Written by
Grover L. Porter
“Our common enemies … who sow the seeds of discord that they may reap the harvest of destruction.” — Edward Gibbon, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”
The Tennessee State University Presidential Search Advisory Committee has selected four qualified candidates for further consideration to become the next president for TSU (“4 vie for top TSU job,” The Tennessean, Oct. 20). After the finalists are fully vetted, I’m confident Chancellor John Morgan will recommend the most qualified finalist to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
I have served as a faculty member and administrator at leading universities. I also have served on advisory committees to select leaders for higher education institutions. Therefore, I know that the finalist appointed as president of a college or university faces a significant challenge. The finalist appointed president for TSU faces an extraordinary challenge.
TSU is a historically black college and university. Unfortunately, there are a number of administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni who do not want TSU to become more than an HBCU. Those misguided people oppose changing TSU from an HBCU into a fully diversified university comparable to other TBR universities. Those people do not realize that the need for HBCUs that existed in the 19th century does not exist in the current century.
A qualified citizen can enroll today at any TBR university without regard to whether the color of her or his skin is black, brown, red, yellow or white. She or he can also enroll at other mainstream public or private universities. The majority of the most qualified African-American students are opting today to attend mainstream universities instead of HBCUs. Therefore, there is no need today for the existence of universities that cater only to one race.
This is illustrated by the growth of Middle Tennessee State University and the stagnation of TSU. If TSU is to grow and survive, the new president must be a “game-changer,” as suggested in a May 10 editorial in The Tennessean. The new president appointed by the TBR must have the courage to overcome the HBCU proponents who are “Our common enemies … who sow the seeds of discord that they may reap the harvest of destruction” for TSU.
Grover L. Porter, Ph.D., CGMA, CPA (Ret.), was an accounting professor at leading universities during his 50-year career and recently retired from TSU.
Source:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20121029...
Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Monday, October 29th 2012 at 12:13PM
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