Axios Nashville

Tennessee State University president Glenda Glover is calling on the state to "do what's right" by addressing a $2.1 billion shortfall in funding for the institution that the Biden administration identified.

Driving the news: Top officials with the federal departments of Education and Agriculture sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee this week that found the "severe financial gap" in state funding for TSU over the last 30 years.

• "The longstanding and ongoing underinvestment in Tennessee State University disadvantages the students, faculty, and community that the institution serves," the letter read.
• "[I]t is our hope that we can collaborate to avoid burdensome and costly litigation that has occurred in several states."

Why it matters: The federal analysis found that TSU received less per-student funding than the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, even though federal law requires equitable funding.

• The Biden administration said the extra money could have bolstered student services and infrastructure and would have better positioned TSU to compete for research grants.
• This is not just a problem in Tennessee. Similar letters sent to 15 other governors identified long-term funding disparities at state-run historically black colleges and universities.

Catch up quick: In February, Republican lawmakers slammed the school's president after a report from the comptroller stated that poor leadership had exacerbated an on-campus housing crisis.

What she's saying: Glover tells Axios the federal government's assessment of TSU's enormous financial disadvantage recasts that criticism. She says missing out on state funding is the underlying problem, not university leadership.

• "You can look at the challenges that TSU has faced over the years, those challenges would have gone away with $2.1 billion," she says, adding that funding would allow for more staff, new scholarship programs and ambitious construction projects.

Flashback: A 2021 state analysis found TSU had been underfunded $150 million to $544 million for its food and agriculture research. Lee followed that up with $250 million for the university in his 2022 budget.

• State Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville), who chaired the committee that looked into that issue, tells Axios that is a recent example of the state responding quickly to help TSU.
• He said officials could use "the same pathway" to address the federal analysis. He was hopeful the federal report would be "a springboard" for another influx of funding.

State of play: In a statement, a spokesperson for the governor said Lee "has proposed significant funding for TSU every year," including the $250 million in 2022. The statement said direct appropriations to TSU had grown by 43% since Lee took office.

• "Gov. Lee remains committed to working with legislative partners and community leaders to support the success of TSU and HBCUs across Tennessee."

What's next: Glover, who is retiring at the end of the academic year, says confronting this shortfall will be a top priority during her final days on the job.

• "I want us to have a meeting, have a conversation and go over this. We can't sweep this under the rug."

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Singer-songwriter Allison Russell won the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music award at last night's Americana Music Honors and Awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium.

• Russell was presented the award by the Tennessee Three lawmakers: state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson.
• Russell co-organized the Love Rising benefit concert in March in response to state legislation targeting the LGBTQ community.

What she's saying: "There is so much love in Tennessee," Russell said onstage after accepting the award. "I've been completely uplifted by this community. I feel completely committed to this community."

• "I have Canadian friends and family who call me when the next wave of legislative terrorism rocks us, and say, 'When are you coming home?' I tell them that we don't run from fascism. I'm not going to show my daughter that we run from fascism."

Of note: The Americana award for Artist of the Year went to Billy Strings.

🍪 Whitney Miller, who won the Fox TV cooking competition "MasterChef," is opening Whitney's Cookies on Main Street in downtown Franklin. (Tennessean)

😷 Titans rookie lineman Peter Skoronski will miss his second straight game after he had an appendectomy last week. (Music City Miracles)

🏀 The University of Tennessee extended men's basketball coach Rick Barnes' contract through 2027-28. (The Associated Press)

Nearly 1 in 5 Nashville area workers did their jobs from home in 2022, according to new Census figures released last week.

Why it matters: Although it was spurred out of necessity by the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home is proving to be more than a fad.

By the numbers: With 19.4% of its workforce working from home, Nashville outpaced the national average of 15.2% last year.

• Nashville's percentage of at-home workers dropped slightly from 20.6% in 2021.
• By comparison, Axios' Sam Baker and Simran Parwani report that Boulder, Colorado, had the highest work-from-home percentage at 32%.

The other side: Mississippi has the lowest share of remote workers in the U.S., at just 5.5%, and the Southeast generally is well below the national average.

• Even so, every state has more remote workers now than in 2019, before the pandemic began.
• And even after two years, the trend line is barely moving. Nationwide, the share of people working from home declined by less than 3 percentage points between 2021 and 2022, according to the Census figures.

Be smart: Read Baker and Parwani's full report, including the impact working from home is having on downtown office hubs.

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