Tennessee State University leaders face scrutiny
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Photo: courtesy of Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University leadership has "repeatedly fallen short," and poor decision-making has exacerbated an on-campus housing crisis that has required many students to live in hotels, a new state report found.
Why it matters: The 82-page document released this week offers a blistering assessment of TSU's leadership and includes a series of "policy considerations" for lawmakers that would dramatically change how the public university is managed.
- The range of options in the report includes ousting top leaders; replacing the entire board of trustees; or dissolving the board completely and putting the university under the control of the Board of Regents, the body that oversees community and technical colleges.
Zoom out: A special panel of lawmakers formed to review housing at TSU met to discuss the report Thursday.
- "Right now, TSU is not a well-run organization," comptroller Jason Mumpower told lawmakers during his presentation.
- "The housing issue that we've illustrated today is only a symptom of a much larger management problem."
Catch up quick: The comptroller's office began reviewing the matter last year after TSU requested funding for emergency housing options.
- School officials quadrupled their scholarship budget for the 2022-23 academic year and mounted a massive recruitment campaign despite already strained housing options, the report found. Most of the scholarships guaranteed housing.
- Lawmakers grilled university leaders last fall and questioned why they had allowed enrollment to grow without a plan for campus housing.
What they're saying: A statement from TSU said leaders "take seriously the matters cited in the document but believe that the report is misleading and misrepresents the actual state of conditions at TSU."
- The statement said the report's range of policy considerations "are based on problems that have since been corrected and assumptions that are not supported by facts."
Yes, but: The statement acknowledged "more should have been done sooner to meet housing needs."
State of play: Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) told reporters Thursday there were "very serious problems" with the board and TSU president Glenda Glover.
- "It appears the board has relinquished their duties and simply given all the checks and balances to the president."
- When asked if he still had faith in Glover's leadership, he responded that "probably change is in order."
The latest: Speaking to lawmakers Thursday, Glover said a leadership shakeup at the historically Black university would "cause irreparable harm to our students and their families."
- She criticized the tone of the comptroller's report and disputed many of its findings. In particular, she said, it failed to mention the fact that TSU had been historically underfunded, a factor she said had contributed to the housing crunch.
- "It's time to support TSU, not destroy TSU."