60s

Sanda M. Abramson ’65 was awarded the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award by the Boy Scouts of America. The award is for outstanding service by an adult to the youth from rural or low income urban backgrounds. Sanda was recognized for her work with at risk and lower income families for more than 30 years in this area.

Peter Andersen ’69 recently wrote, “The opportunity Tusculum University gave me is the major reason for my success as a teacher and varsity basketball coach at Fallston High School in Maryland. I returned to my alma mater, Manassas High School. Success continued as head basketball and head baseball coach. Championships, achieving more than 200 wins as a basketball coach and baseball championships were not what it was about. Relationship with players, watching them succeed and go on to college to this day remains my greatest memories. I owe everything to Tusculum University in the man I became and person I am now.”

 

80s

Dr. Scott Niswonger ’87 H’06 will be honored with an honorary degree from the University of Tennessee at the May Commencement ceremonies. Dr. Niswonger turned his passion for aviation into several thriving businesses with annual sales of more than $1 billion. He began his career as a corporate pilot for the president of the Magnavox Company before establishing a cargo airline, General Aviation Inc., in 1973. He sold that company to become a vice president at Flying Tiger Lines, a military contractor and global cargo airline. He also founded Landair Services and Forward Air Corporation. Niswonger is the lead benefactor of Niswonger Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, home to a St. Jude affiliate clinic. Additionally, the Niswonger Educational Foundation now has 20 scholars in universities across the United States, 67 alumni and an annual program budget of more than $3 million. Dr. Niswonger is also is chairman of the governing board at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tennessee. He has a degree in aviation technology and a doctorate of technology from Purdue. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Tusculum.

 

90s

Terry Hackney ’94 has joined Citizens National Bank as senior vice president. Terry has 41 years of banking experience in the Morristown area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in applied organizational management from Tusculum, is a graduate of the Tennessee School of Banking and the Southeastern School of Consumer Lending at Vanderbilt University and is a United States Army Vietnam-era veteran. Before joining Citizens National Bank, Terry served as senior vice president of First Tennessee Bank and most recently as senior vice president of commercial lending for Citizens Bank of New Tazewell. Terry was named United Way of Hamblen County Volunteer of the Year in 2015 for his 28 years of service with the Ministerial Association Temporary Shelter in Morristown.

Scott Wills ’96 has joined Century 21 Masengill-McCrary Realtors. A graduate of Tusculum, Scott obtained his real estate license in 1996 and broker’s license in 2003 and has been an auctioneer since 2000. Those interested in buying, selling, or auctions can call Scott at 423-329-0322.

 

 

Leon Brown ’97 has been inducted into the annual Old Timers Hall of Fame. Leon, who retired in 2016, was a coach and teacher at Cleveland High Scho

ol for 38 years. A native of Harlan County, Kentucky, he was a graduate of Cumberland High School in Cumberland. During his high school career he was an All-District Basketball player, Most Valuable Player in Football, an All-state footballer and recipient of the John R. Creech Award as Most Outstanding Athlete in any sport at Cumberland High.

He received a football scholarship to Carson-Newman University, from which he graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science in secondary education/physical education and drive education. He received his master of education from Tusculum College in 1997. He began his coaching career at Daniel Boone High School in Jonesboro. In 1978, he became an assistant football coach at Cleveland High. For the next 18 years, he served as an assistant coach. During this time, the Blue Raiders had an overall record of 178 wins to 33 losses and won three state championships and a 54-game winning streak. During his time of CHS, he also served as assistant coach for wrestling, freshman basketball and track. In 1997, he became the head football coach after Monroe stepped down. He served eight years as head coach with a record of 61 wins, 29 losses for a 67.8 winning percentage. During his time there, he never had a losing season and reached the playoffs each year. His team won the region title five times. He was Region 4-4A Coach of the Year for 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003. In 2001, he was named a Tennessee Titan Football Coach of the Week. Leon is married to Barbara, who is also retired from Cleveland City Schools. They have two sons — Nicholaus and Nathan, and five grandchildren.

