NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

The Tusculum College Fall Fantasia Health and Wellness Fair has been scheduled for Thursday, November 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus.

Providers are currently being sought for participation in this annual event, which in 2008 drew more than 300 visitors and 48 providers. In addition to Tusculum College faculty, staff and students, the event is open to the public and many of the community assisted living facilities bring residents who might benefit from the services and information provided. The event is sponsored by the Tusculum College Health and Counseling Office.

Medical and health information and assessments of many types will be offered free to everyone who attends. And, according to organizers at the College, there is no charge to participate as a vendor; however, registration is required.

“The Fall Fantasia Health and Wellness Fair is an informational event for students, faculty and staff, but it is also a community outreach event that we are proud to offer each year,” said Diane Hensley, campus nurse at the College and event organizer.

“We strive to offer as many opportunities as possible and hope this year to have healthy eating information, HIV testing by Hope for Tennessee, and something new this year is the participation of the Mobile Unit of the Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center who will be performing mammograms on site,” she added.

This year Medic Region Blood Center will be on hand conducting a blood drive as part of the College’s annual Blood Drive Bowl competition the week Tusculum College travels to Carson-Newman College for their annual football rivalry game. Last year Tusculum College won the Blood Drive Bowl 173-122 over Carson-Newman, and event planners hope the community participation in the Fall Fantasia Health and Wellness Fair will help put them over the top this year as well.

Among other topics, this year’s expanded health fair will offer multiple areas of physical and mental health education and screening, preventive care information, increased awareness of health resources in the community, alternative health/medicine sources and information on healthy food choices, cooking ideas and preparation techniques.

Additional providers are being sought, and letters to former participants will go out in the coming days. For more information about the Fall Fantasia Health and Wellness Fair contact Hensley at 423-636-7499 or Connie Kretchmar-Sitz at 423-798-7821.

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Six Tennessee Civil War Trails signs were unveiled Tuesday in Greene County, beginning with a ceremony at the marker at the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library on the Tusculum College campus.

Greene County has the second largest number of the Civil War Trails signs in the state. “You may not have the most, but you have the most important ones,” said Dr. Van West, executive director of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, during the ceremony.

State and local officials and state legislators participated in the ceremony, celebrating the culmination of the initial part of the initiative, a local tourism project of the Greene County Partnership. The Civil War Trails is a multi-state program that identifies, interprets and creates driving tours of both the great campaigns and lesser known Civil War sites with sites designated with interpretive markers.

“It is really important what happened here about 150 years ago,” West said, “When you think about the total Civil War period, it began here and ended here.” The important Greeneville Convention before the war was a microcosm of the struggles that the nation was facing, he continued, and some of the most significant early fighting of the war involves the story of “unbelievable bravery” by Union sympathizers who burned bridges along the rail lines in the western part of the county.

“The story represented by the building behind us over here (the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library) of President Johnson represents the end of the Civil War,” West said. “The reconstruction presidency of Andrew Johnson was central to the redefinition of citizenship and redefinition of the sense of nationalism after the tragedy of war.”

Dave Jones, representing the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, said, “What is unique about the Civil War Trails is they tell the Civil War stories that have not been told. We know about the big stories, but this is an opportunity for the local community to tell you stories and bring tourism to your county.”

George Collins, director of the Tusculum College Museum Program and Studies, spoke to some of that history, noting that the “Old College” building that houses the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library is the oldest academic building on the Tusculum College campus. It was built in 1841 for $4,500 through in-kind service and donations. One of those donations was $20 (equivalent to six months in wages at the time) from Andrew Johnson, who also served as a trustee of the college.

“Although our county, state and nation are diverse, we are linked by our common history,” Collins said. “We are honored to be a part of the Civil War Trails.”

The Civil War Trails marker at the President Andrew Johnson Museum tells of the college’s experiences during the War. The other Civil War Trails markers in Greene County tell about the Pottertown Bridge Burners, the battles of Blue Springs, the Bridge Burners’ hanging near the railroad depot in Greeneville, the Dickson-Williams Mansion and the death of Gen. John Hunt Morgan.

The benefits of tourism were noted by State Sen. Steve Southerland R-Morristown, who is chairman of the Senate’s Tourism Committee. Many people do not realize that the second largest industry in the state is tourism, and it generates about $14 billion a year in the state, he said. Other speakers noted that Civil War tourists spend more on average than other types of tourists.

State Representative David Hawk R-5th noted that Greene County is a leader in tourism in the state. Earlier in the ceremony, Collins had thanked Hawk particularly for his efforts in securing a state Community Enhancement Grant to provide funds for the project.

State Representative Eddie Yokley D-11th, said he was pleased to be attending the unveiling as there were some in the legislature who opposed the program. Fortunately, he said, the program received support and will play an important role in exposing not only tourists but also the local community to history.

Greene County has been a leader in the Tennessee Civil War Trails project as the first meeting in the state about the initiative was held here. Locally, the effort was spearheaded through the Greene County Partnership and involved a citizens committee to work towards installing the signs in Greene County.

