Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam talks to students as he visits the Cleveland State Community College campus on Monday, Aug. 24, 2015, in Cleveland, Tenn. Monday was the first day of classes for students taking advantage of Tennessee Promise, a free tuition program.
Staff Photo By Doug StricklandThe Tennessee Promise program offered by Gov. Bill Haslam, shown speaking to a group of Chattanooga State Community College students last month, can be a free ticket to an education and a good job if students are willing to take advantage of it.NASHVILLE -- So what do Pope Francis, democratic/socialist and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, conservative billionaire Charles Koch and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee now have in common?
All five are on Politico Magazine's 2015 list of 50 "thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics."
Haslam ranked No. 23 on the list.
According to Politico, the nonpartisan news organization that covers all things political, Haslam earned a spot for setting a "a higher bar for higher ed."
That was a reference to the governor's "Tennessee Promise" program which drew national attention for its last-dollar scholarships basically guaranteeing free tuition and mentors to state high school graduates attending state community and technical colleges.
It's part of Haslam's "Drive to 55" program which seeks to boost the perentage of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate to 55 percent by the year 2025.
Asked about making the Politico list, Haslam told reporters in East Tennessee on Thursday that "I don't think it's up to me to talk about what are the chief achievements or anything like that. I think I'm really excited about the long-term potential of Tennessee Promise. I think it can do more than anything else that we're working on on education funded change to the long-term potential of the state.
"But," Haslam emphasized, "hopefully all the other things we're working on in terms of improving K-12 education will make a big impact as well. I think it's part of the piece of putting it all together to make certain that the workforce we have in the future is trainable."
Gov. Bill Haslam speaks at Red Bank High School about "Tennessee Promise," which offers two years of tuition-free community of technical college.Politico pointed out that "lost amid the furor over President Obama's free-community college proposal this year - whether it was a new GI Bill, an empty promise or an expensive waste - lay a simple fact that Obama highlighted in his announcement at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee: "America's College Promise" was modeled on "Tennessee Promise," signed into law in 2014 by Republican Governor Bill Haslam. In fact, Tennessee was the first state in decades to offer free higher education."
Haslam said "we're always flattered to be imitated," Haslam said. But he added "I think the way we did it makes more sense. But I love if it if the nation is even having those conversations about how do we make certain that community colleges are affordable for everybody."
Haslam is using interest earned from a set-aside portion of Tennessee Education Lottery proceeds to fund the program.
According to Forbes Magazine, Haslam became America's wealthiest politician this year, "thanks to a family oil and gas fortune" and "doesn't seem to mind the lack of spotlight.
"Since taking office in 2011, he has eschewed the culture wars in favor of a practical approach to unsexy issues like civil service reform and teacher tenure," the magazine noted. "It was in 2013 that Haslam first sought to make his mark on higher ed, with an initiative to increase the proportion of Tennesseans who have a certificate or degree beyond high school from 32 to 55 percent," Politico noted.
Gov. Bill Haslam speaks at Sullivan Central High School before signing the Tennessee Promise Ceremonial Bill on Thursday in Blountville, Tenn."As part of the campaign, he found a way to make universal community college affordable (and earned the backing of the GOP-controlled state legislature) by tapping the state lottery fund," Politico wrote.
"'Net cost to the state: zero. Net impact on our future: priceless,'" as the governor's tagline went."
This isn't the first time Politico has paid interest to Haslam. In 2013, the website gushed over Tennessee's chief executive in a piece entitled "The GOP star you've never heard of."
Ranking No. 1 in the Politico 50 was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy for his authorship of the landmark same-sex marriage decision, a ruling Haslam disagreed with.
Pope Frances ranked No. 4.
Sanders, who is running for president, was No. 5.
Koch, a billionaire like Haslam whose heavy political spending is helping to reshape U.S. politics, shared the 6th slot with Koch Industries senior vice president and general counsel Mark V. Holden.