Dr. James A. Hefner became the sixth president of Tennessee State University in 1991. Prior to coming to Nashville, he served as president of Jackson State University in Mississippi and as provost at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama. He also served as professor of economics and chairman of the Department of Business Administration at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. While at Morehouse, Dr. Hefner became the first professor to hold the Charles E. Merrill Chair, endowed by Merrill Lynch. He has been a visiting research associate at Harvard and Princeton Universities and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

"Looking back over my tenure at Tennessee State University, I see reflections of the people who have made the progress of this institution truly spectacular. I see successes that will continue to brighten as the people of this institution further unleash their individual talents and strengthen our collective potential.

To everyone who visits our web site, I appreciate your wanting to learn more about Tennessee State University. I want you to know TSU as I do. I want you to know why the University continues to grow in stature as one of the nation's best, as we have been consistently rated in U.S. News & World Report's Guide to America's Best Colleges. I want you to know why Tennessee State University has experienced a significant increase in enrollment at a time when colleges and universities face declining enrollment. I want you to explore the college of choice for some 8,200 undergraduate and graduate students. I want you to meet at our web site the extraordinary people who reflect the commitment, hard work and values of the institution in their manifold accomplishments--people whose spirit, enthusiasm, sensitivity and academic prowess have propelled us to greater heights.

Since my arrival at TSU in 1991, the University has continued to act out of its belief that students matter most: we have developed new programs and streng thened existing programs aimed at nurturing and challenging students wherever they stood academically, from those needing academic support to those who qualified for honors-level course work. We have also continued to carry out our capital improvement project, which will prepare TSU for the 21st century with the best facilities possible. A new student center, new residence hall facilities, new administrative offices, a fiber-optic network for information technology-these are only a few of the completed projects which have effected a metamorphosis of the campus and created a significant impact on the entire extended community served by the University.

As we approach a new millennium, TSU will continue to cultivate diversity, honesty, integrity, hard work, sensitivity and compassion--values that are the hallmark of this institution. Indeed, the beauty of this institution is not in new facilities, as magnificent as they are, but in the spirit of caring through which we support our daily work and our long-range plans alike. "

Sincerely,


Dr. James A. Hefner,
President

.    © 1998 Business Information Systems Network