Virginia Hall will play host to the only permanent General Education Degree testing site in Greene County and will serve up to ten surrounding counties.

Officially opened at a January 19^th ribbon cutting ceremony, the GED site will serve community members who have not yet completed a formal High School program and are seeking to improve their education and livelihoods. Kim Gass, director of Adult Basic Education for Greeneville and Greene County was present for the event and illustrated the importance of the facility.

“It is a major hardship for many of our locals to get to a testing site. Making travel arrangement is often a key burden that prevents them from taking the test. With a facility in Greeneville I look forward to telling those seeking a GED how close to home it really is,” Gass told the crowd.

Dr. Moody addressed the audience outside Virginia Hall. Left to Right are Jewell Hamm, David Egbert, Kim Gass and Dr. Moody

President Moody was the featured speaker and shed light on the inseparable relationship between institutions of higher education and the local communities they are involved with.

“Through this project we are able to share our resources and in doing so, improve the lives of those who live here and in our region. We are very proud of this project, and its foundation in the value of education, a concept central to Tusculum College at whatever level it might be.”

Dr. Moody also named some reputable GED recipients including Bill Cosby, Dave Thomas and her mother who earned her GED at the age of 60 with four grandchildren.

The project was undertaken at the recommendation of Melissa Ripley who has now assumed the title of Chief General Education Degree Administrator for Tusculum College. Testing will take place in either Virginia Hall room 216 or Chalmers based on which program is chosen, split day or all day.

“I’ve worked consistently, every day with our mentor program since about September. Susan Doughty, TN Administrator of the GED has been involved throughout as has Kim Gass. Without the support of Dr. Moody and the institution today’s ribbon cutting wouldn’t have been possible,” Ripley told the Frontier.

The test costs about $65 regardless of which test is chosen. The expense goes towards purchase of the testing batteries (packs), an expense TC pays upfront. GED tests are a group of five subject tests which together form a battery. If passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills. The GED is also sometimes referred to as a General Equivalency Diploma or General Education Diploma.

To pass the GED Tests and earn a GED credential, test takers must score higher than 60 percent of graduating high school seniors nationwide.

“Based on what I’ve seen we will have a pretty diverse range of age groups. We hope to bring over 300 individuals through the program by year’s end,” Ripley told the Frontier.

For more information regarding testing, contact Melissa Ripley in the Admissions Office or through the TC switchboard during normal operating hours.

Tusculum College and Carson Newman students, faculty, staff and community donated a total of 329 units of blood to the Medic Regional Blood Center in the seventh annual “Blood Bowl” competition from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6 of this year.  For the Tusculum college community the Bloodmobiles were set up outside the Greeneville Wal-Mart on Nov. 2, on the Tusculum campuses of Morristown, Greeneville, and Knoxville on Nov. 5 and in the Big K-Mart parking lot on Nov. 6. The Blood Bowl was held in coordination with the Fall Fantasia Health and Wellness Fair to encourage people to donate.

The competition was based on how many units of blood each college donated. A unit is equal to one pint of blood. Tusculum College and surrounding community donated a total of 190 units trumping Carson Newman’s total of 139 units. Last year we beat Carson Newman in the Blood Bowl with a win of 173 to 122. Both years Tusculum has been triumphant because of 51 donations. Tusculum Pioneers website stated before last year’s Blood Bowl that “Tusculum won the inaugural title in 2003 and again [in] 2005. Carson-Newman has captured bragging rights in three of the last four years (2004, 2006, 2007).” In the 2007 Blood Bowl, Carson Newman beat Tusculum by a mere 5 units. However, Tusculum made a comeback by winning the past two years.

However, the rivalry between the two colleges is not the most important part of Blood Bowl. Cody Green, coordinator of the development and alumni relations and the person who arranged the majority of the Blood Bowl for Tusculum, stated “[it’s] for the greater good and brings Tusculum college and Carson Newman together.” Yet some students have shown a reluctance to donate. Such as one anonymous student that did not donate who said, “I donate blood all the time, but I didn’t donate because I don’t trust the Blood Bus. They leave bruises on people all the time and don’t seem to know what they’re doing.” It is understood that this is a concern among many people; however, they have many more opportunities to donate blood.

