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Table of Contents

  • 4: Alumni Award Winners
  • 7: Unique Alumni
  • 12: Campus Notes & Briefs
  • 16: Advancement
  • 18: Sports Spectrum
  • 22: Class Notes
  • 28: Homecoming Preview
  • 30: Sports Year in Review

ETSU President

Paul E. Stanton, Jr.

Managing Editors

Richard A. Manahan; Robert M. Plummer

Contributing Writers

Jeff Anderson; Carol Fox; Debi Frakes; Kristn Fry; Sherry Garman; Deena Gonzales; Jennifer Hill; Jennifer Hodge; Patricia Holland; Richard A. Manahan; Robert Plummer; Cindy Proffitt; Keely Richardson; Pamela Ripley; Fred Sauceman; Karen K. Sells; Joe Smith; Matt Snelling; Leslie Valley; Amanda Vance; Mike White; Lee Ann Willis

Photography/Art

Robert Plummer; Jim Sledge; Larry Smith; Lee Ann Willis

Publication Date

Fall 2003

President's Message

I wish to tell you about organizational growth, as we experience it on the campus of ETSU. Although much institutional energy was expended this year in recovering from the government shutdown at the conclusion of the previous fiscal year and in re-orienting the university to manage the massive budget cuts that followed, many significant achievements took place during 2002-2003, due in large part to the strong partnerships that we have forged over the years and the attitude of the fine faculty, staff, and students at ETSU. It took creativity, unconventional thinking, and cooperation to reach closure on the 2003- 2004 budget. And, it required courage and willingness to change, to look at old responsibilities and tasks in new and different ways. Even in the toughest of times, we have grown as a university, turning adversity into a means to reinvent, retool, reengineer, reinvigorate, and recharge. I commend each of our faculty and staff for seeking ways to do business differently without sacrificing the quality of our services to the students and the community. Our guiding principle, in all decision-making, is to preserve and enhance the core business of ETSU: teaching and learning, an enterprise in which all of us can take a great deal of pride. It was the reason we opened 92 years ago, and it sustains us and guides us today as we shape the future, one life at a time. I am encouraged by the direction Governor Bredesen is taking with higher education in our state. He has visited our campus on a number of occasions, including a visit to deliver the spring 2003 commencement address to our graduating class. He is clearly committed to increasing support for education at all levels, including higher education, and I am confident that he will find the means to accomplish his aspirations for the state’s students who have been forced to carry an ever-increasing percentage of the cost of higher education. Among our achievements, in December, we were awarded continued accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) for another 10-year period, under a new process that emphasizes increased student retention and student success. Our role as lead institution in the formation of the Northeast Tennessee Regional Academic Node is unprecedented in Tennessee higher education, as it involves our TBR partner institutions Northeast State Community College and the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton, in an effort to share resources and talent, resulting in better service to our students and more efficient use of state funds. Our position as an agent for regional economic development continues to gain in prominence and influence. At the Middle Anchor of the Med-Tech Corridor, our Innovation Laboratory serves as a business incubator for new and rising technology companies. ETSU continues to lead the TBR system in private giving. Private support from partners in the community helped us add important new degree programs to our curriculum. The new audiology program places ETSU at the forefront of preparing hearing health care professionals and represents a special partnership with our friends at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this fall. Understanding of and appreciation for our region were bolstered when Dr. Richard Blaustein, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, published a major new book entitled The Thistle and the Brier: Historical Links and Cultural Parallels Between Scotland and Appalachia. This summer, ETSU’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Services was a co-producer of “Appalachia: Heritage and Harmony,” one portion of the 37th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We continue to increase early intervention efforts to help improve students’ educational outcomes and improve graduation and retention rates. We met our Performance Funding Retention goals for the report completed in July. The one-year retention of first-time, fulltime, degree-seeking freshmen who successfully completed a First-Year Experience course increased by 4.5 percent over the baseline year. The centerpiece of our SACS reaffirmation, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) focuses on improving the success of first-time freshmen, transfers, and students studying off campus and through distance delivery. In 2002-2003, the first year of the five-year plan, ETSU accomplished several QEP goals. Each year, the Tennessee Board of Regents issues a report card, measuring the effectiveness of the system’s colleges and universities. Four of the 17 indicators in the “Data and Trends” section of the 2002 report are qualitative measures. On all four, ETSU exceeds either the TBR university average or the national average for 2002. In addition, our pass rate on the Nursing Licensure Exam was 96 percent, compared to an average of 88 percent for TBR universities. And, all of our programs eligible for accreditation have achieved it. ETSU has, for five years, essentially doubled the TBR university percentage of private giving as a portion of operating budget. The data for 2002 indicates that private funds comprised 15 percent of expenditures, whereas the TBR university average is 8 percent. We believe that our record in attracting private giving is a reflection of our service and our very strong reputation within the region. Furthermore, we find that this record reflects our solid commitment to partnerships with business and industry and also reflects the generosity of private individuals who believe in ETSU. It is my pleasure to announce a new record in funding for research and sponsored program activity at ETSU: $36 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2003. Congratulations to the faculty and staff who have worked so hard to attract grants and contracts. ETSU consistently ranks at the top among TBR schools in this category, and we have demonstrated a 135.8 percent increase in external funding over five years, compared to a TBR university average of 78.1 percent. And, we have moved from a total of $6.4 million in research and sponsored program activity in 1990-91 to $13.3 million in 1995-96, and to an amazing $36 million today. These are bright and shining examples of organizational growth, transformation, and triumph. All of them came about through collegiality, cooperation, and commitment to the cause. Ours is a caring campus, and people do indeed come first, as our primary core value states. I am deeply grateful to you for the time and talents you invest in the lives of our students and for enriching the spirit of ETSU. - Paul E. Stanton, Jr., President, ETSU

ETSU Today - Fall 2003

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