NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Expanding Tusculum College’s Community Garden, at left, and tree tours of the campus, at right, were part of the Earth Day Extravaganza on Thursday, April 14. The event, focusing on environmental education and sustainability, was open to the public. Sponsored by the Pioneer Green Team, the event was centered in two primary areas. One was on the lawn outside of McCormick Hall on campus, where there were a number of displays providing information about topics as varied as preserving local wildlife to the dangers of radon, as well as children’s craft activities. Setting up displays were Rural Resources, Bays Mountain, the Cherokee Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Coca-Cola and the U.S. Forest Service, which also brought along Smokey the Bear. Student volunteers worked all day at the other central location, the college’s Community Garden at the Honors Residential House near Doak Elementary School. The students planted a number of new flowers, shrubs and trees at the garden and added decorative stone pavers.

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A Tusculum College professor and student recently served as volunteer assistants at the Major of the Year Award and Reception Ceremony of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

Dr. Kirpal Mahal, professor of physical education, and Kate Prisco, a junior from Rogersville, volunteered to help at the ceremony for the association, which is the leading authority for physical education standards. The ceremony was held during the 126^th Convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), which was held in San Diego from March 30 to April 3.

This was the first time that Prisco attended the AAHPERD convention. She said serving at the NASPE ceremony was a great experience in that she was able to meet a number of professionals and learn about their work. As a volunteer, Prisco said she felt like an important part of the event and the association, which she described as open-minded with the right goals, enthusiasm and drive to get professionals active in its mission.

Dr. Mahal commended Prisco for the professional manner in which she performed her duties at the ceremony and the way she presented herself and represented Tusculum College very well.

During the NASPE ceremony, Tusculum senior Simon Holzapfel, from Nuremberg, Germany, along with 90 other undergraduate students in the physical education and exercise science fields from various universities, was awarded the NASPE Major of the Year Award. Holzapfel said it is a great honor to be the recipient of this award as only one student is nominated annually for the honor by the faculty of Tusculum’s Physical Education and Sport Studies Department.

Dr. Mahal accompanied a group of Tusculum students majoring in physical education or sports studies to the convention, including Elisa Andriano of North York, Ontario; Calvin Britt of Augusta, Ga.; Dean Hopewell of Leicester, England; Cassandra Melnike of Pickering, Ontario; Angie Michaud of Surgionsville, Tenn., Holzapfel, and Prisco.

At the convention, the students had the opportunity to meet and mingle with scholars and professional leaders in sports, health and physical education fields. The convention offered around 700 sessions, presentations and events on a variety of topics related to the students’ fields of study.
The students had the unique opportunity to tour to the U.S. Olympic Training Center at San Diego. The facility is one of only three Olympic training centers in the U.S. and is a gift from the San Diego National Sports Training Foundation, a group of dedicated business and community leaders, as well as volunteers, who raised the funds to build the center. The complex is mostly outdoors and covers 155 acres.

Dr. Mahal, Holzapfel, Michaud and Prisco also attended a social event sponsored by Springfield College, meeting its faculty and alumni. Springfield College, located in Massachusetts, is one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions in exercise science and physical education.

Holzapfel was one of only three student delegates selected to represent the entire student membership of AAHPERD and attended the Alliance Assembly, its governing body, on April 2. The delegates voted for the next president-elect of the Alliance, Irene Cucina, and approved motions including that “the Alliance work toward one unified national organization with a focus on comprehensive physical education, physical activity, and health.” This vote will result in the five organizations that comprise AAHPERD being transformed into one comprehensive organization.

Attending the convention was an exceptional experience for most of the Tusculum students. Prisco said she had an excellent experience attending sessions, presentations and meeting other professionals of various physical education and sports-related fields. She said it was inspiring to see so many people working passionately for the same goal of increasing the public’s activity level and improving their health.

The students also expressed appreciation for Dr. Mahal’s initiative and efforts that made the trip possible to provide the students with such an important learning experience and part of their professional development.

Dr. Mahal and the students also expressed appreciation for the financial support from the Tusculum administration, the Teaching and Professional Growth Committee and the Physical Education and Sports Studies Department.