The Blood Bowl is not only an opportunity for fun competition but, as Cody Green, coordinator of the development and alumni relations says, “it serves a need for the community. There is always a need for blood. ” According to the Medic Regional Blood Center website, 85 percent of all blood is donated through blood drives.  Mostly anyone who is in good health, 17 years of age or older and weighs at least 110 lbs can donate.  The blood that is donated saves lives every day.  Jessica Argentiere, a first time donor and student at Tusculum, said it best “It was a good experience. I felt that I was accomplishing something and helping the world in a very small way. Yet, I was a little nervous even though I have had blood taken before.”

Meeks takes the podium before an eager audience.

Meeks was raised in middle Tennessee and the area remains her home. Even while studying environmental writing at the University of Montana-Missoula, the majority of her writing was focused on her home and the stories found therein. By way of extensive research and the in-depth utilization of primary sources, Meeks has become an expert in the analysis of TVA’s early operations and the impact it had on the areas citizens. At the heart of the agenda was rural electrification; bringing about wholesale change from an era without refrigeration, lighting and many other basic services impossible without a reliable stream of power.

The contrast between a conventional perspective on TVA as a government program meant to employ masses during the Great Depression, and the humanitarian aspect of its task and duty are profound. In the first essay presented, Meeks recalls an IMAX movie depicting the TVA in its infancy. A thoroughly documented program, massive records exist still today of nearly every detail of the TVA’s initial projects. Along with power distribution to individual homes by means of wiring, the issue of power generation was tackled head-on by the TVA through the building of hydrological dams. Empowering a disheveled region was at the heart of the cause and at the heart of Meeks writing.

Meek’s second essay intertwined the resulting improvement in the regions quality of life with a personal reflection so inherent to such creative non-fiction. During the course of her research, Meeks sorted through stacks of photographs, compiled by government funded photographers during many phases of TVA development. In one photograph, a community refrigerator and meat locker is the backdrop to a woman extracting her family’s pork. To Meeks, the photograph demonstrated the importance of such a facility and the broad scope of impact it had based on the number of family lockers, and thus the people aided by its creation. The concept of refrigeration, so basic yet central to our everyday existence cannot be overlooked when considering an era without such luxuries. Through the TVA, lives were changed and a region revolutionized.

The photograph reminded Meeks of her days at the Honey Baked Ham Company. Working in a store, refrigerators and freezers were at the heart of the operation. Along with the quality of their product, Honey Baked Ham’s relies on the inherent desire for convenience intrinsic to its customer base. While those impacted by new power in the ‘30s and ‘40s were surely in awe of the convenience of refrigeration, they would be hard pressed to imagine a store such as this packed full with shanks and butt’s, the staple of most holiday meals.

Sign up: Wednesday Dec. 2nd, 11:30-1:00

The biting wind and sub-freezing nightly temperatures across the region can mean only one thing; Winter is upon us. Along with the season and its obligatory coats will soon come Christmas. To help celebrate the season, Student Affairs has brought back a popular tradition; traveling to Bristol Motor Speedway. The trip which included twenty students in last year’s edition, includes a scenic drive around the speedway in to view its 1.5 million sparkling lights.

Students will get a chane to see  various motorsports-themed displays along with more traditional themes such as snowmen and of course, Santa. The lights are even used to form a “Dinosaur Village, complete with an erupting volcano,” according to the Speedway’s web-page.  

After driving through the expansive collection of more than 200 displays, students can hone their ice-dancing skills at the Johnson Controls Skating Rink adjacent to the speedway. While skating is a highlight of anyone’s holiday season, students usually only last about an hour and a half according to Stephanie Rhea, trip coordinator. “We went last year and everyone had a great time. After last year’s success, we had to bring it back,” said Rhea. The trip is funded through the Student Activities budget and is free of charge to any students who sign up before the list is full. 

The trip’s capacity is 20 students and sign up will be held in it’s usual location, outside the Student Affairs office. Students can join the trip starting December 2nd at 11:30 until about 1:00. If the list is not full after day one, the same hours will be used for each subsequent day until it is filled. While students are encouraged to eat in the caf before departure on December 5th, “there might be an opportunity to eat on the way back, depending on what the students want to do; we are pretty flexible when it comes to things like that,” said Rhea.

