Many would say that the only constants in our lives are death and taxes. I would add a third constant – change. The faculty, staff, students and other related aspects of the institution continue in a state of metamorphosis. On campus we watch the finishing stages of the construction of the Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Math. New programs are being added, including our Associate of Arts and the Master of Science in nursing/family nurse practitioner program in fall 2016.
Actually, 18 new academic programs have been targeted for feasibility studies from now through fall 2018. Amid all this change, the constant at Tusculum has been adherence to the core of the Tusculum College experience and a shared vision and values – integrity, education, civic responsibility – the foundation upon which we build. Our mission, to provide a liberal arts education in a Judeo-Christian and civic arts’ environment with pathways for career preparation, personal development and civic engagement, provides the structure.
With our recent Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges mid-term review, we reevaluated our Quality Enhancement Plan and refocused it on the core of our mission. We will focus on strengthening the underlying parts that give Tusculum College its culture and character and the things that unite current and former students as uniquely having completed their education at Tusculum College. Our students have for years left our campuses with not only a portfolio of experience through internships and research, but also grounded in the idea of servant leadership, with a dedication to serving their communities.
Through the new QEP focus, we plan to expand these opportunities, not only by immersing our students in experiences that provide the tools they need to succeed in work and in future studies, but also with the internal desire to share their skills and knowledge with their communities through civic engagement. The Tusculum experience is one in which we work as a community to continually improve each other through our work and through our service, as well as through the permanent connection being part of the Tusculum community provides.
We are proud to tell the world that Tusculum students do well, but also do good.
Best Regards,
Nancy B. Moody, PhD
President