Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan is retiring at the end of January rather than go through a restructuring of the state’s higher education system he believes will be “unworkable” and “impair” accountability.

Morgan, a veteran of nearly 40 years with the state, made the announcement today after sending Gov. Bill Haslam a letter saying he decided to move up his retirement a year early because of the governor’s proposed FOCUS Act. He had planned to retire in January 2017.

“Given the announcement of plans to form separate governing boards for six TBR universities, I cannot, in good conscience, continue as chancellor for another year,” Morgan wrote in his letter to Haslam and Emily Reynolds, vice chairman of TBR.

Under the FOCUS Act, which must be approved by the Legislature, the Board of Regents will shift its responsibilities to 13 community colleges and colleges of applied technology and no longer oversee universities such as MTSU, University of Memphis, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Tennessee State and East Tennessee State.

Those universities would be overseen, instead, by local boards, which would report to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

“Simply put, I believe the path being proposed is the wrong one for many reasons. However, as an employee of the board, I will not act contrary to the board’s stated interests and objectives, and because of my feelings, I would not be in a position to help implement a proposal that, in my view, will do nothing to further TBR’s work to accomplish the state’s goals.

“I cannot be objective on this topic. I believe the proposed FOCUS plan is unworkable and will seriously impair the critical alignment of the state’s needs, the TBR’s oversight responsibility, and each institution’s accountability,” Morgan wrote.

The retiring chancellor said other models such as one used by North Carolina offer more local involvement without “destroying the effectiveness and accountability of a comprehensive system focused on the state’s agenda. It would be prudent to consider alternative structures to the one proposed.”

Morgan served as deputy governor under Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and previously was comptroller of the Treasury, accumulating nearly 40 years of state service.

Gov. Haslam’s office declined to say whether Morgan is being forced out or whether his departure is linked to dissatisfaction with the proposed FOCUS Act.

“With the Complete College Act and the Drive to 55 initiative, the state has been asking more of its higher education system than ever before, and John has guided the Tennessee Board of Regents system admirably since becoming chancellor in 2010,” Haslam said in a statement from TBR. “He’s served the state in a number of roles since 1976, including serving as deputy governor to Gov. Bredesen and 10 years as the state’s comptroller, and I am grateful to John for his service to Tennessee and wish him all the best.”