The trip represents an excellent opportunity for students to get away from campus, while still having fun with friends from TC. Sign up early to guarantee a spot and if you are lucky enough to land one, don;t forget to dress warm!

Students initially bound for the Old Harmony Cemetery, to clean and restore burial markers, were instead given the task of cleaning various locations on campus. In the spirit of Nettie Fowler McCormick, who infamously took a white glove to student’s living spaces on campus, the re-directed work force cleaned hallways and windows across campus, including work in the Niswonger Commons, Thomas J. Garland Library and Treadway Science Building.

“We were initially pretty disappointed when we found out we would be staying on campus, but after we got to work the mood really changed for the better,” said Freshman, Perry Morgan. Morgan, along with Dr. Stone’s Tusculum Experience class worked to clear mold from books in the library and to clean bathrooms in Treadway. “It was nice to know we were helping the janitors, it really made me feel more apart of the campus,” Ariel Hawkins, also a freshman, told the Pioneer.

The on campus activities were also boosted through participation by President Moody, members of the cabinet and various other staff members who focused on landscaping while the majority of students worked on interior rooms. Dr. Moody drew laughter from the crowd in the morning’s opening ceremony when she mentioned Nettie’s reaction to the cleanliness of student’s rooms today. Ariel Hawkins told the Pioneer “Right after we were done I cleaned my room, it just made me think about what Nettie would say.”

An emphasis this year was the participation of Bonner’s Leaders in the opening ceremony. Through the illustration of service as it has impacted their Tusculum careers, Estefania Chavez and Boazin Katina, both seniors, delivered strong arguments for service both today and in the future. Chavez later told the Pioneer, “Volunteering is important not only to the people being helped, but to those volunteering also, especially for students. It opens doors and provides opportunities down the road in terms of networking and experience.”

Bonner’s produced all of the Nettie Day signs found throughout campus and requires each member to participate in Nettie Day, along with numerous other community service oriented activities. Members, including 17 upperclassmen who were not otherwise required to participate, were given their choice of service locations. Some, including Chavez, stayed on campus to help orchestrate the day and thank volunteers.

Because Tusculum Experience classes include Nettie Day as a mandatory activity, the vast majority of student volunteers were freshman, or students otherwise new to the College. The participation of Upperclassmen in Nettie Day is encouraged though, and the experience of students who have put in multiple years is overwhelmingly positive. Mary Ann Vizcarondo participated in her third Nettie Day on Thursday, and still finds it to be an overwhelmingly positive method of volunteering. “Every year I am exposed to new aspects of our community, for instance I had never heard of the Child Advocacy Center and had no idea the work they do.” Vizcarondo teamed up with Jackie Elliot’s class and helped clean the kitchen area of the Child Advocacy Center in Mosheim.

Each volunteer felt apart of the Child Advocacy Center's 'Giving Tree'

“No one really enjoys cleaning a kitchen, but everyone had a good time because we knew how hard the employees work and the horrific things they deal with everyday. We were helping the employees, and more importantly freeing their time to help kids,” said Vizcarondo.

Last year, Vizcarondo’s block one professor, Treyton Williams, encouraged his class to volunteer on Nettie Day with a ten-point incentive added to the student’s grade. While some contend that encouraging volunteer work through such avenues cheapens the overall spirit of the deed, it is likely that community members benefiting from the service care little for it’s motivation. “I’m pretty sure I was the only non-freshman at the Child Advocacy Center; If it weren’t for William’s class last year, I might not have gotten involved in the first place. For the amount of time and effort required of us, it was once again a very rewarding experience.”

Students at the Humane Society helped exercise dogs and get more aquatinted with human interaction. Photo provided by Communications Dept.

Passport Palooza is the nickname of Student Affairs new housing and registration program designed to encourage early registration for classes and submission of FAFSA forms. The introduction of a new system can be a difficult adjustment for students but through a myriad of e-mails, bulletin board posters and even individual fact sheets littered across the floor of Niswonger, the Student Affairs office has tried to get the message out.