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The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Career Coach will be visiting the Tusculum College main campus on Tuesday, April 26, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.   The Career Coach is a mobile unit designed as a community resource for employers and jobseekers.  Tusculum students will have exclusive access to one of the first visits in East Tennessee.  Workshops will be provided on Resume Development and Interview/Job Search Skills.  Four sessions will be provided throughout the day with a schedule as follows:

9 -10:30 a.m.   Resume Workshop sessions

10:30 a.m.-Noon: Interviewing Skills workshop sessions

Noon-1:30 p.m.:  Interviewing Skills workshop sessions

1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. :  Resume Workshop sessions

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development rolled out the Career Coaches program in January.  Three mobile units were purchased with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and serve each division of the state (East, Middle and West).   The mobile units are set up as computer lab classrooms, each having 10 workstations that are equipped with a laptop with high-speed Internet connection. At one end of the coach is the instructor’s workstation that is connected to a 42″ flat-screen TV with SmartBoard® overlay and a DVD/CD player. The coaches are equipped with a

wheelchair lift, and the workstations are ADA compliant.

To register for the Tusculum College sessions, students must RSVP to Amanda Waddell, Director of Career Development (awaddell@tusculum.edu).  For more information on the Career Coach program, please visit http://www.getonthecoach.tn.gov/ or contact Ms. Waddell for more information.

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Tusculum College will be opening a new Education Lab at the Knoxville Regional Center. This lab will allow curriculum development materials to be displayed and checked out for student and faculty utilization. The Education Lab will be utilized for active learning opportunities to include, but not limited to, lesson and unit plan development from curriculum materials, development of classroom materials, classroom laboratory setup, and other related activities.

The School of Education will be hosting an Open House on Friday, April 15, at the Knoxville Regional Center, from 4-6 p.m. Everyone is invited.

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A Tusculum College class presented a donation to the CHIPS (Change Is Possible) organization on Wednesday, April 6, following its studies and activities focusing on gender issues.

Students in Dr. Angela Keaton’s “Theory and Practice of Citizenship” course hosted a Women’s Fair on Monday and Tuesday, April 4 and 5, in the Niswonger Commons to provide information about these issues. As part of the Women’s Fair, one group of students from the class hosted an unique bake sale to highlight the gender pay gap. The proceeds from the bake sale were donated to the CHIPS program, which is dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse. Keaton is an assistant professor of history and director of the Honors Program at Tusculum.

To help illustrate differences between pay for men and women, the students sold baked goods at different prices, $1 to males and 75 cents to females. The packaging for the baked goods also contained information about gender pay issues.

As part of the Women’s Fair, another group of students collected a large box full of old wireless phones and accessories to donate to HopeLine, Verizon Wireless’ program that works to prevent domestic violence and raise awareness about the issue. The HopeLine program has awarded more than $7.9 million in grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country and has distributed more than 90,000 phones with the equivalent of more than 300 million minutes of free wireless service to victims of domestic violence.

A third group of students developed interactive activities for the Women’s Fair to provide information about women’s heart health.

Following the presentation of the donation, Carolyn McAmis, the executive director of CHIPS, talked to the students about the organization’s service. The CHIPS organization provides a free, confidential and safe shelter to victims of domestic abuse in Carter, Greene and Unicoi counties. In addition, the organization provides individual and group counseling, case planning and referral to appropriate support services and criminal justice/legal advocacy for help through the legal process.

While CHIPS receives grant funds for operating expenses and revenue from its thrift store in Unicoi County, McAmis said, donations such as the one from the Tusculum students are also important to provide for special needs of those it serves.

She explained that some victims leave an abusive situation with only the clothes they are wearing, some have had to leave essential medications or have had a pair of glasses broken by their abuser, and CHIPS helps provide for those and similar needs.

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Myron J. “Jack” Smith, Jr., professor of library science and history and director of the Thomas J. Garland Library, will be one of six presenters when the Association of Lincoln Presenters comes to Greeneville, April 14-17, for their annual Lincoln Colloquium, held this year at the General Morgan Inn.

