Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is proposing to give more autonomy to six public universities and have the Tennessee Board of Regents system focus on the state's 40 community and technical colleges.
Haslam said Tuesday he will introduce legislation to create local boards for Austin Peay in Clarksville; East Tennessee in Johnson City; Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro; Tennessee Tech in Cookeville; Tennessee State in Nashville; and the University of Memphis. Those boards would control budgets, tuition and the selection of college presidents.
Haslam said the change would allow the regents to focus their attention on two-year schools. The proposal is part of Haslam's "Drive to 55" campaign to boost the number of Tennesseans with post-secondary degrees.
The University of Tennessee system would be unaffected by the proposal.
