The new UTM Advisory Board, which was created through the UT FOCUS Act in 2018, held its first quarterly meeting Jan. 9 in the University Center on campus.
The UT FOCUS (Focus on College and University Success) Act was passed by the Tennessee Legislature to restructure the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees (BOT). The board was downsized from 27 members to 11, and a separate advisory board for each state university was created.
The UTM Advisory Board is made up of seven members: five community members, one faculty member and one student member, all of whom were appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam. The board members are Hal Bynum, Monice Hagler, Art Sparks, Kyle Spurgeon, Julia Wells, faculty representative Dr. Chris Caldwell and student representative SGA President Devin Majors. Wells could not be present at the first meeting and participated by phone.
The advisory board is responsible for approving the budget, tuition and fees, as well as overseeing the campus master plan.
UTM Chancellor Keith Carver called the meeting to order and welcomed Haslam.
“This is a historical day,” Carver said. “This is the first time we’ve had a local board for this campus.”
Haslam addressed the purpose of the board and how the UT FOCUS Act played a part in organizing it.
“When we passed the UT FOCUS Act… one of the key pieces of that was to shrink the board for the system. I did that for a simple reason: my experience has been the larger the board, the less effective the board is,” Haslam explained. “With that, I didn’t want us to lose the fact that we are a system and that system has very different pieces and parts to it which play a very important part in making the system whole. I wanted to make sure each campus had the sort of attention that I feel like it deserves.”
Haslam said that the advisory boards will not break up the Tennessee system, but will allow for more hands-on, efficient work to be accomplished on each individual campus.
“I hope all of you see your role here as ‘I’m here to represent the entire state,’” Haslam said to the board. “I hope you can be those folks who understand this part of the state. You understand the economic need, you understand the mission of this school, and you bring all of that into bearing to say, ‘How can we make sure Martin is a great institution preparing people to serve in this state in a variety of ways for a long time to come?’”
After Haslam spoke, the board unanimously approved its bylaws, which can be found at utm.edu/advisoryboard/bylaws.
Sparks, a UTM graduate of 1976, was elected chair of the advisory board.
“I’m very humble and appreciative,” Sparks said.
Majors’ student position on the board only lasts through June 30. The board approved a motion, proposed by Carver, to hold elections for the student representative on the advisory board during the same time as SGA elections each April. Any student interested in becoming the UTM student representative can visit utm.edu/election for more information regarding the position.
Edie Gibson, executive assistant to the chancellor, was also elected as the advisory board secretary.
Carver discussed the five-year Strategic Plan and how the implementation of the program has already produced increased enrollment and retention for the class of 2022. One of the primary oversight functions of the advisory board is to help ensure implementation of the Strategic Plan.
The board will meet quarterly with the next meeting scheduled for April 26, 2019.
For more information about the UTM Advisory Board, visit utm.edu/advisoryboard.
The first UTM Advisory Board met Jan. 9, 2019, in the University Center to discuss the proceedings of the new year. | Pacer photos/Sarah Knapp
