.
- 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
TSU is already seeking a new leader as President Glenda Glover plans to retire at the end of the school year.
Republican leaders have long grumbled about TSU's leadership as multiple state audits have found student housing shortages, unsustainable scholarship increases and lingering financial discrepancies, according to the Associated Press.
It said audits released Thursday morning ahead of the House vote found 56 “significant procedural deficiencies” ranging from the school failing to follow its own procedures, to not properly documenting transactions or identifying improvements to its budgeting procedures.
However, one review stated that it “did not identify evidence indicative of fraud or malfeasance by executive leadership.”
Democrats and others say Republicans are focusing on the wrong issues, pointing out that TSU's problems are largely due to its being underfunded by an estimated $2.1 billion over the last three decades. They also allege that the majority-white Legislature distrusts a Black-controlled university's ability to manage itself.
While Democratic lawmakers proposed changes to the legislation vacating the board, the Republican supermajority voted those proposals down and passed the bill.
