Governor Phil Bredesen is urging the University of Tennessee board of directors to take more care in choosing the university’s next president. The governor told the board yesterday that after two failed presidencies on his watch, he wants better background checks on potential candidates.
The governor warned against using search firms. He says they often have an interest in who gets the job. Instead, he says, independent background checks might prevent the university from making an expensive mistake.
“In this world today, it’s very hard to get reference checks on people. I mean, no one in their right mind is going to say negative things about somebody, you just end up in court if you do. But there were seeds about these problems, and I just said, why don’t you just find maybe some way to do some independent checking on what the reputation of these people really is in their communities?”
Bredesen wants UT to become a top-tier research university. He says that requires a well-respected president with fundraising abilities.
UT has been through three presidents in the last ten years. The last two faced ethical questions regarding their finances, while the third quit in 2001 amid allegations of a relationship with a female administrator.
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