NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

The Doak House Museum will be open on Saturday, December 5, for a special Christmas event.

The museum on the Tusculum College campus will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for this holiday event.

The public is invited to come enjoy some hot cider and explore the historic Doak House Museum, the 19th century home of one of the college’s co-founders, the Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak.

A children’s story time will be held at noon and 2 p.m.

While at the museum, visitors can also browse in the museum shop, which will be featuring significant discounts on decorative Christmas items, children’s toys and ornaments. The museum shop will offer some unique gifts such as historic toys and games such as marbles, hooey sticks and quill pens as well as many specialty holiday items: kitchen linens, ornaments and grab bags for $5 (each holding $10-$25 worth of merchandise).

All proceeds from the sales in the shop support the museum education programs of the college’s Department of Museum Program and Studies of Tusculum College; the Doak House Museum and the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library. “This is a great opportunity to not only purchase some unique gifts at a real savings, but also support the museum’s educational programs,” said Leah Walker, site and events manager.

The Department of Museum Program and Studies is the regional coordinator for National History Day, assisting teachers and students participating in schoolwide events and hosting the regional event. Students from Greene County have advanced to the statewide competition in each of the past seven years, and students have advanced to the national competition six out of the seven years.

The Doak House Museum hosts thousands of school children from East Tennessee each year for a variety of educational programs relating life in the 19th century. The President Andrew Johnson Museum hosts special exhibits and programs for the community. Last month, the museum hosted a special exhibit about archives and held presentations featuring experts sharing ways to preserve personal and family documents, photos, textiles such as quilts and other items.

For additional information, contact the Doak House Museum at 423.636.8445 or e-mail lwalker@tusculum.edu.

Tweet This Post

Dr. Kim Estep, Tusculum College provost and academic vice president, has announced the appointment of Dr. Troy Goodale, assistant professor of political science, as the new faculty sponsor of the Tusculum College chapter of Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

Dr. Goodale is an Oklahoma native who was raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area before moving to East Tennessee during his eighth grade school year. Living in the nation’s capitol began his interest in politics and government.

He received his bachelor’s of arts degree from the University of Tennessee in political science, with a minor in cultural studies that focused on Asian culture. He earned his master’s degree and doctorate in political science, also from the University of Tennessee. 

Dr. Goodale’s dissertation is in the American politics sub-field, examining legislative term limits in state governments. He has published a book on legislative term limits and has run for public office on two occasions. In addition, he has worked in various political organizations and campaigns.

Dr. Goodale taught at the University of Tennessee for more than four years and at Tusculum part-time during 2006-2007, transitioning to a full-time position the following year. He is the department chair of the Political Science Department at Tusculum, as well as a pre-law advisor.

Ron McCallister, director of the School of Arts and Sciences, notes that “Dr. Goodale has played an integral role in a number of academically-centered student initiatives. I am excited about Dr. Goodale’s willingness to serve in a leadership role with Alpha Chi. As the oldest chapter of Alpha Chi in Tennessee, Dr. Goodale inherits leadership in an organization that has a long, rich heritage at our College.”

Alpha Chi is a nationwide honor society established in 1922 to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. Some 300 chapters, located in almost every state and in Puerto Rico, induct more than 11,000 members annually. Being selected for membership is one of the highest academic honors that Tusculum College can offer a student.

To be eligible for membership in Alpha Chi, a student must have achieved junior or senior status and be ranked in the top ten percent of the students in their division.

Some benefits of Alpha Chi membership include recognition as distinguished scholars and members of one of the largest college honor societies in the world. Members may compete for Alpha Chi scholarships, and many employers offer members higher starting salaries after graduation.

Tweet This Post

Three Tusculum College students recently received a crash course in coal mining and its effects on communities and the environment when they were immersed in service to a small community in East Tennessee near the Kentucky border.

Joshua Folks of Greeneville, Shamale Lee of Burnsville, N.C., and Nikki Van Dine of Columbus, Ohio, traveled with Robin Fife, assistant professor of social science, to Eagan where they worked with the Clearfolk Community Institute as part of a Service-Learning Immersion course. The Clearfolk Community Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of those living in Eagan and to empowering the community’s youth to gain the education they need to lead successful lives.