 

00s

April 19 was observed as Jared Moss ’00 Day in Ascension Parish. Born in Mandeville, Jared began playing soccer at age 4 and has continued playing throughout his life. He helped win the state championship in 1996 at Mandeville High School, where his teammates called him “The General.” He attended Tusculum after graduation, starting as a freshman and serving as a team captain. He and his father worked together on Mandeville’s Pelican Park. Jared lives in Ascension Parish with his wife, Shana, and their soccer-playing children, Lillie, Murphy and Henry. The children are active in the Gonzales Soccer Club, of which he is president. Under Jared’s leadership, the club established a mission and amended bylaws to adopt rules and policies that put players first. The club has a strong recreational program and added the Little Kickers program for 4-year-olds, pre-academy and academy programs for players wanting to play competitive soccer and an adult coed league. He has a coaching level C grade, meaning he is among the highest level of soccer coaches in the state, according to U.S. Youth Soccer. Jared led the effort for Gonzales Soccer Club to partner with Ascension Parish on opening the Cajun Industries Soccer Park at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. He helped the parish engineering staff to determine the plan and design the park, assisted with negotiating a deal with private industry to provide all of the dirt work and a new parking lot and set the club’s direction and path when negotiating the contract of use with the parish. The park opened in 2017. Less than a month after its opening, it was the site of Louisiana Soccer’s 2017 Target Cup. The inaugural Jambalaya Cup tournament was held at the park in 2018, with more than 75 teams participating.

 

10s

Kristen Atwell ’16 ’17 has been appointed Assistant General Manager of the Greeneville Reds. This is Kristen’s first season with the Reds. She served previously as a graduate assistant coaching with the Tusculum women’s basketball program; while also serving as a director of women’s basketball operations for one year at Tusculum. Kristen was also a stadium operations intern for the Pulaski Yankees during the 2017 season. Kristen received her Bachelor of Arts in sports management from Tusculum, and received her Master of Arts with a concentration in human resource and development, also from Tusculum.

Andre De Giorgi ’17 has been named ambassador at the New York City Football Club in Garden City, New York.  He is also pursuing a master’s degree in Sport Management at Adelphi University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1930s

Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class Frances Campbell (Wade) Ostergren ’34, age 106, of Sevierville, passed away on Dec. 18, 2017. A graduate

of Sevier County High School and Tusculum, she joined the Navy Waves, a unit of the U.S. Naval Reserve for women, during World War II. She moved back to Sevierville in the 1950s to take care of her parents and was an active member of the community. Frances always enjoyed sketching and painting pictures. She began traveling throughout Sevier County sketching churches and schools along with the courthouse and its tower, swinging bridges, landscapes and houses.

Today, her watercolor paintings hang in private homes and public businesses throughout Sevier County and beyond. As family circumstances permitted, Frances became active in her community. She served on the Board of Directors of the Sevier County Fair and facilitated the floral exhibits. She participated in several bridge clubs, was a charter member of the Sevierville Garden Club and an active member of the American Legion Post 104 Auxiliary. She traveled extensively and maintained her mother’s beautiful rose garden. The Frances Wade Ostergren endowment for faculty development was established at Tusculum in 1998. The Ostergren Fund provides faculty development support with preference given to English faculty who promote public speaking in their classes through composition, analysis of speech and expression in delivery. Salary supplements for such teachers is a primary objective of the endowment, with secondary consideration given to supporting attendance at curricular conferences.

 

 

1940s

Elizabeth Miller Smith ’45 of Poughkeepsie, New York, died at home on October 3, 2017. Elizabeth attended Poughkeepsie schools and graduated from Poughkeepsie High School and Tusculum. She worked for Pan American Airways in New York City and Luckey Platt and Co. of Poughkeepsie. She also managed Rosemarie’s, a dress shop in Poughkeepsie. On November 27, 1964, Elizabeth married David DeGarmo Smith.

Mary Pauline Crews Scott ’46 passed away June 8, 2017. She was a lifelong member of Christ United Methodist Church. She was a very devoted mother and always considered the needs of her children above her own. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought an extra sparkle to her eyes, and she loved spending time with each of them. She was a longstanding member of the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society. Her survivors include Tusculum alumni: son and daughter—in-law Dr. Haden Scott ’75 and Debra (Cox) Scott ’74, Dr. Joseph Scott ’79 and son Paul E. Scott ’83. Her son-in-law John Fisher has been the architect to design several buildings on the Tusculum campus, including the recently completed Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Math. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. George E. Scott ’50.

 Allen Farrell Calcote ’48 passed away on July 17, 2017. Allen was a U. S. Army Veteran who served in World War II. He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Mississippi and taught for 33 years at Franklin High. Allen was a Mason and a member of the VFW in Franklin.

 

1950s

Dr. George E. Dunlap ’52 passed away on September 12, 2017. Dr. Dunlap practiced dentistry in Shelbyville for many years. He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee Dental School. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and was stationed in Okinawa when the war ended. He, and his wife Mary Ann, were long term members of the First United Methodist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

John W. Howe ’54 of Afton, TN, passed away December 16, 2017. John received a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Tusculum and a master’s degree in educational administration from East Tennessee State University. He was a Greene County educator for more than 40 years.  He started in a two-room schoolhouse in rural Greene County and completed his career at Doak Elementary.  His career titles were that of a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal throughout the years. In addition, he was a longtime coach of basketball and an avid fan of all sports. Many lifelong friends were made on the golf course. John was always found at the Greeneville Astros games and high school football games as his health permitted. John was a proud grandfather of nine and even prouder great-grandfather of eight boys.  The “grands” were a true delight for him! Survivors include daughter and son-in-law Pam and Angelo Botta ’75.

