Board of Regents to meet March 25. Agenda includes consideration of president of TCATs Paris & McKenzie, criteria for next presidents of Volunteer State and TCAT McMinnville

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its next quarterly meeting March 25. The agenda includes consideration of appointment of the next president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie, proposed criteria for the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville, new program proposals and other items.

The Board of Regents governs the 13 Community Colleges and 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) comprising the College System of Tennessee.  The board will convene by teleconference, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at 9:05 a.m. CT, Thursday, March 25, 2021, immediately following presentation of the third annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Awards to the system’s outstanding students, faculty and staff members, which will stream on TBR.edu/SOAR starting at 8:30 a.m.

The board meeting is open and will be live-streamed and archived on the board’s website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/march-2021-quarterly-meeting. The full agenda, an executive summary and board materials are posted at the same link. Anyone needing accommodations may contact Board Secretary Sonja Mason by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, at sonja.mason@tbr.edu or 615-366-3927.  

Regents will receive and consider a recommendation from Chancellor Flora W. Tydings for a new president of TCATs Paris and McKenzie to succeed Dr. Bradley White, who is retiring March 31. Finalists for the position are Willie Huffman, vice president of TCAT Paris since 2007 and a member of the college’s staff since 1988, and Charlene C. White, recently employed at The College of the Florida Keys and former vice president for finance and administration at Dyersburg State Community College. Although separate institutions, TCATs Paris and McKenzie share the same president.

The two finalists announced on March 4 were selected by a 21-member search advisory committee, based on criteria that the Board of Regents adopted at its Dec. 10, 2020, meeting. The advisory committee was composed of board members and representatives of the colleges’ faculty, staff, students, alumni and the communities they serve. The finalists participated in online campus interviews and public forums on March 11.

The board will also consider criteria for the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and TCAT McMinnville. Vol State President Jerry Faulkner announced last month that he is retiring effective Aug. 31. At TCAT McMinnville, former president Warren Laux retired last June 30 and TCAT Murfreesboro Vice President Nathan Garrett is serving as interim president until a successor is appointed. Detailed criteria for both presidencies are included in the board materials at the link above.

In other action, the board will:

• Consider 14 proposed new programs and program changes at nine TCATs.
• Receive informational reports and updates on preliminary student access, retention and success measures for the 2020-21 academic year; the TBR 10-Year Strategic Plan mid-cycle review; the system’s Center for Workforce Development, and the state budget and state legislation.
• Consider faculty emeritus designations for five retired faculty members recommended by their colleges.
• Consider an extension, through Spring 2022, of a pilot program allowing a student’s high school grade-point average (GPA) as an additional assessment method for college placement (along with the ACT, SAT and other longstanding assessment metrics).
• Consider a proposed new TBR policy on programs for minors on campus and proposed revisions to TBR policy on admissions at community colleges.
• Consider proposed changes to TBR bylaws to change the name of the board’s Economic and Community Development Committee to the Workforce Development Committee, and to refer to the newly revised 12th Edition of Roberts Rules of Order instead of previous editions.
• Discuss draft new rules regarding contested case procedures under the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act; parking and traffic, and Title IX compliance/sexual misconduct, and proposed amendments to existing student conduct and disciplinary procedures. (The draft rules and amendments are expected to be voted on at the June board meeting.)