UofM takes big step into the future
The long-desired wish that University of Memphis have its own independent governing board became a reality Friday.
With Gov. Bill Haslam in attendance, the board held its first-ever formal meeting. Members elected Alan B. Graf Jr., chief financial officer with FedEx Corp. chairman, and former interim university president Brad Martin was named vice chairman. University counsel Melanie Murry was named acting secretary.
With independence comes board members’ tremendous responsibility, working with university President David Rudd’s administration, to enact and support initiatives that will enhance the university’s pivotal role in graduating students, conducting research and working with community partners to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of Memphis and the region.
It was fitting for the governor to be present Friday. Early in his first term, Haslam said he was sympathetic to the university’s desire for independent governance, like the University of Tennessee system.
The problem, he told The Commercial Appeal editorial board at the time, was that the state’s other public universities also likely would want their own boards.
Last year, the governor successfully convinced the General Assembly to approve his FOCUS Act, which gave the U of M, Austin Peay State University, East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University and Tennessee Technological University independence from the Tennessee Board of regents.
The regents will concentrate their efforts on community colleges and schools of applied technology.
In addition to Graf and Martin, who's the retired CEO of Saks Inc., the other U of M board members are:
Douglas Edwards, senior adviser at BBH Capital Partners and former CEO of Morgan Keegan and Co. Inc.; Marvin Ellison, CEO and board chairman of J.C. Penney Co.; Cato Johnson, senior vice president of public policy and regulatory affairs for Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, and David North, president and CEO for Sedgwick Claims Management Services.
Also, Carol Roberts, retired chief financial officer for International Paper Co.; Susan Springfield, executive vice president and chief credit officer for First Horizon National Corp., and Katharine Schaffzin, a University of Memphis law professor.
Jared Moses will serve as a non-voting student representative.
After electing officers, the board members approved a list of staffers for tenure and promotion and to create new doctoral-level programs in nursing. They also approved bylaws and set up three standing committees: academic research and student success, governance and finance and audit.
Approval of the nursing programs could be considered emblematic of why the university officials needed an independent board that could place a sharper focus on the university’s role regarding Memphis: the programs mesh nicely with this city’s growing and thriving medical community.
As the years and months pass, the board will face more difficult challenges.The governor, however, has placed a stellar group of proven leaders and university boosters on the board, who are well-suited for the tremendous responsibility of governing a great university.