TSU Presidential Search Advisory Committee Meets Aug. 27

The search advisory committee for a new president of Tennessee State University will meet Aug. 27 following a public forum about the search process.The open forum is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. until noon in the Poag Auditorium of the Humanities Building on the TSU campus. Members of the Greenwood/Asher & Associates executive search firm contracted to lead the search will be on hand to discuss the search process and answer questions from campus and community members.The search advisory committee will conduct its first meeting from 1 – 3 p.m. in the same location. The search advisory committee’s charge is to identify three to five finalists for the position of president who will visit the university to meet with campus, alumni and community members. Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan will then make a final selection for submission to the TBR for approval. The committee members are as follows:Mr. Greg Duckett, ChairTBR BOARD MEMBERMemphis, TN Mr. Paul MontgomeryTBR BOARD MEMBERJohnson City, TennesseeMs. Emily ReynoldsTBR BOARD MEMBERNashville, TN Mr. Robert (Bob) P. ThomasTBR BOARD MEMBERNashville, TNDr. Veronica Oates (Updated 8/24/2012)FACULTY SENATE REPRESENTATIVEAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Family and Consumer SciencesTennessee State UniversityNashville, TNDr. Terry LikesFACULTY REPRESENTATIVEDepartment Chair, CommunicationsTennessee State UniversityNashville, TN Dr. Linda GuthrieFACULTY REPRESENTATIVEInterim Associate Dean, College of EducationTennessee State UniversityNashville, TN Dr. Martene StanberryFACULTY REPRESENTATIVEAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Mathematical SciencesCollege of EngineeringTennessee State University Nashville, TN Mr. David RawlesSTUDENT REPRESENTATIVEPresident, Student Government AssociationTennessee State UniversityNashville, TNMs. Danicia Hayes STUDENT REPRESENTATIVEMiss Tennessee State UniversityTennessee State UniversityNashville, TN Mrs. Sandra HuntALUMNI REPRESENTATIVEPresident, Nashville Alumni Chapter for TSUArrington, TN Mr. Leonard Stephens ALUMNI REPRESENTATIVETSU National Alumni Association Executive Board RepresentativeSilver Spring, MD Mr. Jewel JordanALUMNI REPRESENTATIVEAffiliate Broker, ERA Chamberwood Realty GroupCollierville,TN Ms. Yvonne Sanders SUPPORT STAFF REPRESENTATIVEChair, Staff SenateProcurement and Business ServicesTennessee State UniversityNashville, TN Dr. S. Keith HargroveADMINISTRATIVE REPRESENTATIVE Dean, College of EngineeringTennessee State UniversityNashville, TN Mr. Charles SueingBUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVEPresident, Sueing Insurance Agency/NationwideNashville, TN Ms. Jacky AkbariCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVENashville Career Advancement Center/ Division of Mayor’s OfficeNashville, TN Mr. L. Vincent Williams, Esq.COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVERetired Deputy Attorney GeneralNashville, TN Ms. Joann NorthCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVEMadison, TN Mr. Melvin MaloneCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVEChair, Tennessee State University FoundationButler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLCNashville, TN Ms. Rita Sanders GeierCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVEFormer Faculty MemberKnoxville, TN Mr. Ron CorbinCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVERetired Field VP, Allstate Insurance CompanyBrentwood, TN Ms. Gari S. CowanCOMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVEManager of Global StaffingCaterpillar Financial ServicesNashville, TN The TSU committee is the second to begin a presidential search process since the new state law requiring applicant confidentiality was enacted. The first meeting of the committee will be open to the public. Before finalists are selected, any other committee meetings where individual applicants or candidates are identified will be closed to the public and the press. The law provides that identities of candidates for chief executive officer of a Tennessee public higher education institution may remain confidential unless the candidate is selected as a finalist for the position.The campus forums with finalists will be streamed live through a link available on the Web. Alumni and community receptions will be open to the public. A detailed schedule of the visits will be announced after the finalists are selected. More information on the presidential search process, including the criteria for selection, can be found at www.tbr.edu under the “Quick Links” section.The national search is expected to draw a strong pool of applicants. The opening has been advertised in national higher education media outlets, and nominations have been sought for months. Portia Shields has led the university since December 2010. The contractual arrangements under which Shields serves as interim president will not allow her to be considered as a candidate for the permanent presidency.

A tentative timeline has the search committee identifying finalists for the position by the end of October with the possibility of a new president taking office in January 2013. TSU’s next president is expected to take the reins in the midst of TSU’s Centennial Celebration. Tennessee’s only public HBCU (historically black colleges and universities), TSU is a doctoral/research intensive institution located in Nashville. It recently earned a Top 20 ranking for HBCUs by U.S.News & World Report and has been listed as one of the Top HBCUs in the United States by Black Enterprise magazine. Washington Monthly named TSU as one of the nation’s top universities in its 2011 College Rankings because of its success in educating and graduating academically talented, low-income students who become service-oriented leaders in their professions and communities.The TBR is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system, governing 46 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities (including TSU), 13 two-year colleges and 27 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to more than 200,000 students.