Boards and Commissions

Chairs of Excellence Trust

Chairs of Excellence Trust is chaired by
Tennessee State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr.

University Professor and Student

The Chairs of Excellence Trust is a permanent trust fund authorized in 1984 to further the cause of higher education in Tennessee. The funding of the program is provided through contributions made by a private donor and a matching amount by the state, thus creating a chair.

Income from the chair is used to offset the cost of retaining a nationally or regionally recognized

scholar
at a state college or university who teaches in a specified academic area. The program is open to all state four-year colleges and universities, and the UT Space Institute.

A chair is authorized to spend 4% of the 3-year average market value of the chair. However, the corpus cannot be spent. Accordingly, only dividends, interests, and accumulated gains may be spent. Since 1984, a total of one hundred (100) chairs have been created.

The Treasury Investments Division is responsible for managing the assets of the Chairs of Excellence Trust.

Board Meetings and Materials



Upcoming Meetings

Recent Meetings

Meeting Date and Time
Monday, December 8, 2025, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 2:00 p.m. (CT).

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
Knoxville Room, 3rd Floor
312 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Wednesday, October 8, 2025, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 9:00 a.m. (CT) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 10:00 a.m. (CT)

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
Knoxville Room, Third Floor
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Monday, June 23, 2025, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 2:00 p.m. (CT).

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
Tennessee Room 1, 3rd Floor
312 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Monday, December 9, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. CT
(Immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 2:00 p.m.)

Location
Tennessee State Capitol
Executive Conference Room, Ground Floor
600 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. CT

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
Tennessee Room 1, 3rd Floor
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. CT

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
3rd Floor, Tennessee Room 1
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Documents to download

The Board of Directors of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company will meet on December 12, 2023, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 2:00 p.m. (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 3:00 p.m. (Central Time). The meeting will be held in the Executive Conference Room on the Ground Floor of the State Capitol located at 600 Dr. M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Nashville, Tennessee 37243.

Documents to download

Meeting Date and Time
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. CT

Location
Tennessee Tower
Conference Room A
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, TN  37243

Individuals with disabilities who wish to participate in these proceedings and require an accommodation should contact Rodney Escobar no less than two (2) days prior to the scheduled meeting to allow time for the Treasury Department to arrange for an accommodation.  Rodney Escobar may be contacted by mail at 502 Deaderick Street, Andrew Jackson Building, 13th Floor, Nashville, Tennessee 37243; by phone at (615) 741-9957; or by email at Rodney.Escobar@tn.gov.

Documents to download

The Board of Directors of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company will be meeting on October 12, 2023, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 2:00 p.m. (Central Time). The meeting will be held in the Volunteer Conference Center on the Second Floor of the Cordell Hull Building located at 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N Nashville, Tennessee.

Documents to download

The staff of the Board of Directors of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company will be meeting on October 4, 2023, immediately following the Board of Claims Staff meeting that will begin at 10:30 a.m. (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 11:30 a.m. (Central Time). The meeting will be held in Conference Room E of the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower located at 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.

Documents to download

The Board of Directors of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company will meet on June 23, 2023, immediately following the Board of Claims meeting that will begin at 10:45 A.M. (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 12:15 P.M. (Central Time).

Documents to download

The staff of the Board of Directors of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company will be meeting on June 20, 2023, immediately following the Board of Claims Staff meeting that will begin at Noon (Central Time) and which is anticipated to end at approximately 1:00 p.m. (Central Time). The meeting will be held in Tennessee Room 1 on the third floor of the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower located at 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.  

Documents to download

This meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

Meeting Date and Time
Friday, June 16, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. CT
Immediately following the Board of Claims Staff meeting that will begin at 1:00 p.m. CT and which is anticipated to end at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Location
William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower
Conference Room A, 3rd floor
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, TN

The staff of the Board will review the following:

  • Approval of Investment Policy;
  • Approval of Accepting Cyber Liability Coverage and Insurance Premiums;
  • Status on Engagement of Independent Auditing Firm; and
  • Other Business

Individuals with disabilities who wish to participate in these proceedings and require an accommodation should contact Rodney Escobar, Director of Claims and Risk Management, no less than two (2) days prior to the scheduled meeting date to allow time for the Treasury Department to arrange for an accommodation.  You may contact the Board of the State of Tennessee Captive Insurance Company at 502 Deaderick Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243, (615) 741-2734, or Rodney Escobar by email at Rodney.Escobar@tn.gov.

Documents to download

Chairs of Excellence Trust Board Members

The Chairs of Excellence Trust is comprised of the State Treasurer who serves as Chair, and seven (7) ex officio members.


Ex-Officio Members

Member Title/Department Location
David H. Lillard, Jr. (Chairman)
State Treasurer Nashville, TN
Bill Lee Governor Nashville, TN
Jason Mumpower Comptroller of the Treasury Nashville, TN
Tre Hargett
Secretary of State
Nashville, TN
Jim Bryson Commissioner, Finance & Administration Nashville, TN
Randy Boyd President, University of Tennessee Nashville, TN
Dr. Steven Gentile Executive Director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Nashville, TN

Audit Committee

Member Title/Department Location
Randy Boyd
President, University of Tennessee Nashville, TN
Jim Bryson Commissioner, Finance & Administration Nashville, TN
Tre Hargett
Secretary of State
Nashville, TN

Contact Us

Have questions about the Chairs of Excellence Trust?  We're here to help!

 (615) 253-2265

Jaye.Chavis@tn.gov

Mailing Address

State of Tennessee
Chairs of Excellence Trust
Andrew Jackson Building, 15th Floor
502 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0248