Tusculum President Dr. Nancy Moody announces retirement

Dr. Nancy B. Moody, the first female to serve as president of Tusculum College, will retire at the end of 2017.

Dr. Moody submitted her letter of intent to the Tusculum Board of Trustees during their February meeting. She will continue to serve until December 31. She has served as president of Tusculum College since 2009.

Dr. Kenneth A. Bowman, chair of the board and 1970 alumnus of the college, said that a presidential search committee is being formed and will be chaired by Dr. Greg Nelson, a Tusculum College trustee. The Board will also be interviewing search firms for possible use in the search for a new president.

In her letter, Dr. Moody stated, “I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as the 27th president, and first female president, of this historic institution. In the last 7.5 years, the most memorable events for me have been the relationships that I have had the good fortune of developing with students, the Board of Trustees, alumni, members of the local community, faculty and staff, and particularly with donors, most notably Verna June Meen.

“Verna June came to love Tusculum and her interactions at events with members of the Board and others.  She expressed on more than one occasion, how proud she was to have provided support to Tusculum College for the Meen Center for Science and Math and for two endowments, one to fund scholarships and one to fund an endowed professorship in Chemistry.”

Dr. Bowman said, “It was eight years ago that Dr. Moody began the interview process for the presidency at Tusculum College.  During her tenure, she has led the college into a new era of growth and expansion, in terms of bricks and mortar, academic programs and fiscal responsibility.”

He added that one of the highlights of her term has been the construction of the Meen Center, the larger of the two academic building constructed in approximately 50 years on the Tusculum campus. The Thomas G. Garland Library renovation was the first in 2008. Dr. Moody shepherded the state-of-the-art 100,000-square foot Meen Center project every step of the way, from the initial approval to the funding and finally to overseeing the construction of this state-of-the-art facility which was occupied by students and faculty last month.

Dr. Nancy B. Moody

He added, since assuming the college presidency as the first female in Tusculum’s history to hold the position, Dr. Moody has faced several challenges.

“During her first full year at Tusculum College, we had a very successful review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Since that time, we have added new academic programs including criminal justice, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, an MBA program, the first associate degree program with more academic programs slated to begin this fall including a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management, a bachelor’s degree in talent development and a Master of Accountancy degree, all of which have been or will be reviewed and approved by SACSCOC.  We have also added new athletic programs in men’s and women’s lacrosse, track and field and STUNT, which will begin this fall.”

He continued, “Dr. Moody has embraced the opportunity to encourage faculty, staff, students and volunteers to push Tusculum College forward through creative teaching and learning into the world of online programming for dual enrollment, distance education and fully online programs.”

She has secured a total of $49.8 million in Community Facilities direct loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the construction of the new science and math facility, as well as for the construction of two new apartment-style residence halls. The lower 40-year, fixed-rate interest rates on these loans significantly lowered what the college pays in debt service, making the new construction and renovation possible while also improving the college’s overall finances.

Dr. Moody also led the efforts that secured a $3.875 million gift for the naming of the Meen Center and two $1.5 million endowments to support faculty and students. She has successfully sought new gifts, donors and partnership in order to ensure the success of the new and existing programs. Working with donors, foundations and government agencies, she has encouraged the investment of millions of dollars into Tusculum College’s growth.

Dr. Bowman added that during her tenure, cash increased from $1.3 million to $3.7 million, long-term investments increased from $12.5 million to $27.7 million, capital assets increased from $58.9 million to $71.8 million and the college’s endowment increased from $14 million to $18.6 million.

The college’s Board of Trustees recognized Dr. Moody’s contributions to Tusculum by presenting her with the inaugural Founder’s Award in February 2013. The Founders’ Award, named in memory of Rev. Samuel Doak, Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak and Rev. Hezekiah Balch, is presented by the Tusculum College Board of Trustees to recognize those who with integrity, tenacity, commitment, ingenuity and drive have moved Tusculum College forward in serving its students, its community and the world at large.

Among other significant accomplishments, Dr. Moody was instrumental in obtaining a $264,000 grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation for a simulation laboratory for use in the nursing and related programs by students and staff and area community partners. The simulation lab is used to produce highly-qualified BSN graduates skilled at clinical decision-making, who will provide safe, competent and improved health care for future generations of Tennesseans.

Partnerships with other institutions are at an all-time high. Tusculum College has arranged articulation and affiliation agreements with regional community colleges and professional schools to both increase enrollment in the bachelor’s degree programs and afford expedited graduate school opportunities for alumni of Tusculum College.

“She has engaged with alumni and friends of the College, encouraging their continued interest and support in the institution. She has reminded all of the Tusculum community what it means to be a Tusculum Pioneer,” said Dr. Bowman.

Prior to joining Tusculum College, Dr. Moody was president of Lincoln Memorial University for seven years.  Under her leadership, LMU’s enrollment increased by 90 percent.  The university also initiated the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and expanded the Caylor School of Nursing to include a master of science in nursing degree program with family nurse practitioner and nurse anesthesia concentrations.  Other programs initiated under her leadership included a master’s degree program preparing physician’s assistants and a doctorate of education degree.

A registered nurse, Dr. Moody began her academic career as a nursing instructor for Lincoln Memorial University in 1974 and advanced to hold several academic leadership positions there – including dean of the School of Nursing and Allied Health.  associate professor and department chair in the College of Nursing at East Tennessee State University, as the executive director of the Tennessee Center for Nursing, as assistant professor of nursing in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Prior to joining Tusculum College, Dr. Moody was president of Lincoln Memorial University for seven years.  Under her leadership, LMU’s enrollment increased by 90 percent.  The university also initiated the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and expanded the Caylor School of Nursing to include a master of science in nursing degree program with family nurse practitioner and nurse anesthesia concentrations.  Other programs initiated under her leadership included a master’s degree program preparing physician’s assistants and a doctorate of education degree.

She is the newly-elected chair of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and has served as chair of the NCAA DII South Atlantic Conference, and an advisory board member for the Northeast Tennessee College and Career Readiness Consortium funded through an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant funded by the U. S. Department of Education and awarded to the Niswonger Foundation.

Dr. Moody received her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University and earned a master of science in nursing from the Texas Women’s University Institute of Health Sciences-Houston Center in 1978.  She also received a doctorate in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Nursing.

During her career, Dr. Moody has been recognized by all three of her alma maters, Eastern Kentucky University, Texas Woman’s University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, where she received the Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award.

She is married to Tom Moody, a self-employed public accountant. She and Tom are proud parents of two adult children, daughter, Mykel, and son, Adam.