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Nashville Mourns The Loss Of Dr. James Hefner

James Hefner, who served as president of Tennessee State University during 14 years of tremendous growth, died Thursday(yesterday) at his home in Brentwood after a two-year battle with colon cancer, according to his son. He was 76.

Dr. Hefner, who held a Ph.D. in economics, served as TSU's sixth president from 1991 to 2005, after leaving his post as president at Jackson State University in Mississippi. During his term, the school saw the construction of multimillion-dollar buildings, the addition of graduate programs and a jump in enrollment to an all-time high of 9,100.

Phyllis Qualls-Brooks, who served as director of public relations at TSU during much of Dr. Hefner's term, described him as "a driving force force for education." She said Dr. Hefner was at the helm as TSU reached new academic and athletic heights.

"He did not believe in mediocrity. He wanted excellence, and he wanted that for the students," she said. "His leadership brought about the completion of projects that are still in work today."

Dr. Hefner oversaw the completion of the Floyd-Payne Student Campus Center, the Ned McWherter Administration Building, the Performing Arts Center and other buildings on campus. He also led the efforts to get advanced accreditation for the College of Business and to establish the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society on campus, according to Qualls-Brooks.

In addition Dr. Hefner brokered the partnership with the Tennessee Titans that allowed TSU's football team to play at what is now Nissan Stadium, Qualls-Brooks said.

“The Tennessee State University family sends its deepest condolences to the Hefner family," current TSU President Glenda Glover said in a statement. "Dr. Hefner devoted his entire adult life to serving others and expanding educational opportunities to all. As educators, we have lost a visionary and one of the best leaders to ever serve this great institution.”

State Rep. Harold Love Jr., D-Nashville, was a student at TSU when Dr. Hefner was president. Love remembered Dr. Hefner as a man with a passion for interacting with and serving students.

“I think his legacy will be raising academic standards" at TSU, Love said. “You’re talking about a man who wanted to make sure that TSU was as competitive as any university, not just in the state but in the country."

That example inspired Dr. Hefner's son David Hefner, a former Tennessean reporter, to follow his father's footsteps and become a higher education administrator.

"His major mantra if you will was students matter most," David Hefner said of his father.

"His life was about service," David Hefner said. "That's what he lived by. That's what got him up in the morning."

Dr. Hefner's career at TSU also was marked by controversy, much of which surrounded a claim by state auditors that he mismanaged school funds and accepted personal gifts from a university vendor.

Qualls-Brooks said that while "controversial issues were a part of his daily routine," Dr. Hefner handled them with integrity.

"He dealt with them as best he could from his own judgment and was willing to live with the consequences," she said.

Dr. Hefner was named a fellow at a center for African-American research at Harvard University after he left TSU.  He recently served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark-Atlanta University.

James Hefner is survived by Edwina Hefner, his wife of 51 years, and his three sons Christopher, Jonathan and David.

TSU will host a memorial service at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Poag Auditorium of the Davis Humanities Building. Dr. Hefner's funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 3 at Christ Church Cathedral, 900 Broadway.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to scholarships in Dr. Hefner's name at TSU and at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Mourners can reach the TSU Foundation at 615-963-5481 or Morehouse at 404-215-2660.

Tennessean

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