University of Memphis will likely break away from the Tennessee Board of Regents and David Rudd, president of the U of M, will take questions from the campus community at meetings scheduled next week.
This news comes from an e-mail Rudd sent to the university students, faculty members and staff Thursday.
“I attended a meeting with Governor Haslam and the steering committee to discuss the Focus Act, the legislation proposing independent governing boards,” Rudd said. “I have every expectation the act will pass.”
The first two meetings will be on Tuesday. Rudd will meet with the University deans, chairs and program directors at 11 a.m. at the University Center. He will then meet with the Faculty Senate at 3:45 p.m.
Finally, the university president will take questions from faculty members and students on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Michael D. Rose Theatre. This last meeting will be simulated on the Lambuth, Collierville and Millington campuses. Rudd said becoming independent from the TBR would allow the University to make independent choices and control tuition rate. It will also allow the U of M to control its overall financial model and manage building contracts and renovations. “We believe it will be helpful to our efforts to establish the U of M as a national research university and expand our reach and visibility nationally,” Rudd said in an email to The Daily Helmsman. “In short, we believe it critical for future growth at the University of Memphis.” The issues Rudd will address during these meetings will be an overview of the legislation. He will also take questions from the audience. “We simply want to provide as much opportunity for dialogue and discussion as possible,” said Rudd. “An independent governing board at the U of M has been discussed for decades.”
The separation of TBR and Memphis will allow the school to work with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and lobby the state legislatures with out interference from smaller colleges across the state.
Rudd explained that given the significance of the change, “it’s critical we have our campus actively involved and engaged.”
However, some Tennessee officials said dismantling theboard of regents could be a poor choice.
The former chancer of the board of regents, John Morgan, was critical of the play to break up TBR.
In an article written by The Tennessean, Morgan said cooperation between the states institutions of higher learning “won’t happen if you really have universities that are focused solely on their own aspirations.”
