The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR or The College System of Tennessee) is a
system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
of public universities in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. It is one of two public university systems, the other being the
University of Tennessee system
The University of Tennessee system (UT system) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of two public university systems, the other being the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). It consists of four primary campu ...
. It was authorized by an act of the
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...
passed in 1972. The TBR supervises all public community colleges and technical colleges in the state, dealing with over 140,000 students annually.
It was founded as the State University and Community College System of Tennessee. The TBR comprises 40 institutions: 13 community colleges and 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, which are listed below. The Colleges of Applied Technology were added to TBR control in 1982. Unlike the situation in most states, TBR component institutions do not have their own
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, board of trustees, or similar bodies at the
campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
level; the TBR hires institution presidents and directors and approves the promotions of senior
faculty and staff. In 2015 Tennessee governor
Bill Haslam
William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...
announced a plan for the six universities of the TBR system to gain their own governing boards, while noting that "TBR would continue to provide key administrative support to the six state universities."
The professional head of the TBR system is referred to as its ''Chancellor''. The chancellor is responsible for guiding the TBR system in accordance with the board's direction and for managing the TBR central office in a manner consistent with the central office's mission and vision. Operational responsibilities and processes include day-to-day management of the system and the central office; board coordination, communication and logistics; presidential searches; and dealing with the media and the general public, including handling complaints and general information requests.
The leaders of TBR colleges are referred to as ''Presidents''.
The Board of Regents is supported by the
Tennessee Higher Education Commission
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1967 to coordinate and support the efforts of higher education institutions in the State of Tennessee. One of its statutory requirements is to ...
( THEC ), which attempts to coordinate the activities and goals of higher education in Tennessee. THEC provides the funding formula for institutions.
Member institutions
Community colleges
*
Chattanooga State Community College
Chattanooga State Community College (Chattanooga State or, informally, Chatt State) is a public community college in Chattanooga, Tennessee.“Chattanooga State Community College.” Educating Tennessee. Tennessee Board of Regents. http://www.tb ...
*
Cleveland State Community College
Cleveland State Community College is a public community college in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. Like most community colleges, emphasis is on associate's degree-level classes, but it also offers some thi ...
*
Columbia State Community College
Columbia State Community College is a public community college in Columbia, Tennessee. Founded in 1966, it serves nine counties in southern Middle Tennessee through five campuses. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...
*
Dyersburg State Community College
Dyersburg State Community College is a Public college, public community college in Dyersburg, Tennessee. It was founded in 1969 and serves nine counties in West Tennessee: Crockett, Dyer, Haywood, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Tipton, and Weakl ...
*
Jackson State Community College
Jackson State Community College is a public community college in Jackson, Tennessee. It is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents and offers associate degrees in arts, science, and applied science programs.
*
Motlow State Community College
Motlow State Community College is a public community college with multiple locations in southern Middle Tennessee. The main campus opened its facilities in 1969 and is located in Moore County on 187 acres of land donated by the late Senator Rea ...
*
Nashville State Community College
Nashville State Community College is a public community college in Nashville, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents and shares a campus with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Nashville. The Nashville State faci ...
*
Northeast State Community College
Northeast State Community College is a public community college based in Blountville, Tennessee. It offers technical education and college transfer programs in Blountville and at teaching sites in Elizabethton, Gray, Johnson City, and Kingspo ...
*
Pellissippi State Community College
Pellissippi State Community College (Pellissippi State) is a public community college based in Knox and Blount counties in Tennessee. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college's main campus is located in west Knox County. Th ...
*
Roane State Community College
Roane State logo
Roane State Community College is a public community college in eastern Tennessee with its main campus in Harriman. It was authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1969, along with two other community colleges, and operate ...
*
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Southwest Tennessee Community College is a public community college in Memphis, Tennessee. As the product of a merger between two colleges in 2000, the school has two campuses in Memphis and several satellite centers. It is operated by the Ten ...
*
Volunteer State Community College
Volunteer State Community College (Vol State) is a public community college in Gallatin, Tennessee. It is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Vol State serves the suburban Nashville community. The main campus of the college is 30 miles (48&n ...
*
Walters State Community College
Walters State Community College (abbreviated as WSCC, and commonly known as Walters State) is a public community college based in Morristown, Tennessee. It was founded in 1970 and is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college was ...
Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs)
* Athens
*
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
* Covington
* Crossville
*
Crump
* Dickson
* Elizabethton
* Harriman
* Hartsville
* Hohenwald
* Jacksboro
* Jackson
* Knoxville
* Livingston
* McKenzie
* McMinnville
* Memphis
* Morristown
* Murfreesboro
* Nashville
*
Newbern
* Onedia
* Paris
*
Pulaski
* Ripley
*
Shelbyville
* Whiteville
State universities
Six universities were managed by TBR until 2017, when the state overhauled its public higher education system by creating an independent governing board for each university. The Tennessee legislature in 2016 passed the Focus on College and University Success Act, which separated the universities from the TBR, and Gov. Haslam followed with ceremonial signings of the law at the separated universities.
The six universities formerly managed by TBR are:
*
Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...
*
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...
*
University of Memphis
}
The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...
*
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together off ...
*
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...
*
Tennessee Technological University
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
Governance
Chancellors
* Dr. C. C. Humphreys, 1972–1975
* Dr. Roy S. Nicks, 1975–1985
* Mr. Thomas J. Garland, 1986–1990
* Dr.
Otis L. Floyd Jr., 1990–1993
* Dr. Charles E. Smith, 1994–2000
* Dr. Charles Manning, 2000–2010
* Mr.
John G. Morgan, 2010–2016
* Mr. David Gregory (interim) 2016–2017
* Dr. Flora Tydings, February 1, 2017–present
Board
The Tennessee Board of Regents system is governed by 19 board members. The board meets four times each year at regularly scheduled meetings, and the chairman may call additional meetings during the year as needed. The 19 members of the board consist of: 12 lay citizens appointed for six-year terms by the governor, with one each from the state's nine congressional districts and three grand divisions; two faculty members from among the system institutions appointed by the governor for a one-year term; one student from among the system institutions appointed by the governor for a one-year term ; and four ''ex officio'' members—the Governor of Tennessee, the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, who is a non-voting member.
See also
*
List of colleges and universities in Tennessee
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*''
Tennessee Blue Book The ''Tennessee Blue Book'' is an official government manual for the U.S. state of Tennessee, published by the Secretary of State of Tennessee.
The ''Blue Book'' is typically published on a biennial basis. Its contents include details on the organ ...
''
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1972 establishments in Tennessee
Government of Tennessee
Governing bodies of universities and colleges in the United States