Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Thursday announced the appointments of two new members to boards overseeing Tennessee’s public colleges and universities.
Darrell Freeman of Brentwood will represent the 7th Congressional District on the Tennessee Board of Regents. Raja Jubran of Knoxville will represent the 2nd Congressional District on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.
Darrell S. Freeman is founder and executive chairman of Zycron, a Tennessee-based information technology consulting firm, serving clients including large health care, government and utility agencies. He serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Small Business and Labor Advisory Council and Centennial Medical Center Board, and formerly served two terms as chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Freeman, a Memphis native, lives in Brentwood with his wife, Gloria. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Middle Tennessee State University.
Raja J. Jubran is founder and chief executive officer of Denark Construction, Inc., a Knoxville based general contracting and engineering company. He serves on the Clayton Bancorp Board of Directors and Clayton Bank & Trust Board of Directors, and is chairman of the Board Loan Committee and a member of the Board Executive Committee and the Trust Committee. He is also a member of the Clayton Foundation Board of Directors, Innovation Valley Inc. Board of Directors, the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation Board of Directors, and the Leadership Knoxville Board of Directors. He previously served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Leadership Knoxville, and of Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC). Mr. Jubran and his wife, Michele, live in Knoxville. He holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
In July, Governor Haslam announced his focus on post-secondary education in Tennessee, particularly in the areas of affordability, quality and workforce development.
“If we are going to be a state that attracts companies to locate and grow here, a state that keeps its best and brightest graduates here with good-paying, high-quality jobs, there is nothing more important we can do than to focus on education,” Governor Haslam said. “We are asking higher education to do more with less and we believe with the right team it is possible to be innovative, creative and proactive in our commitment to increase the number of Tennesseans with a college degree.”
The governor serves as chairman of the board of directors for the TBR and UT systems.