News
Tech board approves new education degrees, appoints student trustee
From left: Tech Student Orientation Assistants (SOAs) Cole Campbell, Bri Pharris and
Lindsey Taylor speak to trustees about their work leading this summer’s Student Orientation,
Advisement and Registration (SOAR) sessions.
The Board of Trustees at Tennessee Tech University approved new academic programs,
appointed a new student trustee and passed a minimal tuition adjustment in line with
other public universities across the state at its quarterly meeting on June 22.
Trustees acted to bolster Tech’s role as a top producer of educators in the state by approving a new Ph.D. in higher education, which Provost Lori Mann Bruce explained “is designed for candidates pursuing careers using cutting-edge data analytics to serve as academic faculty, university administrators, policy analysts, and educational researchers in higher education institutions across the state and nation.”
The proposal has already received preliminary support from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and will now be sent back to THEC for final approval at its July commission meeting. The university plans to begin enrollment in the program as soon as this fall.
“The proposed program carries on the tradition of Tennessee Tech University leading in innovation and STEM-driven academic programs in the state,” added Provost Bruce.
Also at the meeting, trustees approved a new master’s degree in learning design and technology. Individuals in the new master’s program will gain knowledge and skills necessary to design and implement instructional programs that incorporate the use of advanced technologies, such as virtual reality, for both face-to-face and online educational programs. These skills are highly sought after in industry, education and government institutions.
Both the new Ph.D. and master’s programs will be offered fully online so they can serve full-time students and working professionals who wish to enroll part-time in the programs.
The board meeting additionally saw the appointment of a new student trustee following current student trustee Savannah Griffin’s graduation from the university last May. Trustees approved the nomination of Addison Dorris, a rising senior marketing and business management major from Portland, Tennessee, to serve as student trustee for the 2023-2024 year.
Dorris has served in numerous roles across campus, including as student body president
for the 2022-2023 year. She has also served as a student orientation assistant, peer
mentor, director of philanthropy for Alpha Delta Pi and as president of the College
of Business Ambassadors. 
Newly appointed student trustee Addison Dorris of Portland, Tennessee.
Consistent with other public universities across the state, trustees also approved a minimal increase of 2.93% to tuition and mandatory fees – below the tuition increase cap established by THEC and the current rate of inflation. The changes amount to an average cost increase of $154 per student per semester. Mandatory fees at Tech remain among the lowest of public universities in Tennessee.
The tuition and mandatory fee adjustment comes as Tech continues to be recognized as providing the highest return on investment for any public university in Tennessee while also equipping graduates with the highest early career salary and the lowest debt of all public university graduates in the state.
“As trustees heard today, Tennessee Tech is approaching the fall semester from a position of strength,” said Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. “Together, the Tech community set a new record on sponsored research, we secured more than $80 million in annual state appropriations for our students in the state’s most recent budget, we are adding to our more than 200 academic programs, and we are embarking on exciting capital projects that provide our students with state-of-the-art spaces to innovate, create and learn.”
President Oldham added, “Moreover, while we are still in the final leg of our recruitment
cycle, current enrollment trends suggest an opportunity to grow our overall student
population once again – buoyed by a particularly strong retention rate among rising
sophomores and an academically strong, more diverse incoming freshman class. These
hard-won achievements reflect the dedication of our students, faculty and staff, as
well as the strategic leadership of our trustees.” 
Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham delivers a report to trustees.
In other business:
- Appointment of board chair: The Board of Trustees re-appointed Trudy Harper as chair of the Board of Trustees
for the term of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2025. Rhedona Rose was re-appointed as vice
chair and Fred Lowery was appointed as the third member of the board’s executive committee.
Lowery succeeds executive committee member Tom Jones, who will remain a member of
the full board through the end of his term.
- New faculty trustee: Jeannette Luna, chair of the earth sciences department, was named as the new faculty
member for the Board of Trustees. Luna succeeds Dan Allcott, professor in the School
of Music, whose term ends on June 30.
- Recognition of students: Tech Student Orientation Assistants (SOAs) Lindsey Taylor, Cole Campbell and Bri Pharris
spoke to trustees about their experiences guiding first-time students through the
university’s Student Orientation, Advisement and Registration (SOAR) process.
- Enrollment update: Karen Lykins, vice president for enrollment and communication, shared that, to date,
more than 2,000 first-time students have registered for SOAR ahead of the fall semester.
The incoming freshman class at Tech, which continues to take shape, boasts an average
GPA of 3.68 with more than 700 incoming students possessing a perfect 4.0. Additionally,
the incoming class includes five National Merit Finalists and is more racially diverse
than the previous freshman class and current student body.
- Capital projects: Trustees approved two disclosed projects for the upcoming fiscal year, including the
construction of the J.J. Oakley Innovation Center and Residence Hall, which will provide
400 beds and ground-level space dedicated to an innovation space for entrepreneurship
and technology. Trustees also approved the construction of a new student event center
which will be located at the south end of the current Tucker Stadium. The facility
will house a welcome center, university bookstore, dedicated banquet hall space and
satellite food court. Trustees were notified of these projects at the March 9 meeting.
Additionally, trustees voted to submit a request for state capital appropriations for a new academic classroom building on the current site of Crawford Hall and Matthews-Daniel Hall. The new building will support the Colleges of Education and Arts & Sciences, as well as provide administrative offices for the Office of Communications and Marketing and the Office of Research and Development. - Faculty promotions and tenure: Provost Bruce notified trustees that 34 faculty members have been awarded promotion,
effective this August. Trustees additionally voted to approve 14 faculty members for
tenure, bringing the percentage of tenured faculty at Tech to 54% for the fall of
2023.
- New enrollment data analytics efforts: Trustees were notified of new enrollment data analytics efforts under the Tech Tomorrow Strategic Plan. The data analytics project is led by Tom Timmerman, chair of the decision sciences and management department in the College of Business, working with other College of Business faculty and business analytics students.
Materials from today’s meeting and the webcast of the full board meeting are available at the board’s website, www.tntech.edu/board.
The board’s next meeting is September 28, 2023.