The new system is constructed of several check points, all of which advance students towards class registration and financial aid submission by the dangling carrot, housing. The hope is that by harnessing students concern for their housing next year, the same students will submit FAFSFA information before the Feb. 15^th deadline. Also, FAFSA is a first come first serve system, meaning that early submission benefits students. “It’s important to remember that with FAFSA, when the money is gone, it’s gone. In a time of economic crisis the simple fact is that there are not as many funds available to students” said Dean McMahan.

Along with the benefits of early financial aid registration, students must meet with various offices to submit their course selections for next year, confirm financial standing with the school and of course, make sure there are no outstanding library books, parking tickets or other inconvenient blocks to their registration.

This year all of the relevant offices will be uprooting and going to Chalmers, where students can meet with everyone they need to in one location. Of course, it’s hard to get students to attend such an event, that’s why student affairs will be holding housing lottery drawings in Chalmers on the same days, Jan. 21^st and 22^nd from 9 a.m. until 5p.m. each day.

The lottery drawing is not for a specific housing location on campus, rather it is a numerical drawing, deciding who will pick first, second and so on. Seniors and upper classmen will be happy to hear that seniority is the primary decider in where your number will be in the spectrum.

When you finish the process of meeting with the offices of Business, Financial Aid, the Registrar and Student Affairs, students will draw a number based on their year as determined by the registrar’s office. Seniors, along with various leadership groups (ie. Honors, Bonner Leaders, President’s Society and Student Government Executive Officers) will pick from one basket, lets say that basket contains numbers 1-100. Rising juniors will then choose from a second basket, hypothetically 101-200; Rising sophomores and continuing freshman will select from the third tier of numbers.

After leaving Chalmers with their number and paperwork, students have until Feb. 20^th to figure out which classes they need to be taking. This is done with each student’s personal advisor and meetings are made on an individual basis.

Advising week is from Feb. 16^th to the 20^th, but students can meet with their advisors at their own convenience. Once the schedule is put together, registration day is the day students take their proposed schedules to the first floor of Virginia Hall along with their student affairs issued passports. There are different registration days based on student’s year in school and the distinctions are the same as those made in the lottery drawing process. Seniors and student leadership groups will Register on Feb. 23^rd followed by rising Juniors the 24^th, with everyone else registering on the 25^th and 26^th.

After all of the registration requirements are met, the actual housing lottery is the last event is the Passport Palooza process. On March 2^nd, starting at 6 p.m. in the Pioneer Arena, numbers will begin to be called. The way the process works is that student number one will choose which building they want to live in. If “student number one” wants to live in any building other than the apartments, they can pull another student, regardless of their numerical rank, with them as a roommate. “The idea is that anyone who shares bedroom quarters can pull a friend into their room with that friends consent. We don’t want to force random roommates on anyone, ultimately this is what I think students want” said Dean McMahan. The only building where such tag alongs are not permitted is the apartments because no apartments have shared bedrooms.

It is also apparent that if every senior chooses an apartment, there will still be some left over; there are 180 apartment bedrooms available. Each student will be called by their number to choose which building they want to live in. Actual room assignments are not in student’s control except in some handicap situations.

Another new aspect to the housing system is the evening out of housing prices between each building on campus. If in the past a student had been forced to choose a dormitory other than an apartment because of the price, they can now choose based on the best available housing rather than being forced to live within their fiscal means. Coincidently the prices of many dormitories will be rising while apartments will actually see a price decrease.

The increased price in lower quality housing is likely to be one of the controversial issues revolving around the new system, but the plans designers, Jonita Ashley-Pauley and Dean McMahan are confident that “equal housing opportunities will improve distribution of students across campus instead of having those who cannot afford more expensive housing relegated to the same buildings.”

Ultimately, Tusculum is adopting a housing strategy consistent with those utilized by the majority of colleges similar in size. The hope is that students will register for classes as early as possible, securing courses vital to their graduation and to encourage early submission of Financial Aid requests. On the night of March 2^nd, the Pioneer Arena will undoubtedly be filled with hundreds of students and the anxious tension they carry, excited to secure a room they are happy with.

The fact remains that many, specifically underclassmen, will be disappointed with their housing options. The only comfort they might draw from is that in coming years they will also be able to take a number from the senior basket.

