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Tennessee State University (TSU), a land-grant institution founded in 1912 chiefly to educate blacks, was ordered in 1977 to merge with a predominantly white institution, the University of Tennessee-Nashville (UTN), in order to desegregate higher education in Middle Tennessee. The merger of these institutions has been the only merger between a predominantly white and an historically black institution where the black institution emerged as the surviving entity.

TSU's desegregation story also included the 1984 Stipulation of Agreement, adopted by a federal court to further desegregate higher education institutions in Tennessee. This Stipulation was an agreement between court parties to dismantle the dual system of higher education in Tennessee. Other-race (white) enrollment and employment goals were also established for TSU. Additionally, the Stipulation called for an upgrading of TSU facilities, financial incentives to attract other-race students, an "enhanced TSU mission," and the reduction of duplicate programs by public higher education institutions within the Middle Tennessee area.

An historical case study was constructed using interviews, documents, artifacts, and other sources. The case study examined the key events related to TSU's 1979 merger with UTN to 1993. The study also examined the experiences and stories of TSU faculty, students, alumni, and staff in relationship to TSU's desegregation effort. The interpretation of key events and stories was examined through Bolman and Deal's (1991) organizational frames. Because the study focused on the meaning of various desegregation events, the symbolic frame was used to assess, understand, and develop recommendations related to the future of TSU and higher education desegregation efforts in general.

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