Two new department chairs have been named in the School of Arts and Sciences for the 2015-16 academic year at Tusculum College. Dr. Deborah Bryan has been appointed chair of the department of fine arts, and Dr. Melissa Keller has been appointed chair of the department of natural sciences.
Dr. Bryan has been with Tusculum College since 2007, first as a visiting assistant professor, then assistant professor and finally associate professor in the department of fine arts. From 2012 to 2015, she served as the art and design concentration program coordinator.
“Dr. Bryan has been, for years, the person most instrumental for many of the successes in art and design,” said Wayne Thomas, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, “But she’s done so primarily from behind-the-scenes. I’m grateful Dr. Bryan has agreed to serve as the leader of those programs. She works hard for her students, and they revere her.”
Dr. Deborah Bryan
She has been elected to membership in the Society of American Graphic Artists, the American Color Print Society and the Boston Printmakers. Her work has been exhibited in dozens of juried national and international art exhibitions, and while at Tusculum, she has completed four solo exhibitions of prints, photographs, drawings and artist’s books in the Allison Gallery on the Greeneville campus. She also has completed several solo exhibitions in various national settings.
In 2012, she received the National Living Faculty Award from Tusculum College. She has served on the Assessment Committee, the Admissions and Standards Committee, the Commons Advisory Committee and the Honors Advisory Committee, in addition to her responsibilities for advising students and for teaching drawing, painting, printmaking, book arts, art history, service learning in the arts, introduction to art and basic design courses.
Professor Bryan received her doctorate in clinical psychology in 1989 from Kent State University and a Master of Fine Arts in studio art in 2000 from East Tennessee State University. Her work may be viewed at www.deborahbryanprints.com.
Dr. Keller joined Tusculum College in Fall 2013 as an assistant professor of biology. Dr. Keller holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from Roanoke College and a doctorate in plant pathology from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
While in graduate school, Dr. Keller said she fell in love with teaching biology laboratory courses to freshman and chose to complete an education certification. Her graduate research focus was in agriculture, and she continued this research as a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University. She returned to education and to Tennessee, where she works with the students and faculty of Tusculum College.
“Dr. Keller is an impressive scholar, academic and teacher,” said Thomas. “In her short tenure at Tusculum, she has already tackled major initiatives and carved out tremendous successes. She’s a popular teacher amongst the students and admired by her colleagues. I’ve no doubt that she’ll be tremendously successful as the new Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences.”
Dr. Keller continues to publish in agriculture journals and her most recent articles include “Evaluation of Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Biological Control of Plum Curculio,” “Aerobiology of Fusarium graminearum,” and “Aerobiological sampling efficiency of Petri plates for use in lower atmosphere spore collection.”
Dr. Melissa Keller
She is currently collaborating with Dr. Richard Thompson and eight students on a $20,000 Appalachian College Association grant for the collection of fungal specimens in Rocky Fork State Park to be analyzed for possible bioactive compounds. While at Tusculum College Dr. Keller has served on various committees, overseen the ASafeHarborHome, Inc. Meditation Garden and is currently assisting with the installation of the arboretum on the Greeneville campus.
“Dr. Bryan and Dr. Keller are both phenomenal leaders at the college and in the community,” said Thomas. “I anticipate both of the programs thriving under their leadership for the betterment of our students, school and the East Tennessee region.”