NASHVILLE – The prospect of Deputy Gov. John Morgan becoming the next chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents isn’t going down well with the Republican chairman of the state Senate Education Committee.
“After reading reports that there is only one applicant under review for Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, I am writing to ask that you conduct an expanded search for this top position in higher education in our state,” Education Committee Chairman Delores Gresham, R-Somerville, wrote in her letter to the 18 Board of Regents members.
She said the “person chosen to lead Tennessee’s higher education system should be steeped in scholarship and must lead by example. The board should also look at applicants with senior managerial experience in public education.”
The Board of Regents institutions include six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers.
A Board of Regents search committee last week unanimously recomended Morgan, a Democrat and former state comptroller, to head the higher education governing system. The full board is expected to act Friday.