Millions of dollars in repairs and building projects have been approved for Tennessee State University, a move spurred, in part, by a recently signed memorandum of understanding between TSU and the state.
The State Building Commission on Thursday approved the projects, which include $5.2 million for plumbing, mechanical and electrical repairs and $13.3 million for repairs to the university's central water plant.
The commission also approved a revised budget of $47.3 million for the new agriculture environmental science facility and $47.1 million for an agriculture food and animal science facility.
Last month, TSU and the state reached an agreement to allow the university to reallocate $96 million in funds to support operation needs over the next three years, something interim TSU president Dwayne Tucker described as “transformational.”
“It not only provides crucial cash flow to ensure the university’s financial sustainability but also allows us to invest in enriching the student experience and strengthening our capacity to attract both students and qualified employees,” Tucker says in a press release.
In recent years, the university has undergone various financial strains and mismanagement combined with a history of underfunding by the state. An audit released earlier this year found that TSU made repeated financial errors in fiscal year 2023, many of them the same mistakes made in prior audits.
The TSU Board of Trustees was vacated in 2024 via a law passed by the state legislature, and Gov. Bill Lee appointed all new members.
The university recently announced it would raise its tuition by 6 percent for the 2025-26 academic year.
In other business, the commission approved a $275.3 million, 185,000-square-foot project for a new Tennessee Emergency Management Agency operations center and administrative building. TEMA currently operates out of the basement of a Tennessee Army National Guard joint force headquarters building at 3041 Sidco Drive. That facility will be demolished.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services is continuing work on additional youth detention centers. The commission approved $333 million in funding for a new Woodland Hills Youth Detention Center in Nashville and additions to the John S. Wilder Youth Detention Center in Fayette County.
Additionally, a $146.8 million contract was awarded to Skanska USA to complete renovations for the Tennessee State Library and Archives and Supreme Court buildings. Upgrades will include replacing some library space with office spaces, additional parking and the construction of a connector between the buildings.
This post originally appeared at our sister publication Nashville Post.
