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After Opposition, U. of Tennessee Campuses Opt Not to Privatize Facilities Services

By  Andy Thomason
October 31, 2017
A proposal to outsource facilities-services work at Tennessee’s public colleges, among other state institutions, prompted protests. In March 2016 protesters unveiled a petition opposing Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan.
Erik Schelzig/AP Images
A proposal to outsource facilities-services work at Tennessee’s public colleges, among other state institutions, prompted protests. In March 2016 protesters unveiled a petition opposing Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan.

The University of Tennessee system’s campuses announced on Tuesday that they would not outsource their facilities jobs, as the state’s governor, Bill Haslam, proposed doing more than two years ago. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the announcements — by the system’s Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Martin campuses, as well as the Health Science Center — occurred just before campus leaders were slated to present their decisions to the system’s governing board.

Outsourcing facilities services was projected to save each campus millions of dollars, but faculty and staff members countered that the arrangement could put employees in a precarious situation under new management. The Knoxville campus’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution opposing outsourcing this month, citing unpublicized costs and a “loss of connections to academic programs arising from collaboration with facilities employees.”

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A proposal to outsource facilities-services work at Tennessee’s public colleges, among other state institutions, prompted protests. In March 2016 protesters unveiled a petition opposing Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan.
Erik Schelzig/AP Images
A proposal to outsource facilities-services work at Tennessee’s public colleges, among other state institutions, prompted protests. In March 2016 protesters unveiled a petition opposing Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan.

The University of Tennessee system’s campuses announced on Tuesday that they would not outsource their facilities jobs, as the state’s governor, Bill Haslam, proposed doing more than two years ago. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the announcements — by the system’s Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Martin campuses, as well as the Health Science Center — occurred just before campus leaders were slated to present their decisions to the system’s governing board.

Outsourcing facilities services was projected to save each campus millions of dollars, but faculty and staff members countered that the arrangement could put employees in a precarious situation under new management. The Knoxville campus’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution opposing outsourcing this month, citing unpublicized costs and a “loss of connections to academic programs arising from collaboration with facilities employees.”

In 2015, Governor Haslam proposed outsourcing much of the state’s facilities-services work — including that of public colleges — to the same outside firm. The Health Science Center said on Tuesday that it would move work that has already been outsourced to the state’s contract, but it would not do so for all facilities-services work.

The push for outsourcing has gripped several universities and systems hoping to save money in recent years. In 2012, Texas A&M University outsourced its building management to a private firm, and reported big savings years later.

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Andy Thomason oversees breaking-news coverage. Send him a tip at andy.thomason@chronicle.com. And follow him on Twitter @arthomason.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Andy Thomason
Andy Thomason is an assistant managing editor at The Chronicle and the author of the book Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amateur Ideal.
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