Office of the President
The President of Tennessee State University provides visionary leadership and strategic direction in advancing the University’s mission of academic excellence, research, innovation, and student success. Through a commitment to institutional growth, operational excellence, and meaningful partnerships, the President leads efforts to strengthen the University’s academic programs, expand opportunities for students, faculty, and staff, and position TSU for long-term success. As the University’s chief executive officer, the President upholds TSU’s proud legacy while shaping its future as a leading institution of higher education.
Dwayne Tucker
Dwayne Tucker is the CEO of DT Consulting, founded in December 2010. Dwayne brings a unique blend of leadership, executive management experience, as well as significant executive coaching expertise. Serving for nearly 40 years as both a leader of Human Capital and an Operations Executive in the financial services and transportation industries, Dwayne has held the titles Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and General Manager with Fortune 500 companies First Data, Northwest Airlines and Alliance Data. As President of Alliance Data’s Transaction Services business unit, Dwayne annually achieved double-digit revenue and profitability growth and successfully led teams of as many as 2,500 colleagues. His business unit profit and loss responsibility exceeded $500 million. During his tenure as CAO, Dwayne was responsible for setting corporate strategy and executing Human Resources, Marketing, Public Relations, Information Technology, and the General Counsel’s Office. In his corporate CHRO roles, Dwayne was responsible for developing human capital strategies and policy for employee groups ranging from 7,500 to over 50,000.
Dwayne’s diverse business background has resulted in a broad understanding of core corporate functions including sales, operations, marketing, public relations, information technology, legal, human resources and finance/accounting. This background also allows him to engage as a trusted advisor and coach to senior executives and leaders within a broad range of industries. His versatility has been invaluable to organizations facing transition where business courage, leadership, bench strength, and scalability were needed. Dwayne “speaks the language of the CSuite” and is able to coach others in the art of influence that is critical to long term executive success. Dwayne currently serves as CEO for Lead Public Schools and formerly served as Chair of Tennessee State University’s Foundation Board. He currently serves as an independent Board Member for Woodmen Life Insurance and he is also co-founder of Educate Nashville, a Non-Profit educational based initiative. Dwayne was born in Austin, TX and was raised in Nashville, TN. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a B.A. in Business Administration in 1980. Dwayne resides in Brentwood, TN, with his wife Carmen. They have two adult children, Brandy and Dwayne Jr.
Contact President’s Office
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Dwayne Tucker, President
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, Tennessee 37209-1561
Staff
Angel Higgins
Executive Assistant to the President
president@tnstate.edu
