NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Scott Contreras-Koterbay, behind podium, is shown as he begins his presentation Monday evening (9/24) at Tusculum College.

His program featured photographs taken of Holocaust survivors and American soldiers who liberated them. The individuals shown were photographed in recent years and new live in Tennessee. Contreras-Koterbay’s presentation in the Allison Gallery was part of the Humanities Series presented by Tusculum College’s English Department.

Contreras-Koterbay, an East Tennessee State University educator, art historian and philosopher, explored how people with no personal connection with either the survivors or soldiers could view the photographs, basing his analysis on ideas and theories of French psychoanalyst and post-structuralist philosopher Jacques Lacan.

According to Lacan’s theories, he said, an individual would not be able to personally relate to the “otherness” of the experiences of those in the photos because of the horrible circumstances and the number of years that have passed, which would leave an emptiness and, thus, create a lasting remembrance of their experiences. The photographs of Holocaust survivors and their American soldier liberators are on display through Nov. 29 at the Carroll Reece Museum on the campus of ETSU in Johnson City.

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The regional winners of the 2006-07 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award have been announced and former Tusculum College kicker Glen Black has been named the South Atlantic Region honoree announced College officials Wednesday.

Black, a native of Bristol, Tenn., becomes the first student-athlete in Tusculum history to earn this prestigious honor and one of eight young men in NCAA II to be recognized.

Black was named the men’s recipient of the SAC Presidents Award, becoming only the second football player in the 19-year history to receive the award.

He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® College Division Football Second Team last fall, becoming the first player in the program’s history to earn Academic All-America® distinction.

Black graduated in the fall of 2006 with a 3.82 cumulative grade point average, while earning a degree in Accounting. He was also named the SAC Scholar Athlete for football the last two seasons (2005 & 2006).

Black enjoyed a solid season on the gridiron leading the Pioneers in scoring with 43 points. The Tennessee High School graduate went 22-of-24 on extra points and 7-of-11 on field goals earning All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team honors. Black was named the SAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice during his career, including once in 2006.

The Tennessee High School graduate is ranked second in Tusculum history with 111 career points (kicking) and is the all-time leader in extra points (69) and extra point attempts (77).

Black was a campus leader, serving as vice president of student government association. He led weekly Bible studies with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as well as worked with a local church to develop a Tusculum Baptist College Night. He volunteered with numerous community service projects through Nettie Day at Tusculum College and through church activities.

He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team last fall and was tabbed to the 2006 American Football Coaches Association of America Good Works Team which recognizes community service, along with athletic and academic achievement. He was one of only 22 collegiate football players in the country to earn this prestigious honor.

Black is completing his Masters degree in Accountancy at East Tennessee State University. He has also continued his work at Tusculum Baptist Church where he leads the Wednesday night Bible School.

This award, sponsored by Disney Sports Attractions, provides the opportunity for Division II to highlight the extraordinary achievements of its student-athletes. The commissioners from the regions that comprise Division II selected the regional winners. To be nominated for consideration, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.0 career cumulative grade point average and possess outstanding athletic credentials.

The national award winners will be announced later this month.

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Freshman and transfer students from Tusculum College will be doing community service work across Greeneville, Mosheim and Greene County on Thursday, Sept. 13, as the college observes its traditional Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day.

The day honors the memory and altruistic way of life of Nettie Fowler McCormick, widow of reaper inventor Cyrus McCormick, who was a 19th century supporter and advocate of Tusculum College. The McCormicks, staunch Presbyterians from Chicago, learned of Tusculum College through Tusculum graduates who attended their McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and became donors to the Northeast Tennessee school.

Nettie McCormick is recognized as the college’s first Benefactor, a term that in Tusculum usage denotes a donor whose cumulative gifts total at least $1 million. Nettie McCormick funded construction of several of Tusculum’s historic structures, including Haynes Hall, Rankin Hall, Welty-Craig Hall, Virginia Hall, and McCormick Hall, which is named after the McCormick family.

