NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Two new board members were recently named to the Tusculum College Board of Trustees.  Dr. Jerry F. Ward and Frank J. Horsman ‘69 are the newest members to help guide the College through service on the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Ward was born and reared in Gadsden, Ala. He received his undergraduate degree in business and economics from King College and his master’s degree and doctorate in educational administration from East Tennessee State University. Dr. Ward has served as assistant principal, principal and Superintendent of Schools in the Greeneville City School System and was named Tennessee Superintendent of the Year in 2002.

Dr. Ward served on the faculty of Tusculum College from 1994 until 2004, serving as distinguished service professor of education, department chair and division chair.  He served on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Elementary Commission, on the Upper East Tennessee Educational Cooperative Board, the Upper East Tennessee Office of Economic Opportunity Regional Advisory Board and the Greene Valley Developmental Center Human Rights Committee.

In the community, Dr. Ward has served on the boards of the Greene County YMCA, the Greene County Library, the Nathanael Greene Museum, the Grandfather Home for Children and the Town of Greeneville Civil Service Board. He is a current member of the Board of Directors of Sunset Gap Community Center and Holston Presbytery Commission for Chuckey Presbyterian Church.

He is a member of First Presbyterian Church, where he is an ordained elder, choir member and a member of the Finance and Facilities Committee.  Dr. Ward is married to Carolyn Lansford Ward ‘88, who is a former assistant professor of education at Tusculum College. The Wards have three sons: David, a physician in North Carolina; Tim, a detective for the Greeneville Police Department; and Jeff, an attorney for Milligan and Coleman Law Firm. The Wards have four grandchildren.

The Wards have been supporters of the College for many years and in 2008 set up an endowed scholarship to provide scholarships for able and deserving students majoring in elementary education and other deserving students majoring in education.

Horsman, who resides in Roswell, Ga., is a Tusculum College alumnus and a financial consultant in the investment industry.  Most recently he was vice president/advisor consultant with Nuveen Investments, Inc. in Atlanta. He previously served as regional vice president of Schwab Institutional, also in Atlanta.

He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1970. He is a Veteran of Vietnam and is a Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Flying Cross Medal recipient. He was also 101^st Airborne Division’s Soldier of the Month.

Horsman received his bachelor’s of science degree from Tusculum College in business administration and in addition to his general securities licenses, holds an ABA-NS in real estate finance from Ohio State University.

He and his wife, Kay, have three children, Matthew, Rachel and Shaun.

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To accommodate a national television audience, the South Atlantic Conference football opener between Tusculum College and Wingate University has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Niswonger Sports Complex and Pioneer Field on the Tusculum campus.

The Tusculum/Wingate contest will be part of a six-game television package for the 2009 season announced NCAA Division II and CBS College Sports.  The game, which was originally slated for Saturday, Sept. 26, will now kickoff Thursday night for the prime time audience at 8:05 p.m. (EST).

Both programs are coming off successful seasons.  The Pioneers posted a 9-4 record winning four of their last five outings to capture TC’s second South Atlantic Conference title in school history. Tusculum also made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA II Playoffs, advancing to the Final 16. TC finished the season ranked No. 16 in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

Wingate posted an 8-3 record and finished tied for fourth in the SAC.  The Bulldogs jumped out of the gate winning its first seven games of the 2008 campaign, including a thrilling 37-33 victory over Tusculum in a contest that came down to the final play of the game.

It will be the 14^th meeting between the Pioneers and Bulldogs, with Wingate leading the all-time series 8-5.  The two programs have met each year since 1996.

Tusculum head coach Frankie DeBusk, the 2008 SAC and AFCA Region Coach of the Year, returns 20 starters from last year’s squad, including 2009 Preseason All-Americans John Gregory (punter), Jarrell NeSmith (tight end) and Ryan Tallent (receiver).

“We are very excited about having the opportunity to represent Tusculum College and the South Atlantic Conference in the televised football game against Wingate University,” said DeBusk.   “The game will be between two great institutions from one of the best Division II conferences in the country.  We feel privileged to have this opportunity for our student-athletes to be viewed by a national audience with a chance to showcase the Niswonger Sports Complex, the Tusculum campus and the Greeneville community.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase not only two of the top football programs in the league, but the entire South Atlantic Conference,” said Commissioner Patrick Britz. “We would like to thank the NCAA and CBS College Sports for selecting this game and providing such great exposure for these student-athletes, schools and the SAC.”

