University Officials Refuse Support of Same-Sex Benefits
Two administrators at the University of Tennessee say they cannot support health insurance benefits for same-sex partners of UT employees. A letter from university Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Agriculture Chancellor Larry Arrington was read to a UT Faculty Senate meeting on Monday. In it, Cheek and Arrington stated that offering benefits to unmarried gay partners would violate state statute. The faculty group drafted a resolution in April that education credits, family leave and family health care coverage be extended to all UT employees. The chancellors said the proposal is “inconsistent with the public policy of our state outlined in constitutional and statutory provisions.”