Smith will present an illustrated talk on the history of the McCormick Hall bell. According to a story by Dr. Landon C. “Daddy” Haynes in the 1942 college yearbook, the bell now housed in the tower came to Tusculum in 1890 as payment in kind for student tuitions. Over the years, the bell has been rung to call the community to various events, to note the achievement of significant milestones or just to hear its rich sounds. Smith will profile the exciting history behind the 400-pound brass bell.

At Tusculum since 1990, Professor Smith is the author of more than 80 books, including six on the Civil War. He authored the bicentennial college history Glimpses of Tusculum with Professor Emeritus Donal Sexton in 1994. Several of his latest titles are available for purchase at the College bookstore.

Additional information on the Colloquium and other activities of the Association of Lincoln Presenters’ Annual National Convention can be found at www.ALP2011.thelincolnproject.com.

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Historic New Hope Cemetery continues to emerge with the continuing work to rehabilitate the only remnants of what was once an African-American church and school in the Tusculum community.

The cemetery now looks very different and a database has been created about the individuals buried in the cemetery due to the recent efforts of a service-learning class at Tusculum College. The class was taught by Robin Fife, assistant professor of social science.

Located near the intersection of Oak Grove and Old Shiloh roads in what is now a residential area, the cemetery was at the site of what had been the New Hope Presbyterian Church and an affiliated school, established by former slaves following the Civil War. When students learned that the focus of the course would be the rehabilitation of the cemetery, some said they were surprised and doubtful that they would be able to do much of significance.

Discovering how much can be done through a focused effort in a short amount of time is one of the lessons students in the class say they learned from their experiences.  The students were able to accomplish a great deal from beautifying the cemetery to creating a database of individuals buried in the cemetery that will aid in genealogical and historic research. The students also created a grid of the cemetery, mapping out and recording the location of the tombstones and other features of the cemetery. One group created family trees for some of the individuals buried in the cemetery, while another researched the best practices for preserving the tombstones and then put them into practice in cleaning lichen from the markers.

One group sought donations for the rehabilitation process and made recommendations of how the New Hope Cemetery Committee can possibly raise funds for the cemetery’s continued rehabilitation and its maintenance in the future. Another group recorded the progress of the class and made sure that the groups were communicating to ensure efforts were coordinated. The class members gave a presentation about their efforts Wednesday, April 6, which was attended by a number of community members, including members of the New Hope Cemetery Committee.

The class members divided into small groups to take on individual projects that involved their interests and talents. Class member Tom Salinas, from Brownsville, Texas, said that the students were not presented with a specific project to complete. “We had a problem, and we came up with our own projects and solutions,” he said. “Overall, it was a really wonderful experience.”

Clare McBeth of Martin said she learned that a small group can make a difference. “When we all got together and worked hard, we saw things can be changed.”

Other students spoke of the challenging nature of the project and a sense of accomplishment that came after a project was completed. “I like challenges,” said Donayle Watson of Elizabethton. “We had a challenge, and it was doing something to help the community.”

Charles Shrewsbury of Stanton, Va., recalled visiting cemeteries as he accompanied his father on family genealogical searches and said it was rewarding to be able to do something to help family members of those buried in the New Hope Cemetery have access to the cemetery.  “Family relationships are important,” he said. “No one should be forgotten.”

The group that undertook the cleaning of the cemetery did plenty of that type of work, such as raking up leaves that filled 13 large trash bags. But, they also worked to make the cemetery a more attractive place for visitors by refinishing and repainting three benches that are now providing a place to sit and reflect in the cemetery. The benches were donated to the cemetery through one of the students in the class. The students also built a bridge over the deep ditch between the edge of the road and the entrance into the cemetery.

This group also made some discoveries as they worked. The students uncovered a set of steps at the back of the cemetery that may have led to either the church or the school.

The plotting and mapping group created a grid of the cemetery, using string and stakes to divide the cemetery into four foot by four foot squares. The group then recorded everything located in the squares to create a blueprint and map of the cemetery.

A related group researched the best practices in conserving the tombstones and compiled a list of “do’s and don’ts” for those who would be working in the cemetery in the future.  The group put what they learned into practice, beginning the process of cleaning lichen from some of the markers.