Tusculum will have a tall chore ahead of them in replacing All-American quarterback Corey Russell.  Russell smashed the school and SAC record books in 2008 as he accounted for a nation’s best 49 touchdowns (37 pass, 12 rush). While the Tusculum quarterback will be new in 2009, nearly the entire group of receivers returns.  Tallent, a 5-10, 200-pound rising senior from Maryville, Tenn., established a pair of school records in 2008 with 92 receptions, including nine touchdowns. He also posted 989 receiving yards on the year. Also back in the receiving corps is a rising senior Nate Binder, who led the SAC in receiving yards per game (78.7 ypg).

On defense, the Pioneers return five starters. Gregory, a 6-2, 210-pound native of Ooltewah, Tenn., finished third in the nation in punting average booting 43.52 yards per kick, which also established a new school single season record that lasted since 1941.

Wingate coach Joe Reich welcomes back 10 starters on defense and six starters on offense in 2009. Bulldog redshirt junior running back Nelson Woods returns in 2009. The Lawndale Burns High School graduate rushed for 1,238 yards in 2008. On defense, junior linebacker Ben Hinson had 105 tackles and seven tackles for losses during the 2008 campaign.

The six-game TV package begins Aug. 27 when 2008 national runner-up Northwest Missouri State visits defending Lone Star Conference Champion Abilene Christian in a rematch of last year’s national quarterfinal.  The following Thursday, defending NCAA II national champion Minnesota-Duluth hosts NCAA Playoff participant Central Washington on Sept. 3.

On Oct. 15, a battle of the Commonwealth of Virginia is showcased when CIAA rivals Virginia Union and Virginia State square off.  The clash between Gulf South Conference titans North Alabama and Valdosta State will be played Oct. 22.  The regular-season TV package concludes Nov. 5 as Shepherd and Glenville State in an important West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match-up.

CBS College Sports is widely available on cable systems across the country, including Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Time Warner, and Verizon FIOS. It currently reaches 30 million households and is also available on DIRECTV and DISH Network. FSN South reaches 12.2 million households throughout the southeast in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky. The game will also be streamed over the Internet at NCAAsports.com/dii.

The Pioneers will open the 2009 campaign, Saturday, Aug. 29 as Tusculum travels to the University of Charleston (W.Va.).

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A community reception will be held on Thursday, May 7 in honor of Dr. Russell L. Nichols, who has served as interim president of Tusculum College for almost two years as the institution conducted a presidential search.

New president Dr. Nancy B. Moody assumed her new role as the College’s first female president on April 27, and Dr. Nichols has remained at the College to help with the transition. He will be leaving the college at the end of May.

The drop-in reception will be held in the Chalmers Conference Center, located in the Niswonger Commons, from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. and is open to anyone who would like to stop by and wish Dr. Nichols well in his future endeavors, said Susan D. Vance, interim vice president for Institutional Advancement.

“This is an opportunity for all of those who have met Dr. Nichols to thank him for his service to Tusculum College and to wish him well as he moves into another phase of his life and career,” said Vance. “He has made a tremendous impact not only on students, faculty and staff, but with alumni, parents, friends, the community and generations of students yet to come.”

Nichols has been with the college in an interim capacity since August 1, 2007, and has gained high praise from staff, faculty, students and community members for his guiding hand in keeping the College on course as the search for a new sitting president was conducted. He has focused his efforts on ensuring financial stability for the College, developing an international program and study-abroad opportunities for students and led the efforts to create the College’s Center for Global Studies.

Dr. Nichols has been a focused leader who has guided the College’s efforts in strategic planning and College-wide efforts to ensure a viable, dynamic institution for many generations to come, said Ken Bowman, chairman of the Tusculum College Board of Trustees.

“His efforts and leadership have gone a long way in unifying the College. His calming, supporting and contributing nature has provided a contagious sense of optimism about the future of Tusculum College, at a time when it needed it most. He has been continually engaged with students, staff, faculty and the community and has accomplished much working with and through the Cabinet.”

The reception is open to the public, there is no fee for attending and no reservations are required. Anyone interested in honoring Dr. Nichols is encouraged to attend.  Those unable to attend may send well wishes to Dr. Russell Nichols, Tusculum College, P.O. Box 5048, Greeneville, TN 37744 or email to rnichols@tusculum.edu.

