NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Some Tennessee lawmakers said they are working to get Tennessee State University to where it needs to be financially after the university laid off 114 employees.

TSU announced it faces long-standing financial challenges during a Tennessee Building Commission meeting Thursday. State Sen. Bo Watson said money allocated for a proposed new agricultural building was used to help TSU complete payroll for the remainder of 2024.

In addition to laying off all 114 employees, TSU administrators said they are following a three-pronged financial action plan: a hiring freeze, a spending freeze and some strategic realignment.

University officials said the former president awarded scholarships they were unable to give away.

Tennessee State’s advice to Tennessee State University is to eliminate all academic programs that are not comprehensive and consider selling its downtown Avon property.

TSU alumni and current students spoke to WSMV4 about their reaction to the state’s suggestions to reduce the school’s enrollment.

TSU graduates were outraged. Some alumni said they couldn’t believe what they were hearing from state Treasury Comptroller Jason Mumpower and felt disrespected by his suggestion regarding the downtown campus of TSU.

TSU alumnus Barry Barlow said the building commission meeting left him impressed.

Mumpower led the meeting with a list of statements that many people found shocking.

“The previous board ran this university in such a way that you literally had no money left,” Mumpower said.

According to TSU, a report released by the Comptroller’s Office in 2023 did not mention embezzlement, missing or untraceable money, but Mumpower went on to say even more about the university’s previous administration during Thursday’s meeting .

“They left and they found themselves in a situation where you literally would not have been able to make your paycheck on November 29 if you had not received an injection of money from the state, which fortunately we were able to do,” Mumpower said. .

Mumpower then suggested that the university sell its downtown campus, known as the Avon Williams Campus.

Barlow said the suggestion made him angry.

“They say the land in downtown Nashville should be sold so TSU can get funds, and the problem is, right up that hill, in those archives, are books that show that the “The State of Tennessee knows it owes TSU $2.1 billion. It’s moot,” Barlow said.

In response to Mumpower’s statements, TSU said that over the past few months they had made changes that saved the school $13 million and laid off 114 employees.

But the students are happy.

TSU Junior Chantal Brown said she saw many staff members react to the meeting and the statements shared by Mumpower.

“I really feel like they deserve better. A group of workers who deserve more than what they get,” Brown said.

Barlow said the downtown campus is also the only predominantly white campus assigned to a predominantly black university.

“I think it’s just retaliation,” Barlow said.

The answer to the university’s financial problems, Barlow said, starts with the state giving TSU the $2.1 billion it is owed, according to a federal government report. TSU students and alumni said they will continue to fight for the funding the state owes the university.

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