In Eagan, Fife said, the group found a community that faces both economic and environmental challenges from coal mining. While underground mining had been conducted in the past, coal companies are now involved in mountaintop removal mining in the area around Eagan, which requires less manpower than underground mining. As its name implies, the top of a mountain is blown up in this method of mining to expose the valuable mineral for removal with the remaining earthen material placed in a valley or hollow. The mining has caused such problems for the residents of Eagan as loss of water purity.

Absentee landowners or coal companies own the majority of the land in the community and do not pay local taxes, so there are limited funds to provide services such as adequate road paving or garbage pick-up, she continued. “People struggle to eke out a living and find education.”

Teamwork was one of the lessons of the trip, Lee said as the students worked with Clearfolk Community Institute volunteers, called VIPs (Volunteers in Partnership) by the organization. “I was impressed by the teamwork,” he said. “We melded together well.”
One of the primary projects of the students was helping in a project to map the community. No map exists showing property lines for the Eagan area, and the Clearfolk Community Institute is trying to complete one on its own. The students used Geographical Information System units to map properties in the community.

“We measured using a landmark of importance (to the residents),” said Van Dine. “Some had a nice garden or a tree they had planted a long time ago. What we did will provide a building block for future VIPs.”

In addition to the mapping, the students provided a variety of service to the residents. “We swept leaves, cut trees and fixed a chicken coup,” said Foulks. “We cooked greens for a community dinner. It was a real experience.

“We did anything we could to help them out.”

As they provided service, the students had the opportunity to learn the personal stories of the residents and how their lives have been impacted by the coal mining industry. Foulks told of an older couple they students helped who needed assistance with some of their outdoor chores because the husband was in poor health due to his days as a coal miner. “It was horrible thing to see what they went through,” he said. “Now, they don’t have anything. They don’t have health insurance.”

The students learned about the coal-mining industry in depth, about pollution and environmental issues related to the removal of natural habitat by mountaintop removal mining and about the herbs that the residents in the community grow and use for medicinal purposes. Although most of the roads leading to the mining activities are on private property, there was a public road near one of the areas where mountaintop removal had been done to allow the students to see what the effects are on the landscape.

After the students returned to campus, they prepared policy papers about issues that they found that interested them from the service experience. Foulks focused on cap and trade issues related to acid rain and federal regulation of emissions. Lee wrote about land ownership issues. Van Dine’s paper was about the regulation of ginseng, one of the herbs grown in the region that could provide a source of income for Eagan residents.

The students also proposed ways that the situation in Eagan could be improved, including increasing publicity about top mountain removal mining and its effects, getting more communities involved, continuing to investigate and invest in other energy sources such as geothermal, solar or wind power, and encouraging people to write to their Congressmen about the issue.

As they returned to campus, the students have also worked to open doors to allow one of the youth they met and worked with in Eagan to attend Tusculum.

Tweet This Post

On Thursday, October 22, Tusculum College’s Knoxville Regional Center held its first Opportunity Fair. The event provided an opportunity for students to practice networking and talk with potential employers.

Featuring 27 outside vendors representing businesses from the area and four representing the College, the Opportunity Fair also allowed Tusculum alumni and former students to showcase what they are doing today.  Many of the College’s community business partners participated and showcased their goods and services. 

According to Cliff Gjertson, site director for Tusculum’s Knoxville Regional Center, the event was a success.  “Students were enthusiastic about making connections with people who would positively impact their next career move,” he said. In addition the participating businesses, such as SunTrust and State Farm, cultivated their business contacts and were able to interact with potential customers as well as future employees. 

Gjertson said the feedback from the event was extremely positive, and the Knoxville Regional Center hopes to have a similar event in the coming months. 

The Knoxville Regional Center previously held a workshop for students that addressed the value of networking and the basics of how to be a good networker and was held as a pre-cursor to the Opportunity Fair so that students would be prepared.

For more information on Tusculum College’s Graduate and Professional Studies program or upcoming events at the Knoxville Regional Center, contact Gjertson at 5008 or email cgjertson@tusculum.edu.

Tweet This Post

Tusculum College’s Thomas J. Garland Library recently announced Come join the Thomas J. Garland library staff and Bonner Leaders for a children’s story hour in the Greeneville campus library on Thursday, November 19, from 6-7 p.m.

The event is free and open to all Tusculum College family members ages 8 and under. Tusculum College faculty, staff and students are encouraged to bring their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and others for a fun night of stories, crafts and refreshments.

