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Senate Education Committee advances a slate of higher-education board nominees
Summary
The committee heard brief statements from nominees to several University of Tennessee advisory boards and the Tennessee Board of Regents, then voted to advance the confirmations to the calendar. Nominees highlighted experience in teaching, health care and workforce partnerships.
The Senate Education Committee moved a package of higher-education appointments to the committee on calendar after hearing short statements from each nominee.
Susan Mayfield, nominated to the University of Tennessee Southern advisory board, told senators she is a retired teacher with 34 years in Marshall and Giles counties and described herself as “a good Southern Middle Tennessee representative,” citing agricultural and school experience. Tony Treadway, nominated to the East Tennessee State University board of trustees, noted enrollment gains and said, “Almost 0.5 of our students when they graduate have 0 debt,” and asked the committee to consider the university’s recent progress.
The committee also heard from nominees to the UT Center for Health Science and the Tennessee Board of Regents. Gary Pessens and Dr. Randall Davis described decades of medical practice and involvement in medical education; Christy Branscomb, Matt Harriman and Miles Burdine each discussed workforce training and system priorities at the Tennessee Board of Regents. The clerk recorded unanimous or near-unanimous roll-call votes on each nomination and the chair announced that the confirmations were moved to the calendar for later consideration.
Senators offered brief remarks thanking the nominees for their willingness to serve and noting the boards’ roles in workforce training, campus capital needs and student outcomes. No extended questioning or contested confirmations were recorded during the hearing.
