Tennessee State University announces finalists for search for next president

Tennessee State University has announced the three finalists to replace longtime President Glenda Glover, who will step down at the end of the school year. The candidates will be on campus this week to participate in forums with students, faculty and the public.

The three finalists are Charles Gibbs, CEO of the national “100 Black Men of America,” William E. Hudson, vice president of student affairs at Florida A&M University, and Michael Torrence, president of Motlow State Community College in southern Middle Tennessee.

The search for a successor to Glover, who announced her retirement in August after a decade, comes at an uncertain time for the historically black public university. The university council that led the search for a president and sought to choose Glover's successor could be removed by a bill being considered in the House.

The version of the bill passed by the Senate would dissolve the current board and give Gov. Bill Lee the opportunity to appoint new members. The House will consider an amended version of the bill on Thursday that would allow the TSU board to retain three current members, as well as the student and faculty representatives.

The lawmakers' move to disband the board comes a year after a critical audit by the finance minister found that leadership problems had led to a housing crisis. Lawmakers have commissioned a $2 million external audit of TSU, with results to be released in early April.

Torrence, who was named Motlow State's president in 2018, was scheduled to speak to TSU alumni and the community at a public forum on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Hudson will hold a public forum on Thursday at 2 p.m. Gibbs, the final nominee, will speak to the public on Friday at 3 p.m.

All public forums will be broadcast online. Information on how to watch the public forums and more details about the candidates can be found at tnstate.edu/board.

Todd A. Price is the USA TODAY Network's Southern regional reporter. Reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: TSU names finalists for presidential search