Per Memphis Daily News...

University of Memphis Moves Toward Own Board in a Year

Fantastic

I certainly support this & have advocated for it for about as long as the TBOR existed. But I am concerned about the formation process for the BOR because the members are appointed by the governor which means, like the TBOR, over time it will become very political, based more upon the politics of the governor & the political party in control in Nashville than what is best for the University of Memphis. The process insures a "state" BOR. I would not advocate for the BOR to be selected solely by the university admin but do think the university admin should have a larger role in the makeup of the BOR. I'm just concerned over the allegiance & loyalties of the BOR members which could produce a conflict of interests if their allegiance is divided where some might not want the progress of the University of Memphis to compete with UTK or some other state institution.

Nonetheless, I praise Gov Haslam for his leadership in this long needed change.

I thought this was about a football only section of this board.

(06-14-2016 11:20 AM)tiger2000 Wrote:  I thought this was about a football only section of this board.

I thought this meant YMT was back


#delete

(06-14-2016 10:07 AM)Atlanta Wrote:  I certainly support this & have advocated for it for about as long as the TBOR existed. But I am concerned about the formation process for the BOR because the members are appointed by the governor which means, like the TBOR, over time it will become very political, based more upon the politics of the governor & the political party in control in Nashville than what is best for the University of Memphis. The process insures a "state" BOR. I would not advocate for the BOR to be selected solely by the university admin but do think the university admin should have a larger role in the makeup of the BOR. I'm just concerned over the allegiance & loyalties of the BOR members which could produce a conflict of interests if their allegiance is divided where some might not want the progress of the University of Memphis to compete with UTK or some other state institution.

Nonetheless, I praise Gov Haslam for his leadership in this long needed change.

You are joking right? What you described is exactly what has been happening with the board of regents since formation

TC for Chairman of the Board!

TC,
KSTiger
Smith
Snowtiger
Tigerx

There's your board right thar.

How is funding of each institutional BOR determined? If it's by a vote in Nashville, I dont see much of a change. Its not like the legislature or committees over there are any more unbiased. If it's by some automatic funding formula that removes bias and discretion, that's a different story.

I think the big funding competition is with middle TN institutions, ie MTSU. I see state govt favoring them along with UT if they have the opportunity.

I still like it, it removes at least one layer of bureaucratic interference from the state pursestrings. But I hope to learn of more advantages of the shift, that clear a path to institutional success and excellence.

(06-14-2016 12:56 PM)shere khan Wrote:  

(06-14-2016 10:07 AM)Atlanta Wrote:  I certainly support this & have advocated for it for about as long as the TBOR existed. But I am concerned about the formation process for the BOR because the members are appointed by the governor which means, like the TBOR, over time it will become very political, based more upon the politics of the governor & the political party in control in Nashville than what is best for the University of Memphis. The process insures a "state" BOR. I would not advocate for the BOR to be selected solely by the university admin but do think the university admin should have a larger role in the makeup of the BOR. I'm just concerned over the allegiance & loyalties of the BOR members which could produce a conflict of interests if their allegiance is divided where some might not want the progress of the University of Memphis to compete with UTK or some other state institution.

Nonetheless, I praise Gov Haslam for his leadership in this long needed change.

You are joking right? What you described is exactly what has been happening with the board of regents since formation

It's no joke but far from where we are now with TBOR. Governor appoints a 9 voting member board plus one student non-voting member (if I recall correctly). It will be a Memphis board & we can only hope it has our university's interest as a primary focus. Funding will be via the THEC but that's not as significant as it used to be since the state only provides 28% of our overall funding.

(06-14-2016 02:26 PM)Atlanta Wrote:  

(06-14-2016 12:56 PM)shere khan Wrote:  

(06-14-2016 10:07 AM)Atlanta Wrote:  I certainly support this & have advocated for it for about as long as the TBOR existed. But I am concerned about the formation process for the BOR because the members are appointed by the governor which means, like the TBOR, over time it will become very political, based more upon the politics of the governor & the political party in control in Nashville than what is best for the University of Memphis. The process insures a "state" BOR. I would not advocate for the BOR to be selected solely by the university admin but do think the university admin should have a larger role in the makeup of the BOR. I'm just concerned over the allegiance & loyalties of the BOR members which could produce a conflict of interests if their allegiance is divided where some might not want the progress of the University of Memphis to compete with UTK or some other state institution.

Nonetheless, I praise Gov Haslam for his leadership in this long needed change.

You are joking right? What you described is exactly what has been happening with the board of regents since formation

It's no joke but far from where we are now with TBOR. Governor appoints a 9 voting member board plus one student non-voting member (if I recall correctly). It will be a Memphis board & we can only hope it has our university's interest as a primary focus. Funding will be via the THEC but that's not as significant as it used to be since the state only provides 28% of our overall finding.

The univ wont have its fate decided by some political appointee with an MA from Austin Peay.