This is a beginning for the Civil War Trails efforts in Greene County, noted Tammy Kinser, tourism director at the Partnership, as a 14-mile bike trail in Mosheim has been identified through the efforts of Donahue Bible, a local historian who has worked for years to bring greater public awareness of the story of the “bridge burners” and their significance to the Civil War.

Kinser said there are many people to thank for the success of the project including the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Governor Phil Bredeson, Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Susan Whittaker, Mitch Bowman of the Civil War Trails organization, Dr. Van West, the local Civil War Trails Committee, the Greene County Commission, the Andrew Johnson Bicentennial Committee, the Town of Mosheim, the Town of Greeneville, the City of Tusculum, Food Country, Tim Massey of Morgan’s Men, Greene County Heritage Trust, Cindy Lucas, Claudia Moody of the Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association and Russell and Sheila Ooten for providing a Greene Coach bus for the tour of the sites that followed the ceremony.

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Tusculum College is celebrating the return of students to campus this month in anticipation of the start of fall semester classes on Monday, Aug. 24.

Approximately 143 students, including members of the Pioneer football team, returned to campus on Monday, August 3, to move into their residence halls. Those upperclassmen who were selected last spring to serve as residence hall assistants returned last week for training and orientation activities. Student Orientation leaders, Living and Learning Community leaders and the soccer and volleyball program participants will move into their rooms on Friday, August 7.

Student leadership groups, such as the President’s Society and the Student Government Association officers, and other students who participate in pre-term programming will return to campus on Monday, August 17, and all new students will be welcomed on Friday, August 21.  Returning students will have their Move-in Day on Sunday, August 23.

Move-in Day for new students at Tusculum College is a campus wide event and includes staff members from nearly every department. To simplify the move-in process, Tusculum students and their parents check in at the Pioneer Arena where representatives from each department greet them. Once they have received their room assignments and keys, staff and faculty assist the students and parents in the actual move into their new residence.

Following the final Move-in Day activities, a picnic will be held on Friday evening for new students, parents, faculty and staff who participated in getting the students settled into their new homes and the campus community as a whole.

On Sunday night, August 23, a “Tusculum Festival” will be held, hosted by the Student Affairs Office, offering an evening of fun and the opportunity for students to get to know one another. Beginning on Monday, August 24, Welcome Week activities are planned for all students and include a student Luau, a Pioneer Pig Roast and a ’70s Love Groove dance.

Thursday, August 27, will be the official Opening Convocation, the ceremony formally opening the academic year and attended by students, faculty and staff. This year new President Dr. Nancy B. Moody will participate in the Opening Convocation, and it will be her first opportunity to preside at a formal College ceremony since taking office in April 2009.

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Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Gilsdorf, assistant professor of physical education and sport science, recently earned a doctorate of education in sports management from the United States Sports Academy.

He has a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Judson College and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Gilsdorf, who has taught at Tusculum since 2008, completed his studies in mid-July. In his dissertation, Gilsdorf analyzed differences in the perceptions by senior administrators of the role of and purpose for competition of football and men’s basketball at evangelical Christian colleges and universities.

Gilsdorf has more than 24 years experience in coaching and teaching at both the high school and college levels. He began his career in education teaching and coaching at his high school alma mater for five years. He then moved on to the college level, teaching and coaching at Christian colleges.

His first college position was first assistant men’s basketball coach and campus recreation director at Wheaton College in Illinois, where he also taught wellness and physical education activity courses. Following his experience at Wheaton, he went to Gordon College, in Wenham, Mass., where he was the head men’s basketball coach for two years. He then served as assistant professor of physical education, first assistant men’s basketball coach and campus recreation director at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.

When he and his wife welcomed the birth of their first child, Gilsdorf returned to teaching and coaching at the high school level. He taught for 10 years and began his work towards his doctorate, looking to return to higher education.

As part of his research, Gilsdorf surveyed presidents, senior or executive vice presidents and chief academic officers of institutions governed by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The colleges where he had previously served were all under the direction of the council.

Gilsdorf found no significant differences in the responses of the different types of administrators except in a few areas, which was surprise. “Going into it, I thought there would be more differences between the responses of the presidents and the chief academic officers,” he said. “Overall, the similarities in their responses indicated that they shared core beliefs about athletics and competition.”

In the results from the surveys, Gilsdorf found that presidents were significantly more likely to agree that participating in athletics develops Christian maturity in athletes than either chief academic officers or senior vice presidents.

He also found that presidents were significantly more likely to disagree than chief academic officers that special considerations are granted to football and/or men’s basketball players for admission to the institution. Also, chief academic officers were significantly more likely to agree than senior vice presidents that coaches have been fired or asked to resign because they have not won enough.

Gilsdorf concluded that further study would be merited in surveys of the administrators to whom athletics departments directly report, senior athletic administration, head football and basketball coaches, athletes and other athletic programs’ role of and purpose for competition.

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