Student Affairs Passport Palooza flier was sent to each TC student e-mail account.

Interim President of Tusculum College Dr. Russell Nichols

TC’s top job still permanently unfilled

over a year after Henry’s departure

The Tusculum College Presidential Search Committee has been actively perusing Tusculum’s next president since July 2007. In that time they have hired an Atlanta based firm, John McRae and associates to aid in the search and have brought two batches of prospective candidates to the College’s campus. As Tusculum grows and attempts to adapt to an ever changing educational landscape, the next president will have a central role in the college’s future success or failure. Unfortunately the search has been stymied again and again by candidate withdrawals and secret dealings between top candidates and other schools.

Late last year The Pioneer Frontier reported that the search committee’s top choice, Dr. Craig Turner of Hardin Simmons University in Texas ended up signing a contract with SAC rival Catawba College. The decision to become Catawba’s next president came as a complete surprise to members of the Tusculum Search Committee who were unaware of any talks between Dr. Turner and any school other than Tusculum. While the news was difficult to digest, days later the committee was presented with an even tougher pill to swallow, their second choice, Dr. J. Partick Raines of Belmont University withdrew his name, effectively eliminating much of the committee’s progress and forcing them to generate a new pool of candidates.

Despite the unforeseen set backs, the goal remained to have a new sitting President by the start of the 2008/2009 school year. In March, the Presidential Search Committee announced it had narrowed its second pool of candidates to three. The second group of candidates included Dr. Steve Jones, chancellor of the University of Alaska, Dr. Michael Looney, provost and VP of academic affairs at Schriener University in Texas and Richard Brewer Jr., VP of planning and student affairs at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina.

All three candidates came to Tusculum on separate visits to engage in an extensive interviewing process and to meet with members of the TC community. After the interview process the committee decided not to recommend Brewer Jr. to the Board of Trustees, the group who will ultimately decide the College’s next president. Ken Bowman, chairman of the Search Committee and Board of Trustees told the Frontier that “While Brewer has several notable strengths and generally interviewed extremely well on campus, the PSC did not feel the fit was as good as we wanted.”

With one candidate down, Dr. Jones and Dr. Looney appeared to be in competition for the committee’s all important recommendation. Once again at no fault of the Committee the bottom fell out of the search. Dr. Looney withdrew his name from the search in a formal withdrawal notice. According to Bowman the notice was final and left no room for follow up. Dr. Jones, who had expressed to the committee that he was engaging in other presidential searches as well, signed on as the President of Urbana College in Urbana, Ohio before the Committee could recommend him to the Board of Trustees.

Following their second pool of candidates in under a year, the committee in association with John Mcrae has yet to recommend a prospective president to the Tusculum Board of Trustees.The primary causes have been personal withdrawals and the signing of standout candidates by other schools similar to Tusculum. Fortunately in the absence of Tusculum’s next permanent President, the interim President Dr. Rusty Nichols has agreed to remain with the school for at least a while longer.

This article continues below.

Dr. Nichols came to Tusculum in August of 2007 on an interim basis after 20 years as President at Hanover College in Indiana. During his time in Indiana Dr. Nichols managed a campus similar to Tusculum’s in size and student population. Dr. Nichols moved to Tennessee in leaving his wife and friends behind to help Tusculum in the absence of a permanent president. When hired the interim basis was a two year period and according to Bowman The Committee has not discussed the possible departure of Nichols before a candidate is reccomended to the Board of Trustees.

In some ways Dr. Nichols presence has prolonged the search process because of the high standard of leadership he has shown the school and it’s board members. The Presidential Search Committee has committed itself to finding and recommending only the most qualified of candidates even at the cost of a prolonged search. The silver lining is that in Dr. Nichols we have a well respected and battle tested interim at the helm, at least for now.

In the event Dr. Nichols returns home to Indiana, two members of the Tusculum Board of Trustees have played the role of interim president before. Dr. Kormondy who has served as an administrator at several academic institutions and Dr. Angelo Volpin, also a former college president served as interim presidents following Dr. Henry’s departure. The other option would be another Interim hired through a firm similar to the one used in Dr. Nichols case. The Presidential Search Committee hopes to introduce a new round of candidates to the campus no later than December or January of this year.