The Tennessee Board of Regents has chosen longtime lobbyist and state official David Gregory to serve as interim chancellor until a replacement is selected for outgoing leader John Morgan.
Morgan announced his resignation in protest of the governor’s higher education restructuring proposal.
In a telephone conference call, the board voted unanimously to approve Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s recommendation to elevate Gregory to the post from his position as vice chancellor for TBR’s Administration and Facilities Development overseeing capital outlay and maintenance projects for 46 institutions.
Gregory, who has announced his intentions to retire, will not seek the full-time post in leading the system of six universities, 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology, according to Haslam. He previously worked as director of government affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield and in state government, serving as chief of staff for former Gov. Ned McWherter and former Lt. Gov. John Wilder, both Democrats.
In making the nomination, Haslam, who serves on the Tennessee Board of Regents, said he felt it was critical for the board to recognize it is in the midst of restructuring higher education and needs a well-known person with a “steady hand” to help guide it through change.
“I think he has the character and the insight and the commitment to the system” to do the job,” Haslam said of Gregory.
Gregory accepted the appointment by noting outgoing Chancellor Morgan is a friend and said “there is undeniable momentum” in higher education across Tennessee. He pointed toward the governor’s Tennessee Promise scholarship providing free community college tuition to qualifying students as a catalyst for growth in enrollment.
“I think states around the country are looking at Tennessee and wondering what’s happening,” Gregory said. He added, “I hope I can be a steady hand and keep the momentum going.”
TBR Vice Chairman Emily Reynolds said no time frame is set for selecting a full-time chancellor and noted the governor’s proposed higher education restructuring plan will affect criteria for the search.
Morgan, who was appointed chancellor some five years ago even though he doesn’t hold a doctorate, is retiring a year earlier than planned after blasting the governor’s FOCUS Act plan, which would set up individual governing boards to oversee six universities such as MTSU, TSU and University of Memphis rather than have them under the TBR.
Local boards would have the authority to hire and fire university presidents, set strategies and handle curriculum, but they would report to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission rather than TBR.
The Board of Regents, instead, would oversee the state’s community colleges and technical schools.
Morgan called the plan “unworkable” and said it would “seriously impair the critical alignment of the state’s needs, the TBR’s oversight responsibility, and each institution’s accountability.”