The University of Memphis’ new Board of Trustees met Friday afternoon in the University Center Ballroom to discuss their bylaws and elect chair and vice chair of the board.
The board came out of the FOCUS Act, which granted an independent board to five schools previously governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents. Tennessee governor Bill Haslam began the meeting praising the new board’s creation, saying it was “a historic occasion.”
“I don’t think you can exaggerate the importance to the city of Memphis, to Shelby County, to West Tennessee, to the entire state of Tennessee for the University of Memphis to have its own board of directors,” Haslam said.
The board elected two officers during the meeting: chair Alan Graf, executive vice president and CFO of FedEx, and vice chair Brad Martin, former interim president of the U of M and current chairman of Chesapeake Energy and RBM Ventures.
Other members of the board include Douglas Edwards, president of the Edwin M. Jones Oil Company of San Antonio; Cato Johnson, senior vice president of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare; David North, president and CEO of Sedgwick; Carol Roberts, senior vice president and CFO for International Paper; Susan Springfield, executive vice president and chief credit officer for First Horizon National Corporation and First Tennessee Bank and Kate Schaffzin, professor at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
The board will also have a student representative, who student government will elect during the semester. Until one is elected, current student government president Jared Moses will serve on the board until he graduates in May. Moses will not be a voting member.
Friday’s meeting focused on approving the bylaws and policies of the board, although the trustees did approve financing for the new indoor football practice facility to be sent to the State Building Commission.
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be in June.
