TSU alumni and students respond to state claims about universities' money problems

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Some Tennessee lawmakers said they are working to get Tennessee State University where it needs to be financially after the university laid off 114 employees.

TSU announced Thursday at a meeting of the Tennessee Building Commission that it is facing long-term financial challenges. Sen. Bo Watson said money allocated from a proposed new agriculture building was used to help TSU complete payroll for the remainder of 2024.

In addition to laying off the 114 employees, TSU administrators said they are in a financial action plan that consists of three parts: a hiring freeze, a spending freeze and some strategic realignments.

University officials said the former president was handing out grants for which they were not in a financial position.

The State of Tennessee’s advice to Tennessee State University is to eliminate all academic programs that are not full and consider selling Avon’s downtown property.

TSU alumni and current students told WSMV4 their reactions to the state’s suggestions to downsize the school.

TSU graduates were outraged. Some alumni said they couldn’t believe what they heard from Jason Mumpower, the state Department of Finance’s comptroller, and felt disrespected by his suggestion for the TSU downtown campus.

TSU alumni Barry Barlow said the Building Committee meeting left him in awe.

Mumpower led the meeting with a list of statements that many people found shocking

“The previous board of trustees ran this university in such a way that you literally run out of money,” Mumpower said.

According to TSU, a report released by the Comptroller’s Office in 2023 does not mention any embezzlement, missing or missing funds, but Mumpower said more about the university’s previous administration during Thursday’s meeting.

“They’re gone, and they’ve left the situation where you literally wouldn’t have been able to make payroll on November 29 if you hadn’t had a cash injection from the state, which fortunately we were able to do,” Mumpower said. .

Mumpower further suggested that the university sell their downtown campus, known as the Avon Williams Campus.

Barlow said the suggestion made him angry.

“They say the land in downtown Nashville needs to be sold so that TSU can secure some money, and the problem with that is that right on that hill, in those archives, are books that show that the state of Tennessee knows that it TSU owes $2.1 billion. That’s without the interest,” Barlow said.

In response to Mumpower’s statements, TSU said they have implemented changes in recent months that have saved the school $13 million and laid off 114 employees.

But students are happy.

TSU Junior Chantal Brown said she saw many staff members react to the meeting and Mumpower’s statements.

“I really feel like they deserve better. A bunch of workers making more than what they get,” Brown said.

Barlow said the downtown campus is also the only previously predominantly white campus given to a predominantly black university.

“I believe this is just retaliation,” Barlow said.

The answer to the university’s financial problems, Barlow said, starts with the state giving TSU the $2.1 billion it is owed, according to a federal government report. TSU students and alumni said they will continue to fight for the funding the state owes the university.