News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Tennessee Tech’s Board of Trustees honored Governor Bill Haslam Thursday for the state’s recent success in higher education.
Haslam briefly visited the Board’s meeting to accept the recognition. He said the university’s success is due in most part to the creation of the current Board of Trustees two years ago.
“I strongly believe Tech is a better school than it was two years ago, and it’ll be even better two years ago because of the work you folks are doing,” Haslam said. “I do want to thank again (Representative) Ryan Williams did a lot of the heavy lifting when this got passed, and (THEC Director) Mike Krause helped us think it through and work it through. So they are two of the key people.”
Trustees Vice Chair Trudy Harper says the Board has presented its fair share of challenges in the past but is appreciative of what they’ve been able to do for the university.
“I would think that’s a good thing to hear, this has been hard,” Harper says. “I think we didn’t even know what we didn’t know, and we’re starting to figure out what we don’t know. Which means we’ve still got a long way to go. The faculty is helping us a lot. The staff and administration are helping us a huge amount. But we’ve got a long way to go.”
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission reported Tuesday Tennessee Tech is the highest-performing public university in the state. As a result, the school will receive the largest funding increase from the state at just under eight percent.