Dr. Moody was named the new president of the College during a called Tusculum College Board of Trustees meeting in February. Dr. Moody will be the first female president at Tennessee’s oldest college.

For more information on the event, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 423-636-7303.

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Selections from Handel’s “Messiah,” folk songs and show tunes will be performed by the Tusculum College Community Chorus in its spring concert on Monday, May 4.

The concert will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts building. The concert is free and open to the public.

In the first half of the program, the Chorus will be joined by the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra to perform selected selections from parts two and three of the renowned oratorio “Messiah.”

Dr. David Hendricksen, conductor of the Chorus, presented a lecture about the theology and music of “Messiah” on Sunday afternoon as a prelude to the concert. Hendricksen discussed Handel’s genius in creating a masterpiece that infuses drama into the music itself.

Also explored by Hendricksen was the purpose of Charles Jennens, Handel’s textual partner, in his contribution to the work. Rather than a poetic telling of a Biblical account, Jennens compiled Scripture to form the text of the oratorio with the purpose of showing Christianity to be true through the telling of a story of faith about the goodness of God in bringing about redemption.

In addition to the Messiah, the Community Chorus will also perform a variety of madrigals, folk songs and show tunes. The Chorus will be accompanied by James Winfree in the event, which is part of Art Outreach’s Acts, Arts, Academia 2008-09 performance and lecture series.

For more information about concert, please call Tusculum College Arts Outreach at 423-798-1620 or e-mail jhollowell@tusculum.edu.

Acts, Arts, Academia is a program of Tusculum College Arts Outreach and is supported by Dr. Sam Miller in memory of Mary Agnes Ault Miller, Hearts for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Society of Cicero, and Arts Outreach.

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A dedication ceremony will be held for a new concrete walkway from Katherine Hall to Shiloh Road on Thursday, May 7, at 2:30 p.m. The sidewalk will be dedicated by members of the Class of 2009, who raised money for the project as their senior class gift.

The event is open to the public.

The program will be led by members of the Senior Class Gift Campaign Committee which identified the project as a gift they would like to complete and leave as a legacy for future Tusculum College students. They also plan to make the gift to the College in honor for departing Interim President Dr. Russell L. Nichols.

There is still time to participate and support the project. If you are interested in participating in the Senior Class Gift campaign, please contact Kim Kidwell or Cody Greene in the Tusculum College Office of Institutional Advancement at 423-636-7303.

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Six Tusculum College students representing the College’s Physical Education Majors Club attended the 124th National Convention of American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance held in Tampa, Fla., March 31- April 4.

The students, which included Nicole Ferris of Lebanon, Ohio; Anna Johnson of Jonesborough, Tenn.; Katherine Shelton of Dandridge, Tenn.; Simon Holzapfel of Nuremberg, Germany; Micah Haney of Ft. Payne, Ala., and Jason Grove of Knoxville, Tenn., are physical education students majoring in Physical Education, Sports Science, Health and Wellness and Sport Management.

Ferris organized the trip, securing transportation, accommodations and the necessary funds for travel. Shelton had the unique opportunity of co-presenting with Dr. Kirpal Mahal, professor of physical education at Tusculum College, in a session on the topic of “Many Stressors - One Remedy: Breath Control with Yoga.”

“We are very appreciative of the Office of the Provost at the College which helped provide funds for our trip,” said Shelton.

Over the course of four days, the Tusculum College students had the opportunity to attend numerous sessions and hear presentations from professionals on trends and issues, best practices, experiences and research in the fields of health, physical education, recreation, exercise science, coaching, sport management and many others. Socials, meal functions and tours were also attended by the students.

The exhibition hall offered a variety companies and universities presenting their merchandise and programs that provided an opportunity for the students to establish contacts that could potentially be beneficial if they choose to pursue graduate studies in physical education-related fields.

Due to the downtown Tampa location of the convention center, students were able to enjoy the city. A trip to Clearwater Beach on Saturday afternoon, after the convention had closed its doors, offered a great opportunity to relax and appreciate the sunny locale.

Students in the next year’s senior seminar class of the Physical Education Department plan to attend the 125th AAHPERD National Convention in Indianapolis, March 16-20, 2010.

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