No way to spin this bad. Zero

Read an article out of Nashville on this back when first proposed. The comments were most interesting. IIRC, MTSU folks feared roadblocks from or losing ground to TSU. At least Memphis doesn't have any other former BOR 4 year institutions in close proximity (that I'm aware of anyway).

Austin Peay/Tennessee State/MTSU would be the closest.

After that it's just TTU and ETSU.

Look at it this way. Currently, the BOR represents 45 higher Ed institutions across the state. There is one appointed governing board that makes all the decisions. They must balance their time and they must consider how policy impacts the range of schools from technical schools to community colleges to universities. It is slow, it is cumbersome, it is ineffective and it is political.

Under the new format The TBR was still exist and we will still be a member. There will still be a pot of money to be shared. They may tweak the formula but essential all like-missioned schools will get equal shares based on enrollment and some performance measures based on things like graduation rates. Memphis as the only research doctoral granting university gets an operational funding advantage for the pot but since the state funds such a small portion of student tuition that advantage is not as impactful as it may sound.

The governor will still appoint the new version of independent boards but make no mistake the decision on who will be determined by Rudd and his advisors. Yes they will be concerned about makeup and being representative but that will not marginalized the quality of the selections. They will have limitations and they will have guidelines. No decisions they make will negatively target any other college. Decisions will all be focused on making each university the best and strongest it can be. You will like and be impressed with the UM board. It will have some familiar names and maybe a surprise or two. Don't think for a minute that conversations have not already occurred.

No longer will the line for decisions have a technical school from east tn in front of an important decision for the university of Memphis. If we want to develop a research partnership with St Jude and Boston University it's our decision. Funding partnerships beyond the basic formula will be our own responsibility and limited by only our own outreach.

We will still be in competition for capital projects. That process needs an overhaul and we will still have battles to fight. The UT system will still be fighting for their share of Capitol funds in a state that limits resources due to being a sales tax driven revenue state.

The Indy Board does not solve all problems. It allows self-determination in many but not all areas. It will still be accountable for coloring in the right borders. But we can be much faster in implementing our plans and much more effective determining what kind of university we want to be. Growth, admissions policies, programs can be determined on our schedule rather than a state agenda.

I do fear that the political process will take advantage of this situation to divest itself even more from fiscal responsibility to support all universities. At one point the state provide 70% of the cost of tuition. Now that contribution is closer to 30%. At one point the state would build academic buildings but now colleges must raise significant funds on their own to move up the priority list. But the gradual autonomy afforded higher Ed over the past decade or so has already had a big impact on our campus. Raines laid a foundation that Rudd has built into something special. The campus is under-going a transformation in appearance and in quality as well as outreach.

Whatever negatives we face with this process will be far outweighed by the positives. The messes will be our messes and our opportunities. As a community, we need to step up and be part of the transformation. The U of Memphis as a partner to Memphis has the potential to have the greatest impact of anything we have yet seen but the community must play a role in that partnership.

(06-15-2016 05:30 AM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  ......Whatever negatives we face with this process will be far outweighed by the positives.......

Dr. Rudd tweeted something to the effect that having our own board will be a game-changer. That's good enough for me.

(06-15-2016 10:00 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(06-15-2016 05:30 AM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  ......Whatever negatives we face with this process will be far outweighed by the positives.......

Dr. Rudd tweeted something to the effect that having our own board will be a game-changer. That's good enough for me.

Agreed. Of all the people in this equation that should know I would say he'd be on that list so if he is happy about it then so am I.

I don't believe we'll be a part of TBR any longer. I think the way it works is that there's THEC, which is the state's governing body for all higher ed (including the UT system), then within THEC will be the UT System, TBR, and all of the schools that with their own boards. Like you said though, this greatly helps us when fighting for dollars. We're no longer in a pool with 2 year schools. We're on our own to fight for ourselves within THEC.

I thought by the thread title, the OP would tell me how I could take over this board within a year.

(06-15-2016 03:16 PM)yakko Wrote:  I don't believe we'll be a part of TBR any longer. I think the way it works is that there's THEC, which is the state's governing body for all higher ed (including the UT system), then within THEC will be the UT System, TBR, and all of the schools that with their own boards. Like you said though, this greatly helps us when fighting for dollars. We're no longer in a pool with 2 year schools. We're on our own to fight for ourselves within THEC.

That's the whole purpose of the legislation; each of several state universities including the University of Memphis will have their own BOR, appointed by the governor. The TBOR will continue to function but only govern state community colleges. The THEC will still manages & governs state funding for all post secondary education within the the state including each college & university regardless of the governing BOR. The THEC makeup currently has voting representation from each congressional district & three non-voting members plus the the secretary of state, state comptroller & state treasurer. It appears UTK enjoys a comfortable voting margin on the THEC. The THEC members are diverse in terms of where they were educated but none from our university. AC Wharton (TSU/Ole Miss) is the district 9 rep.