NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Republican-led state House has narrowly approved a bill that would reshape the University of Tennessee’s board of trustees.
The House cast a 51-41 vote Thursday for Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal. The Senate has already passed it, but a House change sends it back to the Senate before it heads to Haslam’s desk.
The plan would shrink the board from 27 to 11 voting members, and would add one non-voting student member. It would also create four seven-member advisory boards specific to individual campuses. Each advisory board would have one student and one faculty member.
The legislation has drawn scrutiny because it would remove the faculty and student voting representation in the current board, among other concerns.
Haslam has contended there’s less accountability and ownership in a bigger board.
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