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Table of Contents

  • 1: The President's Perspective
  • 2: A Dream Come True
  • 6: Grants Fund Major COVID-19 Research
  • 8: People Come First
  • 10: Voice Behind the Mask
  • 11: Out of COVID-19 Comes Creativity
  • 13: Resilience Forward
  • 14: Coping with 2020 Can be a Piece of Cake
  • 15: A Mission of Service,
  • 18: Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching
  • 20: Who's Going to ETSU?
  • 24: International House Opens
  • 25: The ETSU Advantage Becomes Even More Affordable
  • 26: Dateline: ETSU
  • 29: ETSU's Newest Board of Trustees Member: Melissa Steagall-Jones
  • 30: Crushing the IT Box
  • 31: Alumna Named Among 'Inspiring Black Scientists'
  • 32: ETSU Nurse Practitioners Turning Health Disparities Around in Appalachia
  • 34: Retired Maj. Gen. Gary Harrell
  • 37: Treasures
  • 38: Model Mill Provides Space for Advancement, Alumni Offices
  • 39: The Alumni Legacy Scholarship: Following the Footprints
  • 40: Jerseys for Social Justice
  • 42: Sade Smith's Race for Change
  • 43: Adapting to an Anomaly
  • 46: Class Notes
  • 48: Obituaries

ETSU President

Brian Noland

Executive Editor

Fred Sauceman

Managing Editors

Joe Smith

Advancement/Alumni Editors

Pamela Ritter; Whitney Goetz

Contributing Writers

Savannah Bennett; Karen Crigger; David Czarlinsky; Lee Ann Davis; David Fox; Mike Gallagher; Jennifer Hill; Amanda Mowell; Melissa Nipper; Brian Noland; Fred Sauceman; Jon See; Joe Smith

Cover/Graphic Design

Jeanette Henry Jewell

Photography/Art

Ron Campbell; Dakota Hamilton; Larry Smith; Charles Warden

Publication Date

Fall 2021

President's Message

A year ago, 2019 was drawing to a close. As always, the final days of the year are a time of reflection – a reflection of the people, the events, and the memories that defined the past months. It is also a season of hope and anticipation for what the upcoming year promises to bring. For East Tennessee State University, the year 2020 would have been the time we celebrated the completion of not one but two long-awaited building projects: the renovation of the D.P. Culp Student Center and the construction of the Martin Center for the Arts. New initiatives such as ETSU Promise Plus were slated to launch, our esports varsity team would play its first game, the inaugural graduates of our engineering program would receive their degrees, and our basketball team was poised for a successful season. Most importantly, 2020 would be a time when the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of more than 14,000 students would be realized. When 2020 began, the novel coronavirus had just been identified, but within a matter of weeks the reality of the pandemic would touch the life of every person in this country in some way. As you know, it resulted in significant changes and modifications to practically every aspect of our academic and business operations. Today, our campus looks much different than it did when we closed down in 2019 for winter holiday; however, many of our dreams for 2020 were still realized. Inside this issue of ETSU Today you will see photos of our extraordinary Martin Center for the Arts, a facility that has been a dream of this community for more than a quarter- century. The hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the Class of 2020 were realized as we conferred over 2,200 degrees at our spring commencement and more than 1,500 degrees on December 12. Our men’s basketball team won the Southern Conference tournament, and our inaugural Overwatch esports team earned a tournament spot as well. We had the highest fall-to-fall retention rate for first-time freshmen and also set a record for the highest graduation rate. The start of the fall 2020 semester brought the sense of excitement and anticipation that the beginning of a new academic year traditionally brings. As you will read in the pages ahead, several initiatives and process changes were made to safeguard the health and safety of everyone. Fortunately, our numbers of positive cases as well as those who were placed in quarantined housing have remained relatively low in comparison to other institutions. As we move into 2021, we have new dreams and new aspirations. And, most importantly, we have hope. May the new year bring continued safety for you and your loved ones. Sincerely, - Brian Noland, President

ETSU Today - Fall/Winter 2020-21

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