The University of Memphis Board of Trustees unanimously voted to confirm Bill Hardgrave as the 13th university president Tuesday afternoon. He will replace outgoing President David Rudd.
Hardgrave is provost and senior vice president at Auburn University. He received a unanimous recommendation from Friday’s executive committee meeting, which was confirmed Tuesday.
The board of trustees gave their recommendation of Hardgrave based on his commitments to diversity, background in academic fundraising, and understanding in research and academics. However, this endorsement has not come without some opposition.
Back in fall 2020, Hardgrave survived a vote of no-confidence for his handling of the pandemic. The motion was ultimately scrapped by 71% of the faculty after confusion about the vote ensued. The controversy stemmed from Hardgrave’s response to the COVID-19, with the university pushing for more in-person classes for that spring semester.
Beyond that, Memphians have voiced concern over Hardgrave’s diversity initiatives, along with the lack of diversity among the finalists. Shelby County Commissioner, UofM alumnus, and current master’s student Tami Sawyer was among those questioning what his diversity commitments will look like.
“Hardgrave is bringing with him a history of complaints from Black students at Auburn. He’s going from an institution that is 3% Black to one that is 40% Black,” Sawyer wrote in a Facebook post. “Because he leads an R1 institution, which is what UM is seeking to become, they will overlook these concerns. Not surprising. But, a promise of being committed to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), is a weak song at best. What does that commitment look like?”
More questions were posed by the Shelby County Board of Commission Black Caucus, which Sawyer heads, in an open letter to the UofM Board of Trustees. Commissioners Van Turner and Mickell Lowery, along with the Memphis Branch of the NAACP, also signed off on the letter.
“Questions that we would like to see answered include,” the letter reads, “1)What does this commitment look like for Dr. Hardgrave? 2) How will the success of these commitments be measured in terms of impact? 3) What initiatives will Dr. Hardgrave undertake as now president of a University that is over 40% Black? 4) What training or experiences will Dr. Hardgrave commit to to broaden his awareness considering he is leaving an institution that is 3% Black?”
Other finalists for the position were Cammy Abernathy, dean of the engineering school at the University of Florida, and Tiek C. Lim, who is currently serving as interim president at the University of Texas at Arlington.
The search for a new president came on the wings of Rudd’s announcement that he would be departing from the position in May, at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. Prior to transitioning into a faculty role with the UofM in 2023, he will take a one-year sabbatical.
Bill Hardgrave, provost at Auburn, received unanimous support to be the next UofM president at Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting.
