Board of Regents quarterly meeting is Dec. 1. Agenda includes appointment of new presidents of TCATs Athens & Murfreesboro, financial reporting, new policies & programs, update on new TCAT at Ford’s Blue Oval City.
The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) will hold its next quarterly meeting Dec. 1. The agenda includes consideration of the chancellor’s recommendations for the next presidents of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Athens and Murfreesboro, proposed new career and technical education programs, financial reporting, and an update on construction of the new TCAT campus at Ford’s Blue Oval City project.
Other agenda items include the chancellor’s quarterly report, consideration of faculty emeritus recommendations and institutional compensation proposals, proposed revisions in two TBR policies, new strategic plans at four community colleges, two campus building namings, fundraising reporting, and the proposed renaming of TCAT Paris as part of its upcoming merger with TCAT McKenzie.
The Tennessee Board of Regents governs the state’s public community and technical colleges comprising the College System of Tennessee. The board will convene at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the TBR system office at 1 Bridgestone Park, Nashville, TN 37214. The meeting will be live-streamed and archived on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/december-2022-quarterly-board-meeting. The full agenda, executive summary and detailed board materials are posted at the same link. Anyone wishing to attend in lieu of the live stream may contact Mary Ann Hammonds at maryann.hammonds@tbr.edu or 615-366-4403 for security access or accommodations, by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30.
TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings will present to the board her recommendations for the next presidents of TCATs Athens and Murfreesboro. The board approved the criteria for both positions in August and search committees for each college reviewed candidates before recommending finalists, who participated in open forums on their campuses in November. Information about the two TCAT Athens finalists is here and information about the two TCAT Murfreesboro finalists is here. The chancellor is reviewing feedback from the campus forums and conducting final interviews before making her recommendations to the board, which appoints all college presidents in the system.
The board will consider proposed revisions to two TBR policies: a revision to the Undergraduate Academic Retention and GPA Standards Policy that would allow students seeking admission or readmission as certificate-seeking students to be eligible for Academic Fresh Start, and a revision to the Purchasing Policy that would increase various thresholds for purchasing and bidding. The board’s consideration of faculty emeritus recommendations and institutional compensation proposals will occur through its action on the minutes of a meeting of the board’s Personnel and Compensation Committee from Nov. 15.
The board will consider several proposed new career and technical education programs or program expansions at the technical colleges; new or revised strategic plans for Chattanooga State, Dyersburg State, Jackson State and Roane State community colleges; and a proposal to rename TCAT Paris as the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Henry/Carroll as part of its merger with TCAT McKenzie. The new name would reflect the two home counties, Henry and Carroll, of the two campuses. If approved, the name change will occur in May 2023.
The board will receive informational reports on institutional finances, systemwide fundraising, and the status of construction of a new TCAT campus at the Ford’s Blue Oval City electric vehicle manufacturing facility under development in West Tennessee, and other items detailed on the full agenda.
The board will consider requests to name buildings at two colleges: at Chattanooga State Community College, to rename the Campus Center for Engineering, Technology, Arts and Science the Gerald McCormick Center for Engineering, Technology, Arts and Science in honor of the former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and Chattanooga civic leader; and at Dyersburg State Community College, to rename the Campus Activities Building the Dr. Carl Christian Andersen Hall in honor of a former president of the college.
Persons who want to request to address the Board may follow the process authorized by TBR Policy 1.02.12.00 – Requests to Address the Board.
The College System of Tennessee is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 24 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving approximately 140,000 students. The system is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.