 Please RSVP to Kathy Hipps at ext. 5123 by Tuesday, November 17.

Tweet This Post

On a recent trip to Latin America, several professors from Tusculum College embarked on an expedition to gain insight into the biodiversity, diverse geography, stable democracy and diversified economy of a developing country.

The trip, initially planned to include both Costa Rica and Nicaragua, was an opportunity for each of the three professors to incorporate an international perspective into their classroom experiences back in Greeneville. Due to restrictions on border crossings because of the swine flu, the eventual trip focused solely on Costa Rica.

The professors, which included Dr. Ian VanLare, associate professor of biology; Dr. John Paulling, professor of mathematics and Amy Brooks, assistant professor of athletic training, participated in order to pave the way for future student trips and to bring back real-world experience and examples to students through their adapted curriculum at Tusculum College.

“During this trip we looked at diversity both biological and culturally in a variety of places within Costa Rica,” said VanLare.

The participants visited both ends of the Central Valley, traveled through lowland Caribbean habitats, stayed at a cloud forest while visiting several nature reserves and visited two active, but different types of volcanoes.

“We stayed at both ends of the Central Valley,” said VanLare, “And, we visited the northern town of La Fortuna where they have an active volcano and then went on to Monte Verde, which interestingly was settled by American Quakers.”

Also on the group’s travel agenda were two hydroelectric plants which they visited. These plants provide much of Costa Rica’s and neighboring Nicaragua’s electricity, said VanLare.

In addition, the group traveled to Jaco, a town located on the Pacific Ocean, where they observed how the Tico (a term for the native inhabitants of Costa Rica) society struggles with the effects of ecotourism.

“The strength of the trip revolved around its participants,” said VanLare. And while each of the three faculty members represented different academic disciplines, VanLare said each was enthusiastically engaged in all the planned activities and participated in activities individually.

Brooks, in her job as athletic trainer, works with a number of Tusculum’s international students, many of whom are natives of Central and South America.

“I see the adjustments these students have to make in coming to an American school and adjusting to the American lifestyle,” said Brooks. “I wanted to see where they come from and be able to help those athletes get over the culture shock.”

Having made the trip to Costa Rica, Brooks says she can certainly understand the difficulty in adjusting that those students often have.

“It’s completely different,” she said. “We visited the cities, the mountains and the beaches, and I certainly feel that I understand the culture better.” She added that she feels she will be able to make better connections as a care-giver with those students who are from the Central and South American regions.

VanLare, who has traveled before to Costa Rica with students, would consider doing so again, as he feels it allows students to experience ecosystems that do not exist in East Tennessee, as well as exposes them to another culture.

“I can see the international experience incorporating language, science, service and history, and my long-term goal would be to take students not for a trip, but for a semester of study,” said VanLare.

 The faculty trip to Costa Rica was part of Tusculum College’s efforts to increase the number of students who have an international experience during their college career. As part of this campus wide goal, the College formed the Center for Global Studies in spring 2008, with a mission to “enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges through building relationships with communities, institutions of higher learning and organizations globally.”

For more information the Tusculum College Global Studies program, contact Dr. Geir Bergvin, director of the Center for Global Studies, at 423-636-7300.

Tweet This Post

The international flags in the Niswonger Commons Living Room at Tusculum College were revitalized with new flags representing the College’s international student population in a ceremony on Friday, November 13. Five new flags were added to those that represent current students and alumni, and the ceremony was held as part of the College’s International Education Week activities.

Tusculum College currently has 38 flags representing current and former students, including the five added in the ceremony. Currently enrolled students come from Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Argentina, England, Germany, Guatemala, Venezuela, Croatia, Honduras, Sweden, Taiwan and the Ukraine. The five new flags added included those for Chile, Finland, Israel, Serbia and Switzerland.

One additional flag for the Dominican Republic will be added later in the year, as a student from that country was recently identified, according to Bonnie Taylor, student life coordinator at the College and coordinator of the International Education Week events.

As part of the ceremony, which included several of the College’s international students, senior Estefania Chavez of Honduras spoke to the group about attending Tusculum College and her experiences as an international student.

“I appreciate Tusculum and all the faculty and staff that have made it feel like home,” she said. She added that in addition to her education, she has learned a lot about American culture and the cultures of the other international students she has come to know.

