Tennessee State University inaugurated its 7th president today, Doctor Melvin Johnson.
Johnson assumed the helm of the historically black university over a year ago, but says he wanted to wait to have the official ceremony until he had his leadership team in place.
Johnson says he wants to improve the university’s status as a research institution, continue to improve the physical campus and reinvest in the school’s faculty.
“We just got through with a comprehensive salary study so that we could make our salaries more competitive and that’s what we’re attempting to do and then we’re going to build in some merit pay initiatives so that faculty can be rewarded for the kinds of productivity that they bring to the table.”
Johnson was most recently the Provost at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
This morning’s event was attended by representatives from other universities in Georgia and North Carolina, and many elected officials including Governor Phil Bredesen, Mayor Bill Purcell, Congressmen Jim Cooper and Harold Ford Junior and state Senator Thelma Harper.
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