Another group recorded the names of those found on the tombstones, which began their research into who was buried in the cemetery. Researching death certificates, cemetery lists and other information, the students were able to compile a database of individuals buried in the cemetery, listing names, birth and death dates, occupations and causes of death as possible. In their research, the students found the names of 54 persons who may be buried at the cemetery. The students said based on the information they found,  they are almost certain 43 of the 54 are buried in the cemetery, thirty of which are in marked graves and 13 in unmarked.

The group found one person with a Tusculum College connection - Aaron Gudger who was a janitor at the college prior to his death as a result of a car accident.

Another group researched various families whose members are buried in the cemetery and created family trees for those families. The students researched census, birth, death and other records and contacted family members to learn more about the families.

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“What are you going to be when you grow up?”

Local high school students were given information to help them answer that question and how to get there during the Junior Conference at Tusculum College on Thursday.

Eleventh graders from all five high schools in Greeneville and Greene County attended the second annual event at Tusculum, hosted by the College’s Office of Admission and the Alumni Executive Board.

Welcoming the high school students to campus, Tusculum President Nancy B. Moody encouraged the juniors to pursue education following graduation whether it is at a technical school, a community college, a state university or a private college.

Keynote speaker for the opening session of the conference was Nathan Honeycutt, an owner of Honeycutt Architecture who has been the lead designer on many architectural and master planning projects in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and China.

Honeycutt told the students that he was fortunate in that he knew he wanted to be an architect at an early age, and encouraged them to begin to think about their future. “Today would be a good day to begin,” he said. “What will your story be?”

Those who may be exploring that question of a career should look at what they enjoy doing and even consider the television shows, movies and other activities they enjoy. Honeycutt also told the students to not be afraid of failure, but to persist in pursuing their goals.

Following the opening session, the students attended two sessions from the more than 20 college track, vocational track and career track sessions offered.

The career/professional and vocational tracks included such areas as sport management, nursing, education, athletic training, business, law, pharmacy, speech therapy, medical technology respiratory therapy and real estate.

Representatives from Mountain States Health Alliance, Laughlin Memorial Hospital, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Coffman Oil Company, Parrish Property Management, the Tennessee Technology Center, the Greeneville School System and the Greeneville Astros volunteered their time to lead the sessions.

In the sessions, students learned first-hand about the educational requirements for various careers and positions, income levels and the daily tasks of individuals in those careers and positions.

The College Track sessions, led by Tusculum College staff members, involved sharing information about college admission test preparation, college interviews, financial aid and admission processes and college life.

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Fashions of the 1940s will be celebrated April 19 during a benefit for Greene County Habitat for Humanity.

“Vintage Chic Love Affair” is the theme for a fashion show coordinated by the Tusculum College Bonner Leader student service organization and Center for Civic Advancement to benefit Greene County Habitat for Humanity. The fashion show will begin at 6 p.m. on the terrace at the General Morgan Inn.

The fashion show will feature about 30 Tusculum students, some children and community members modeling vintage fashions from the Greene County Habitat’s ReStore. Bonnie Weston, student life coordinator for multicultural affairs, and Tusculum student Trevor Long will be the master of ceremonies for the event.

“This is Habitat’s fourth year working with the Tusculum Bonner Leaders,” said Vicki Culbertson, executive director of Greene County Habitat for Humanity. “We’re excited about this year’s Fashion Show…it just gets better and more entertaining every year!  It is such a pleasure to watch the Bonner Leaders plan, organize, and work toward the ‘big event’.  They take pride in their community involvement and in helping Habitat’s mission to provide decent, safe, affordable housing to families in need.”

Sponsors for the event are Andrew Johnson Bank, Blackburn, Childers & Steagall PLLC, Bob’s Factory Outlet, Tusculum College Center for Civic Advancement and the college’s Student Government Association.

Refreshments will be served during the event.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. The fashions modeled will be available for purchase following the show. Tickets are available from the Center for Civic Advancement by calling 423.636.7372 and will be available at the door.

All the proceeds will benefit Greene County Habitat for Humanity in its efforts to help families achieve the dream of homeownership by providing decent, safe, affordable housing with a no interest mortgage. Habitat is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian ministry that provides homes to people in need regardless or race or religion and welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.

