Federal Leaders Call Out Gov. Lee for TSU Underfunding

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee addressing underfunding at the historically Black Tennessee State University. Lee was one of 16 governors who received letters urging state leaders to make up for decades of under-investment in land-grant HBCUs established from the Second Morrill Act of 1890. While the first Morrill Act of 1862 provided states with federal land to open colleges on, the second Morrill Act of 1890 was created for the same purpose, but specifically for Black students during a time of segregated education. 

According to the letter, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Survey, TSU is missing out on more funding than any other university at $2,147,784,704 from the past 30 years. North Carolina A&T State University holds the second-highest deficit at $2,079,934,848. Out of 18 states, only Delaware and Ohio have properly funded their HBCU land-grant institutions.

“Tennessee State University, the 1890 land-grant institution in your state, while producing extraordinary graduates that contribute greatly to the state’s economy and the fabric of our nation, has not been able to advance in ways that are on par with The University of Tennessee Knoxville, the original Morrill Act of 1862 land-grant institution in your state, in large part due to unbalanced funding,” reads the letter. “Tennessee State University has been able to make remarkable strides and would be much stronger and better positioned to serve its students, your state, and the nation if made whole with respect to this funding gap.”

The letter suggests that the state address the funding gap in the coming years, or combine state allocations with “a two-to-one match of federal land-grant funding.”

Tennessee state leaders have engaged in conversations about TSU’s underfunding in recent years, and allocated more than $250 million to TSU. State Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville) represents the district and told the Scene in August that there has been a “good-faith effort” to pay some of that back, but there’s still more to be accounted for. Alongside underfunding conversations, TSU has also seen scrutiny after the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury issued a critical report identifying financial issues at the school. In August, 10-year TSU president Glenda Glover announced that she will retire after the academic year ends. Her successor still hasn’t been named.