Gov. Bill Haslam’s FOCUS act passed through the Senate Monday, all but confirming the bill will be signed into law and enacted in the following school year.
The University of Memphis will now be able to set its own prices, choose its own curricula and requirements for graduation and choose when out-of-state tuition should be charged.
The bill, which president M. David Rudd and other officials heavily campaigned for, will allow the U of M to separate from the Tennessee Board of Regents and form its own governing board.
U of M currently shares a board with 45 other schools within TBR, which is primarily made up of community colleges and technological institutions.
Haslem’s bill will allow U of M and the other five universities to form their own boards, enabling them to act and lobby independently from TBR.
U of M has been working towards the separation for decades, and Rudd let his enthusiasm be known Tuesday.
“We’re excited about it,” he said. “It allows for a much greater transparency and accountability, and it allows us to focus specifically on the needs of the University of Memphis.”
While some are disgruntled about the break from TBR, Rudd doesn’t see any negatives to the change.
“I don’t think there’s any downside to the issue,” he said. “Part of the misunderstanding is that we already have a board. This is just a transition to a local board.”
However, some are concerned about the board’s variation, which will contain ten members.
Eight will be appointed by the governor, and six must be Tennessee residents. The board will also include a faculty member and a student.
But the student, who will have a one-year term, will be a nonvoting member.
This has upset many on campus who wonder if they’ll have any say in future university endeavors. Daniel Pope, 20, a sophomore in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, questions whether or not the board will act in the university’s best interests without a student voter.
“That student represents the majority of the University of Memphis,” he said. “And if that majority is silent, then how can we determine our future?”
The move to make the student member a non-voter was made by legislation and not U of M officials.
Rudd doesn’t think it’s a decision set in stone and said under the right circumstances, he would support a student voter.
“The issue is by no means settled,” he said. “And if the appointment was for two years instead of one, I think I would support [the right for the student to vote].”
Even without a vote, Rudd has assured students their voices will be heard.
“I think that they will be directly involved with the management and governance of the university, unlike any period in our history,” Rudd said.
