Tennessee State Responds to the Tennessean
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Posted By: autumn cade on July 21, 2010 By Peter O. Nwosu, Ph.D., Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Planning I have been working with The Tennessean for a while now as the University’s Chief Communications Officer to accommodate their requests for data and information as they covered TSU for their recent reports. I allowed their reporters unprecedented access. Given the depth of my interaction with their reporters, I was disappointed when I read the stories published in the paper on July 11th and 12th. I have four strong impressions about those reports: First, it was obvious to me that the same stories could have been written about any institution of higher education in the United States. The stories took the information we provided and used it to focus on the negative, while minimizing the positive data and information. Second, The Tennessean could have used the same information presented in the stories, as well as the information they were given and chose not to use, to support a story with the headline, “TSU has come a long way, but still has a long way to go.” While we are always working to improve the school and its services, TSU’s recent successes and accomplishments deserve recognition. Third, some of the data reported in the The Tennessean stories are so old that the paper ignored the university’s progress on several fronts. A case in point is the graduation rate data of Fall 1999 to Fall 2003, data from seven years ago, which bear no resemblance to where the University is today with its graduation rate. Fourth, there is nothing new in the stories published in The Tennessean about TSU. The stories were incomplete and the reporters failed to put the data in appropriate context. Consistent with the history of TSU, we continue to focus on serving our current students and alumni. The mission of the University ensures that students are the highest priority. We nurture students’ talents and abilities, work to foster an environment conducive to achievement, and celebrate their successes as alumni. Given its unique statewide mission of research and service, the University continues to receive national recognition. This recognition was minimized, if mentioned at all, in the articles. For example, when TSU was recently named to the President’s Honor Roll for Community Service, with Distinction, it became the only HBCU to ever receive this honor for its commitment to civic engagement, and the only University in the state of Tennessee to receive such honor. Additionally, TSU was one of two universities in Tennessee to satisfy President Obama’s requirements for “Race to the Top” funds, which afforded $8 million to the school. As always, the university’s community of researchers and scholars continues to bring in millions of dollars each year. With more than $41 million in externally funded research and programs this year, TSU is the second most productive research institution in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system. Another significant accomplishment, which was minimized in The Tennessean articles, is the land grant match and agricultural research, forestry research, and cooperative extension funding for TSU, which was secured by President Johnson. Because of this funding, TSU has received over $9 million annually since the fiscal year 2007-2008 and will continue to receive that money indefinitely. Over the next ten years, that amounts to more than $100 million coming into the school that was not there before. The Tennessean also failed to report that the business intelligence plan and dashboard approach piloted by TSU to improve data-driven decision-making is now being planned for use by the entire Tennessee Board of Regents system. The business intelligence plan was President Johnson’s initiative to improve data-driven decision-making at TSU, with technical support from Deloitte Consulting. TSU and TBR technical staff spent more than an hour with The Tennessean reporters providing a demonstration of how this data system works, and how it would improve services to students and decision-making for administration at all levels of the University. The Vice President for Communication and Information Technologies was at this demonstration and answered questions. So was I, to respond to questions on the relevance of this business intelligence capability for planning purposes. The Tennessean did not mention this major initiative in the articles. TSU’s national reputation far exceeds its reputation in Nashville. When I go outside the state, the feedback I receive about the school is overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. We draw a higher percentage of students nationally than any other university in Tennessee. People continue to look at TSU as a leader, a front-runner, and an inspiration. We do things on this campus that put Tennessee and HBCUs on the map. More: http://tnstatenewsroom.com/2010/07/tsu-res... If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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autumn cade
Cal St Univ, Long Beach class of 2015 Member Since June 2010 |
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