In 2013, Verna June Meen was presented with the Distinguished Service Award during the President's Dinner. Presenting the award were Dr. Kenneth Bowman '70, chair of the College's Board of Trustees, and Dr. Nancy B. Moody, Tusculum's president.
One of Tusculum College’s most recent benefactors, Verna June Meen, passed away Saturday, Oct. 24, after a sudden illness.
Two weeks ago, Meen had attended a “topping out” ceremony for the new Center for Science and Math, which is named for her and her husband, and signed a steel beam that is now part of the framework for the highest point of the four-story building under construction.
Although coming late in her life, her relationship with Tusculum College was a natural as Meen was a true “pioneer” throughout her life. Meen was born in Wolcottsville, Ind., with a strong sense of how education could change a person’s life. At a time when few women attended college, she set her sights on an accounting degree at Indiana University. With $80 and a merit scholarship, Meen set out to finance her education and worked her way through school, earning top marks. She worked hard, eventually graduating in two and two-thirds year.
Following graduation, Meen was highly recruited, receiving three job offers before earning her degree. Of the offers, she was most interested in one from Eastman Chemical Company, which she knew to be a good company. She looked up Kingsport on a map, accepted the position and found herself transplanted to East Tennessee as the very first female accountant at Eastman. She also purchased land, designed the house she would live in until her death and paid for its construction. Meen was independent and a woman of her own means.
She met Dr. Ronald Meen, a graduate of Toronto University, early in their years at Eastman. Dr. Meen was an organic dye chemist who courted her for years. She turned down his proposals of marriage, as she did not want to burden him with the responsibility of caring for her mother. However, shortly after the passing of her mother, Dr. Meen presented her a ring and asked her again. Not long thereafter she agreed and they were married. The two shared a life together that included summer trips to Canada, his home country, reading on the back deck and taking boat rides on Muskoka Lake. She also took care of his mother in her later years, initially staying with her in Canada before bringing her to Tennessee where she cared care for her in her home. Their marriage lasted until his death in 2008.
Meen signs the steel beam during the "topping out" ceremony for the new Center for Science and Math.
In her later years, Meen was a significant philanthropist, providing generous support to many non-profits in East Tennessee as well as Tusculum. Meen wanted to contribute to Tusculum as a way to honor her husband and provide educational opportunities for others, and the Ronald H. and Verna June Center for Math and Science will open in September 2016. She also established the Verna June Meen Endowed Scholarship Fund to be used primarily for female accounting majors and the Ronald H. Meen Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Chemistry. With her generosity, she became one of Tusculum’s benefactors, a term used to describe those who have given a total of $1 million or more to the College.