NASHVILLE – Deputy Gov. John Morgan is one of six candidates vying to become the next chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
The search committee met Friday and reviewed the applicant pool to replace Chancellor Charles Manning, who is retiring after 10 years. They will interview Morgan on June 30.
Morgan, who once served as state comptroller, told The Associated Press that he applied for the position because he’s “been interested in education policy issues in Tennessee for many years.”
The other applicants are:
* Charles C. Canver, director of The King Faisal Heart Institute
* Frank C. Clark, vice president and professor of bioinformatics at Medical University of South Carolina
* Renaldo J. Hemphill, data analyst for enrollment management, University of Arkansas, Pine Blufff
* Frank Mink, vice president of Corporate Human Health Services at Entrix Corp.
* Ben Pourbabai, executive vice president at Automatica Inc. in Reston, Va.
Agenia Clark, chairwoman of the search committee, said she’s not sure when a selection will be made, but the new chancellor will have to be familiar with the Complete College Tennessee Act approved during a special legislative session on education earlier this year.
The act includes changes to the state’s higher education funding formula to emphasize graduation rates instead of enrollment numbers, and creation of a statewide transfer policy so any student who earns a two-year degree at a community college can move on to a four-year university as a junior.
Morgan said the special session intrigued him.
“I was particularly interested in the direction that we began in the special session,” he said. “And this seemed like it was a possibility that I could continue working for the state in that role and continue to try to move forward on the education policy front.”
The Regents govern six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers, with total enrollment of more than 180,000 students. The universities are Memphis, Austin Peay, Tennessee State, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and East Tennessee.
Last month, the Regents’ announced tuition increases for most of its students will be about 6 percent in the fall.
A statement from the Regents said 72 percent of students will see increases of 6.3 percent or less. The remainder will pay more, based on hours of instruction. At technology centers, where students pay a flat fee, rather than by class hours, there will be an increase of $112 per trimester.
The Regents said state funding has declined $186 million, or 25 percent, during the last three years.