The Habitat ReStore, in a new location on the 11E Bypass across from the Lighthouse Assembly of God Church, provides funds to Habitat from its sales of donated clothes, collectibles, household items, furniture and other items, and those funds are used in Habitat’s efforts to provide affordable housing for residents of Greene County.

The ReStore accepts donations of clothing and accessories and those who may have some items they may want to give are encouraged to do so prior to the event so their fashions may be used. Donations of clothing can be used as part of charitable giving for tax purposes.

Celebrating its 18^th birthday in May, Habitat has placed families in 26 houses throughout Greene County.  The organization is currently planning a house dedication/celebration for the house donated by John Deere Power Products and has started work on a build project, partnering with Cross Roads Missions and Wal-Mart Distribution Center to construct the 27^th home.

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A mystery with a twist, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” will be coming to the stage April 14-17 at Tusculum College.

Revelry Repertory Theatre will premier the original mystery with performances at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14-Saturday, April 16 and a 2 p.m. matinee, Sunday, April 17. All performances will be in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building on the Tusculum College campus. The play is part of Tusculum College Arts Outreach’s 2010-11 performance and lecture series.

“Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” written and directed by respected local actor Doug Presley, explores the notorious, unsolved 19^th century serial murders of prostitutes in the White Chapel section of London.

However, audiences should not expect a definite answer to the mystery of the identity of Jack the Ripper as each performance will have a different ending presenting one of four separate possible suspects as the murderer. Presley describes two of the suspects as probable candidates as the murderer and the other two as interesting suspects. Each performance’s ending will be a surprise to all but the stage manager, crew and the actor playing the Jack the Ripper suspect for that evening.

Presley first began to research Jack the Ripper as he was searching for a topic on which to base a scary play to be staged at Halloween. But, the deeper he researched about the murders, Presley said he realized he needed to tell the story of the victims of the crimes and their struggles to survive in the poorest section of London, which was the most prosperous city in the world at the time.

One of the victims was a widow, whose husband had died two years prior to her murder on Christmas Day, and with the low wages in jobs for women, had to resort to prostitution to provide for her family, Presley noted.

Another of the victims, Mary Kelly, was a woman of higher means than the other victims, an artist who was part of a brothel in the prosperous West End of London, Presley said, which prompts the question of what she was doing in White Chapel. An answer to that question is proposed in one of the endings.

In telling the stories of the victims, the play does not lose the edginess and scariness in depicting the vicious murders and the desperation and destitution of life in White Chapel. The play’s characters, some colorful and others unsavory, are expertly brought to life by a talented cast of actors, who include some local favorites including Wess duBrisk, Chris Greene, Seth Holt, Sandy Nienaber, Robbie Poteete and Brian Ricker. Due to a medical emergency of a cast member, Presley will also be appearing in the play. The cast also includes a number of Tusculum College students such as Jade Bussell, Anney Cox, Zackery Elliott, Valerie Harrell, Allison Harris, Andrew Herzig, Josh Hickson, Billie Jennings, Kayla Jones and Jeffrey Peck.

Accentuating the poverty of White Chapel and the gruesome crime scenes are the sets, expertly designed for the play by Frank Mengel, technical director and stage manager of Tusculum College Arts Outreach. The revolving sets also include the insides of the homes of the suspects, providing more clues into the mindset of those who may have been Jack the Ripper.

Period attire for the actors is being provided by Barbara Holt, costume director for Arts Outreach.

The playwright and director also received assistance in keeping the dialogue period-appropriate from one of the cast, Wess duBrisk and his wife, Marilyn, who is artist-in-resident at Tusculum College and director of its Arts Outreach program.

Presley is a veteran of many of the Arts Outreach theatrical programs under duBrisk’s direction and first appeared on stage at age nine in the Annie Hogan Byrd auditorium. “I never dreamed that a play I wrote and directed would be performed on the same stage where I started,” he said.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors (60 years of age and older). With the nature of the story, the violent murder of prostitutes, no children’s tickets will be sold. To reserve tickets, please call 423.798.1620 or e-mail jhollowell@tusculum.edu.

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