NASHVILLE - State House and Senate panels on Wednesday approved nominations for three members of the University of Tennessee system board of trustees, as well as all five members for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's advisory board, clearing the way for final confirmation votes in both chambers.
All the board members were appointed by outgoing-Gov. Bill Haslam in November and December but are subject to approval by the General Assembly.
UT system board members winning approval are:
* Decosta Jenkins, a University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduate, is president and chief executive officer of Nashville Electric Service.
* Alan D. Wilson, another UTK graduate, is the former chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of directors of McCormick & Company Inc.
* Jamie Woodson, also a UTK graduate who went on to earn a law degree from the UT School of Law, is former state senator and one-time Senate Education Committee chairman. Until recently, she served as executive chairman and CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, an education policy and advocacy group.
Among those approved by House and Senate Education committees for UTC's advisory board was former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William "Mickey" Barker of Signal Mountain, a University of Chattanooga graduate who obtained his law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
"I may have the dubious distinction of being the oldest person in this room," Barker told House Education Committee members. "I graduated from the University of Chattanooga in 1964. At that time, we had about 1,200 students. This year, we have as part of the [UT] system we have 11,700 students."
Barker noted he served as an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department as well as on the University of Chattanooga Foundation,the private endowment created in 1969 when the private University of Chattanooga merged with Chattanooga City College and joined the University of Tennessee system of statewide campuses.
"I've seen it grow through the years," Barker observed.
Also approved for UTC's board were:
* Fred Decosimo of Signal Mountain, a shareholder and certified public accountant with the firm Elliott Davis and immediate past chairman of the University of Chattanooga Foundation and the University of Tennessee Investment Advisory Committee. He earned his B.A. from the University of Georgia and master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "I'm a UTC wannabe," Decosimo quipped during his Senate Education Committee confirmation.
* Serina Desai, a UT-Chattanooga graduate, who is in real estate and development, as well as being a community leader.
* Carole Hoffman, a UT-Chattanooga graduate and vice president of human resources for Parkridge Health System.
* Scott LeRoy, a UT-Chattanooga and University of Tennessee College of Law graduate, is an attorney and vice president and chief operating officer of 2nds in Building Materials Inc.
Both the UT system's reconstituted board and creation of the new advisory boards for UTC, UTK, UT-Martin and UT Health Science Center in Memphis were part of former Gov. Bill Haslam's UT Focus on College and University Success or FOCUS Act for the acronym-loving administration.
The House's Calendar and Rules Committee is expected to take up the resolutions on Thursday and then schedule floor action. The Senate, which has a less formal procedure for scheduling bills, is also expected to set the bill for floor debate.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.