NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents is meeting by telephone on Thursday to appoint an acting chancellor for the State University and Community College System.

The current chancellor, John Morgan, announced earlier this month he will retire Jan. 31 instead of his original plan to leave when he turns 65 next year. He cited Gov. Bill Haslam's plan to refocus the Board of Regents on the state's community and technical colleges and grant more autonomy to the six four-year universities in the system.

Morgan said spinning off control over four-year schools would hurt oversight and accountability efforts. Haslam has said the proposal would allow the board to focus more on the state's free tuition program for high school graduates.

To arrange to listen to the call, contact Sonja Mason at [email protected] or (615) 366-3927 by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.