By Ariyana Griffin
Special to the AFRO
Tennessee State University, the only publicly funded HBCU in the state, had their Board of Trustees removed by a new law, SB1596, which was recently signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee.
The legislation which wiped out the board was passed by the state GOP-controlled House on March 28 in a 66-25 vote. Lee said his decision to sign the bill stemmed from TSU officials inadequately allocating and properly documenting the use of funds.
The Tennessee State Comptroller of the Treasury stated that TSU’s “management has repeatedly fallen short of sound fiscal practices, adequate documentation and responsive communications to concerned parents and students.”
They also stated that there have been multiple “inconsistencies between testimony given by TSU officials to state officials and actions later carried out.”
According to the Tennessee State Comptroller of the Treasury, a new forensic audit of Tennessee State University “includes 57 observations and 60 recommendations related to how TSU handles a variety of core responsibilities including budget monitoring, collecting tuition, awarding scholarships, and many more.”
The report states, “While the audit clearly notes a number of deficient processes, auditors from CliftonLarsonAllen LLP did not identify evidence indicative of fraud or malfeasance by executive leadership, the University, or the TSU Foundation.”
Upon receiving a request for comment, Jenai Hayes, the institution’s director of public relations and strategic communications, sent the AFRO a statement on the matter.
“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,” read the statement. “There have not been any audit findings that TSU mismanaged funds. The university has made significant improvements to its business operations from two years ago, which were not addressed in the just-released FY 2022 audit. Additionally, today’s forensic audit report clearly states that TSU had not engaged in any fraud or malfeasance.TSU has been a good steward of taxpayer dollars.”
Aside from highlighting the fact that no wrongdoing was found in multiple audits, the university is shining a spotlight on how they have been historically underfunded.
“State lawmakers also have made very little mention of the chronic underfunding that TSU has experienced over generations. Confirmed totals are $544 million according to state officials, in which $250 million was allocated in April 2022; and $2.1 billion according to a recent federal report,” said university officials in the statement. “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.”
Black Voters Matter, in partnership with TSU, held a press conference regarding the new legislation in place on April 1. A live stream of the press conference was provided through seasoned journalist Roland Martin’s livestream show, “Unfiltered.”
“Black Voters Matter joins in the fight against the Legislature’s abuse of power, which dismissed leaders with years of institutional knowledge and commitment to protecting Black history, education and power,” said the organization, Black Voters Matters, in a statement. “With the bill’s passage, the organization will demand equitable funding for Tennessee State University and the protection of HBCUs.”
The move has garnered attention from around the country.
“Ask yourself how many state schools have had five audits in one year,” said Roland Martin, on his livestream. “You can not show me anywhere in America when an audit was done and no fraud was uncovered and the entire board of trustees was removed.”
While originally three members of the board were set to be replaced, after weeks of negotiation, it was announced at the last minute that the entire board would be vacated and eight new members would be appointed. The new appointees, all of which are TSU alums, are:
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
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
Charles Traughber, general counsel, Division of Real Estate, Retail, and Financial Services at Bridgestone Americas
Darrell Taylor, president of TSU’s Student Government Association, said that he found the timeline of the audits interesting as they come after TSU asked for the money they have been owed federally, which according to the federal government is $2.1 billion.
“This isn’t just Tennessee State University– several, if not all HBCUs are facing similar issues,” he said on Martin’s livestream.
Now, HBCU students around the country are speaking out on the move by the Tennessee legislators. Jason Sanford, a graduate student at Morgan State University agreed that the new actions taken by Tennessee’s governor and lawmakers should serve as a wakeup call.
“TSU, along with other HBCUs have been left out of government funding. I think it is unfair to the students, faculty and staff of TSU to now find out they are having their board of trustees removed by the government, ” he said.
Last year U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack sent letters to 16 governors, including Gov. Lee, stating that there is a $12 billion disparity in funding between land-grant HBCUs and non-HBCU land-grant peers in their states.
“The fight to prevent the state overreach for the board of trustees has been lost, but I am hopeful for the future of our university with new leadership in place,” said Shaun Wimberly Jr. Tennessee State University’s Student Government Association Student Trustee during the live stream.
“We’ve done enough begging in my opinion,” he said. “Now is not the time for begging, now is not the time to be requesting. It is our time to take what is ours.”
