House, Senate confirm Chattanoogan Kim White, six other Haslam appointments to new UT board of trustees

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam gives his annual State of the State address to a joint convention of the Tennessee General Assembly, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam gives his annual State of the State address to a joint convention of the Tennessee General Assembly, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee General Assembly Tuesday evening approved seven of Gov. Bill Haslam's proposed appointments to the University of Tennessee's new board of trustees.

Among the seven confirmed by the House and Senate is Chattanoogan Kim H. White, president and CEO of River City Company, a nonprofit that promotes downtown development. White is a UT-Chattanooga graduate.

Earlier this month, the governor saw four of his original ten nominees to the newly fashioned UT system board shunned by fellow Republicans in the Senate. A fifth withdrew his nomination.

The remaining five, including White, were on track to be confirmed to the 11-member voting board. Along with the state commissioner of agriculture, that was enough to get the board functioning, despite the absence of five members whose appointments were effectively torpedoed.

But early Tuesday morning lawmakers began rushing through two new nominees submitted by Haslam: Amy E. Miles of Knoxville, a former CEO of Regal Entertainment and a UT-Knoxville graduate, and Lang Wiseman of Arlington, a founding partner of the Wiseman Bray law firm, a former counsel to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and a one-time Shelby County Republican Party chairman.

Both they and White were confirmed along with John Compton, Kara M. Lawson, William Rhodes III and Donnie Smith.

Sens. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, and Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, praised Haslam's appointment of White to the new UT Board.

"I'm proud to endorse her selection," Watson said, noting White grew up in Hixson and graduated from Hixson High School as well as UTC.

Calling White a "good person," Gardenhire said, "we're proud to have her on the board. I told the governor I think she'll be an outstanding appointment on the board and to Chattanooga."

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.

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