TSU Presidential Search Advisory Committee Meets Aug. 27

Open forum scheduled; committee members named

 NASHVILLE (August 20, 2012) — 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, Chair
TBR Board Member
Memphis, Tenn.                                                 

Mr. Paul Montgomery
TBR Board Member
Johnson City, Tenn.

Ms. Emily Reynolds
TBR Board Member
Nashville, Tenn.

Mr. Robert (Bob) P. Thomas
TBR Board Member
Nashville, TN

Faculty Senate Representative (to be determined)
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Terry Likes
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Department Chair, Communications
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Linda Guthrie
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Interim Associate Dean, College of Education
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Martene Stanberry
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
College of Engineering
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Mr. David Rawles
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
President, Student Government Association
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Ms. Danicia Hayes
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Miss Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn.

Mrs. Sandra Hunt
ALUMNI REPRESENTATIVE
President, Nashville Alumni Chapter for TSU
Arrington, Tenn.

Mr. Leonard Stephens
ALUMNI REPRESENTATIVE
TSU National Alumni Association Executive Board Representative
Silver Spring, Md.

Mr. Jewel Jordan
ALUMNI REPRESENTATIVE
Affiliate Broker, ERA Chamberwood Realty Group
Collierville, Tenn.  

Ms. Yvonne Sanders
SUPPORT STAFF REPRESENTATIVE
Chair, Staff Senate
Procurement and Business Services
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn. 

Dr. S. Keith Hargrove
ADMINISTRATIVE REPRESENTATIVE
Dean, College of Engineering
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenn. 

Mr. Charles Sueing
BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
President, Sueing Insurance Agency/Nationwide
Nashville, Tenn.

Ms. Jacky Akbari
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Nashville Career Advancement Center/ Division of Mayor’s Office
Nashville, Tenn.

Mr. L. Vincent Williams, Esq.
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Retired Deputy Attorney General
Nashville, Tenn.

Ms. Joann North
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Madison, Tenn.

Mr. Melvin Malone
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Chair, Tennessee State University Foundation
Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC
Nashville, Tenn.

Ms. Rita Sanders Geier
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Former

Faculty Member
Knoxville, Tenn.

Mr. Ron Corbin
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Retired Field VP, Allstate Insurance Company
Brentwood, Tenn.

Ms. Gari S. Cowan
COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Manager of Global Staffing
Caterpillar Financial Services
Nashville, Tenn.

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.

Department of Media Relations
Rick DelaHaya: 615.963.5312

Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university and is a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as the Number One University in the state by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912 Tennessee State University celebrates 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.