McCormick Day, now often informally called Nettie Day at the college, began as a day of cleaning the campus in reflection of Nettie McCormick’s insistence on clean living environments. The day has evolved to take on a more generalized community service emphasis.
Work done by students this year will take place on the campus itself, in the Tusculum College museums and in the cleaning of Frank Creek, which runs through part of the college grounds.

Elsewhere across Greene County, work such as landscaping, cleaning, painting, washing, and construction work will take place at Camp Creek Elementary School, the Child Advocacy Center, the Crumley House Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center, Habit for Humanity, Highway 11-E, the Tabernacle Mission Soup Kitchen, Voices for Pets and the Wesley Cemetery, among other locales. Various faculty members are assigned to oversee the student work.

McCormick Day activities are conducted under the auspices of the Center for Civic Advancement at Tusculum College.

Tusculum College, the oldest college in Tennessee and the 28th oldest in the nation, is a civic arts institution committed to developing educated citizens distinguished by academic excellence, public service and qualities of Judeo-Christian character. About twenty-eight hundred students are enrolled on the main campus in Greeneville and nine off-site locations in East Tennessee. The academic programs for both traditional-aged students and working adults served through the Graduate and Professional Studies program are delivered using focused calendars whereby students enroll in one course at a time.

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Dr. Stanley R. Welty Jr., Class of 1951 and also holder of an honorary doctorate granted to him by Tusculum College in 2005, died Tuesday at his home in Wooster, Ohio, at the age of 78. He was a devoted friend, alumnus and supporter of Tusculum College.

Dr. Welty’s name is well-known to Tusculum College students because the Welty-Craig Hall residence hall is named partly after him. The Welty Clock Tower of the Library at Tusculum College is also named in his honor.

When he was a business administration student at Tusculum in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dr. Welty lived in Craig Hall. He was active on the college yearbook staff and was president of his senior class and of Craig Hall. When Craig Hall was renovated in the 1990s, Dr. Welty provided a surprise donation of $8,533.96 to Tusculum College toward meeting future residence hall needs. The amount he donated was the actual building cost of Craig Hall in 1892.

Dr. Welty also generously donated to other Tusculum College projects, and was among the Benefactors of the college, Benefactors being those whose lifetime giving reaches or exceeds $1 million.

For 13 years, Dr. Welty was president of the Wooster Brush Company in Wooster, Ohio. His late father had been president of the same company for 20 years. Dr. Welty chaired the Board of Trustees of Tusculum College for many years, and remained active on the board even after his chairmanship ended. At the time of his death he was a Life Trustee of the College, an honorary position on the Board of Trustees.

He was a native of Warren, Ohio, but spent most of his life in Wooster. He and his wife, Janet, also lived in Florida at various times. He was born June 18, 1929, in Warren. Survivors include his wife, Janet; three children, Kay Welty (Nabil Bouanane), Lancaster, Pa., Susan (Patrick) Baker, Macedonia, and Stanley R. (Carmen) Welty III, Charlotte, N.C.; and two grandchildren.

Dr. Welty’s death made front-page news in his hometown today. To see that coverage, visit the following link:
http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/2498872.

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A highlight of the Aug. 30 Tusculum College opening convocation for the 2007-2008 academic year was the induction of new officers for the Student Government Association.

Swearing in the officers was SGA Chief Justice John Cage, Smyrna, Tenn., at podium. Sworn in were, from left, Secretary/Treasurer Cody Greene, Cleveland, Ga.; Vice President Landree Brotherton, Morristown, Tenn.; and President Duane Randolph, Crossville, Tenn.

Randolph gave a brief address to the students, encouraging participation in college activities. Partially visible in the background is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Kimberly Estep.

The well-attended convocation, held in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building, also featured a welcome to students by Interim President Dr. Russell Nichols and an inspirational keynote address by Assistant Professor of Business Administration Dr. Michelle Freeman, Greeneville.

In attendance along with the student body were faculty members of the college, in full academic regalia. Bagpiper Jon Shell provided music for the processional and recessional. Tusculum College, located at Greeneville, is the state’s oldest institution of higher learning.

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