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Table of Contents

  • 1: President's Welcome
  • 4: Campus Briefs
  • 6: Unique Alumni
  • 12: Advancement
  • 18: Athletics
  • 20: Alumni Events
  • 22: Class Notes
  • 27: Obituaries
  • 33: Tell Us Your Story

ETSU President

Brian Noland

Executive Editor

Richard A. Manahan

Managing Editors

Robert M. Plummer; Jennifer Barber

Contributing Writers

Anthony Aiken; Jeff Anderson; Pat Barcel; Laure Craddock; Lee Ann Davis; Ben Daugherty; Noah Edwards; Pat Elledge; Carol Fox; James Ford; Tisha Harrison; Leisa Harvey; Donald Harvill; Jennifer Hill; Pat Holland; Brad Lifford; Ashley Martin; Lurelle Maxey; Peggy McCurry; Guillermo Mendoza; Jo Anne Paty; Cyndi Ramsey; Shea Renfro; Jeremy Ross; Fred Sauceman; Carol Sloan; Joe E. Smith; Karen Sullivan; Anthonique Tubbs; Caleb Tull; Mike White

Photography/Art

Jim Padgett; Jim Sledge; Larry Smith; Caleb Tull; Charles Warden

Publication Date

Spring 2012

President's Message

It is my honor and privilege to serve as ETSU’s ninth president. I would like to take a few moments to reflect upon where we have been as an institution, to examine our position in 2012 and to dream collectively on what we may look like in 2020. Let’s step back to the year of 2000; Dr. Stanton had just begun his third year as president. We had avoided the collapse of the banking and data system that many had projected because of the rollover in our data systems. Frank Wycheck thrilled us all with the Titans as they advanced to the Super Bowl. And we in Tennessee Higher Education were going through yet another round of coordinated master planning. The following data points provide a snapshot of ETSU at the turn of the century: • Our enrollment stood at 11,000 students. • Our full-time enrollment (FTE) was 9,100. • We had a budget of $182 million—59% of which came from the State of Tennessee. • We had 62,000 alumni. • Our endowment stood at $43 million. • Our research and sponsored programs were right around $28 million. • The baseball Bucs opened their home season with a 5-3 loss to Xavier. • And we accepted our first class of Roan Scholars. Now let’s take a look at some of the same data points in 2012 • Our enrollment is at 15,536, an all-time high. • Our FTE is at 12,418 another all-time high. • Our total budget is $343 million, however, only 31% comes from the state, 69% is generated from revenues from our students. • Our graduates have increased to 85,000. • Our endowment has increased 121% to $96 million because of the hard work of the friends of the university. • The baseball Bucs opened their season this spring at home at Thomas Stadium with a win over Eastern Kentucky. • And lastly, our Roan Scholars who in 2000 were just starting are now playing their first intramural season with the president as a member of their team. With these data points in mind, I would like to ask everyone to think about the progress of ETSU for a second and dream. A lot of people say that dreams are foolish and belong only to children and to those with idle minds. I disagree. I dreamed of coming back to East Tennessee so that my family could be near our parents. That dream came true. When I close my eyes and think of ETSU in 2020, I see 18,000 students. I see concerts in our fine arts center. I see men and women’s athletics being performed in our new convocation center. I see 40 percent of our students living either on campus or within two miles of campus. I see big-time athletics with our men’s and women’s basketball teams in the Sweet Sixteen. I see a foundation with an endowment of over 175 million dollars. I see Johnson City and Kingsport painted blue and gold. I see an engaged student body with more than 60 percent graduating on time. New businesses flourishing at Valleybrook and hopefully I’m still seeing myself running up and down the court with the Roan Scholars. This spring, we will be meeting with our faculty and staff across our 11 colleges and our 48 academic units. This effort is gauged toward listening and beginning a conversation about the future of ETSU. Later this year, we will launch a vision initiative and will create a blueprint for ETSU at our 125th anniversary. As we move and as we grow, I hope that we do not lose touch with our history, our mission and our heritage. There is much to be proud of across campus. Did you know that every program on campus that is accredible is accredited? Did you know that GI Jobs for the third year in a row rated us as one of the Veteran friendly campuses in America? Did you know that we are an All-Steinway school? Did you know that our physicians see over 45,000 patients on an average month and in Kingsport we handle 50% of the unattached care in the unattached cases? U.S. News and World Report ranks the Quillen College of Medicine third nationally for rural medicine and 19th for family medicine. Johnson City was rated as one of the top ten places in the country to go to med school and, in fact, we were the editors’ choice. Fourteen of our alumni have gone on to attain the rank of general or admiral. There are great things happening and our faculty and staff should be applauded for all of their work and their accomplishments. With your support, ETSU is a vehicle that opens doors of opportunities for first generation students. We are the institution of choice for our region’s doctors, teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. We are an institution that serves the hard-working people of Tennessee. We are not a city on the hill. We’re the people that built the hill. We go to work every day with one goal in mind - to make a better future for our students. It is my honor to be part of this effort and to be part of this family. I look forward to celebrating with you our mutual accomplishments in 2020. Once again, thank you for all that you do for our students. Thank you for all that you do for this institution. Godspeed. - Brian Noland, University President

ETSU Today - Spring 2012

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