The Tennessee Attorney General's office hired a former U.S. attorney earlier this summer to "review" Tennessee State University financials and corporate governance, a probe TSU said its newly appointed board of trustees requested.
The external review comes after the state spent millions on multiple audits that ultimately found leadership issues but no evidence of fraud or malfeasance amid a governance tug-of-war between TSU administration and General Assembly Republicans that came to a head earlier this year.
Gov. Bill Lee signed off on Ed Stanton's appointment in late June at the request of the Attorney General's Office, according to an appointment letter obtained by The Tennessean that outlines Stanton's compensation at $450 an hour along with the same amount for Stanton's colleague, S. Keenan Carter.
The letter also indicated state officials may expect litigation regarding TSU.
Lee's letter directed Stanton to review “policies, procedures, protocols, fiscal records, capital expenditures, capital master planning, and corporate governance” from 2021 to present, and the appointment may "also include litigation to protect TSU's interests."
"As you all know, we're a new board," said Board of Trustees chair Dakasha Winter at a June board meeting regarding Stanton's review. "It's imperative for us to determine where the university is in order for us to continue to move the university forward."
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office and Lee's office declined to answer specific questions regarding the appointment of Stanton, a former U.S. attorney now in private practice at the Memphis firm Butler Snow. Stanton was previously appointed by the state to conduct a review of its lethal injection procedures, and he was tapped in May by Metro Nashville to review a police oversight complaint.
"As the Governor has said many times before, he remains committed to TSU's success," Lee spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson said in response to The Tennessean's inquiry. "The Governor's Office routinely approves requests from the Attorney General's Office to hire outside counsel. Further questions regarding scope of work should be addressed to the AG's Office."
A spokesperson for the attorney general cited attorney-client privilege in declining to answer specific questions about the scope of Stanton's review and why he was hired to review records an external law firm completed a $2 million audit of earlier this year.
Stanton's appointment comes just months after General Assembly Republicans vacated TSU's board over concerns about the management of the historically Black public university. Lee moved quickly to sign the legislation into law and immediately appointed a new board, all TSU alumni, to take over governance of the school. The board turnover disrupted a presidential search for outgoing President Glenda Glover's successor, which is still ongoing.
Lee authorized other attorneys at Butler Snow to be paid $375 per hour for the review, with non-attorney staff eligible for a $100 hourly rate.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gov. Bill Lee appoints lawyer to review Tennessee State's records at new board's request
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