Brooke Haymaker, this year’s vice president of the Student Government Association, also spoke and talked about how the international community at Tusculum really provides a diversity not found in other places. “Tusculum gives you not only an academic, but also a cultural education.”

Haymaker is a junior, pre-med major from Kettering, Ohio.

Finishing off the program were sisters Mary Ann and Adriana Vizcarrondo of Venezuela. Mary Ann, a senior business major told the group that Tusculum College was a good choice for her. “I like the small environment. Everyone is very supportive and made the transition very easy.”

Adriana, a junior business and economics major, agreed. “There was a culture shock at first, but the students here are very open to cultural differences.”

Dr. Steve Weisz, associate professor of religious studies and campus chaplain, closed the ceremony with a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to “live in an open and free society where we can learn from each other.”

International Education Week was held the week of Nov. 9, and included events such as programs focused on world religions and a sushi-making course. Activities were scheduled to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Tusculum College campus through education.

“International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of efforts to prepare students for a global environment and to attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the United States,” said Taylor.

For more information on Tusculum College’s multicultural programs or to find out more about upcoming events, contact Taylor at 5412 or email btaylor@tusculum.edu.

Tweet This Post

For the first time in school history, the Tusculum College volleyball team has received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The announcement came with the release of the 64-team national bracket.

The Pioneers (18-14) will be the No. 8 seed in the Southeast Regional and will face top-seed and host Wingate University (34-1) in an opening round match this Friday at Cuddy Arena on the Wingate, N.C. campus. Match time will be announced on Monday.

Flagler, which won the Peach Belt Conference tournament, is the second seed, and will face seventh-seed Lees-McRae College, the Conference Carolinas Tournament winner and received that conference’s automatic bid.

Defending regional tournament champion Armstrong Atlantic State, out of the Peach Belt Conference, is the third seed and will face sixth-seed Lincoln Memorial University. LMU is making its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Carson-Newman College, which lost to Wingate in Sunday’s Food Lion SAC Tournament championship, is the fourth seed and will face Catawba College.

The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the finals, December 3-5, on the campus of a participating institution.

Tusculum has already clinched its fourth straight winning season.

Tweet This Post

The first event of the Tusculum College English Department’s 2009-2010 Humanities Series, held November 3, featured Dr. Desirae Matherly, assistant professor of English, reading a personal, nonfiction essay. The event was titled “A Reading in Nonfiction by Desirae Matherly.” Matherly spoke to a full house of nearly 50 attendees and read a non-published work focused on the writing of personal essays.

Having joined the faculty of Tusculum College just this year, Dr. Matherly also serves as nonfiction editor of “The Tusculum Review.” Her work has been anthologized in “The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2,” and in 2008 and 2009 her essays were listed as Notable in Best American Essays. Her recent work appears in “Pleiades, Southern Humanities Review” and “Lake Effect.”

The next event in the Humanities Series will be a presentation by Catherine Meeks, a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on the Tennessee Valley Authority. The event will be Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center.

Tweet This Post

The 2^nd Annual Chili Cook-Off winner has been determined. The Student Alumni Association of Tusculum College would like to announce that the Graduate and Professional Studies department has taken both the Best Chili and the new Showmanship trophies, after tallying 150 votes. They beat out a very strong field of competitors that included the 2008 Chili Champs, the Athletic Department, as well as the Office of Student Affairs, Facilities, the History Department and the Office of Institutional Advancement. This year a panel of judges was used to determine the winner for best chili. Their votes, which carried 60 percent of the overall points, along with people’s choice, which was 40 percent, determined the overall winner. The Showmanship award is voted on entirely by the people, and GPS, with their “Virginia Hall House of Corrections” theme, was the fan favorite.

 The Student Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Relations appreciates all the participants in the cook-off, an event scheduled as a fun way to bring the campus together. Special appreciation is also to be expressed to the judges, Director of Campus Security Wayne Murphy, alumna Jackie Paxton Rose ‘75 and current student Candace Babb ‘10.

 Best Chili                                        Showmanship

1. GPS                                                 1. GPS

2. History Department                            2. Athletics

3. Tie: Athletics and IA                           3. Student Affairs

Pictured from left above are the “Virginia Hall House of Corrections” team of Kelly Edens, Kathy Munson, Chance Gillespie, Vickie Long, Kathy Joy, Teresa Smith, Betsy Long, Jane Allen, Heather Easterly and Pat Simons.

Tweet This Post