 

1960s

Walter Plankenhorn ’63 passed away on April 25. He after more than 25 years of service with Hamblen County Schools, where he served as the first assistant principal at East Ridge Middle School and was principal at Fairview-Marguerite Elementary School. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Tusculum and was among the first graduating class from Temple University’s Master of Middle School Administration Program.

Nathan Freshour ’68 passed away on Thursday, August 31, 2017. He was a resident of Parrottsville at the time of passing.

 

1990s

Gary Backes ’99 passed away on March 19, 2017 in New Market. Gary attended Waubonsee Community College and Aurora University. He later went on and received a master’s degree in business at Tusculum. Gary had many careers in his life. He was a Kane County Sheriff before changing to a career in technology. This career choice led him to Tennessee where he had resided for the past 24 years. In his retirement, he enjoyed his family, country living and his dogs, Sam and Emmie.

 

2000s

Stephen Kelley ’04 of Oak Ridge, passed away on Feb. 21. Steve attended Roane County High School and served in the Navy for three years. As a self-taught computer programmer, he joined his father in Scientific Endeavors, a software development company. He went on to work on cutting-edge software in several companies, most recently Third Dimension Technologies. Steve loved many things, but most of all his family.

 

By Joe Ramono ’63

 

By some weird alchemy nicknames proliferated at Tusculum from 1959 through 1964. Some were alliterative, some amusing, some clever and others appropriate. Here they are:

Magoo was Rod MacCleod ’62, Waldo was Walter Plankenhorn ’63 and Albert was Alan Roth ’63 of Morgan Hall. Yogi was Kenny East ’64 – Fred Freshman and The

Heap was Rich Sloane ’63.

Boston was Linda Shine ’65 and Brooklyn was Bob Nielsen ’62, who married Linda Clowers ’62. Pittsburgh was David Nyholm ’62 and Snookie was Pat Edwards ’64, who married Ken Hellyer ’63.

The Waste was Elena Mastrianni ’64 and Gidget #1 was Janet Aberdeen ’63, who was Fran Freshman, but left after freshman year. Gidget #2 was Anne Haller ’64. Massapequa was Marilyn Bos ’64. My nickname was Owl.

Buddha was Jean Schoenthaler ’63. Arbadella Lamb was Kay Kirchmyer ’63 and Skull was Jim Walters, who married Tena Barber ’66. Farouk was Ron Von Essen ’62, Putt-Putt was Gary Langbaum ’62, Suitcase was Bob Simpson ’61, Flaco was John Speg ’64 of Craig Hall and Penguin II was Jim Richmond ’66 of Rankin Hall.

Friendly Donnie was the head night watchman who, when he caught a student doing something absolutely normal but against some idiotic rule or another would say, “Just come along friendly-like.” Deputy Dog was his assistant.

Gyrene was the ex-marine Bob Richards ’64 of Rankin Hall. Irwin was John Cleveland ’64 of Rankin Hall, Pear was one of our roommates Reed Littlefield ’63 and Chubby Checker was Frank Nicky Nekarda ’64 of Rankin Hall.

Goose was Duane Walker ’62 of Rankin Hall, Woody was Forrest Burgener ’66 of Rankin Hall, Killer was the late Herbie Larson ’62 of Craig Hall, Oscar Meyer was Bob Meyer ’64 of Craig Hall and Red Nuts was Malcolm Campbell ’62 of Craig Hall.

Philco was Bill Macpherson ’64 of Rankin Hall, Zan Zan was Alexander Hunter ’63 of Craig Hall, Pick was Charles Pickens Stephens ’62 of Morgan Hall, Speed was Dowling Campbell ’61 of Rankin Hall and Fish was Mike Drought ’61 of Rankin Hall.

Three D was Janey Arhn ’63 of Haynes Hall, Wags was Agatha Schenk ’64, EMO was Elaine Ostman ’64 and Spot was Lita Jo Ramsey ’64.

By Joe Romano ’63

 

Dr. Jean I. Brooks was the best history professor I have ever had, and I have a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Tennessee and have taken courses at Rutgers University. At the time she seemed so old, although she was younger then than I am now. Dr. Brooks was unmarried and the perfect Puritan. She considered her abilities a gift from God, that they were not really hers and that it was up to her to practice stewardship with whatever talents she had been given.

She did not drink or smoke and exercised regularly. Periodically we would see her motoring by Rankin Hall at a fast clip wearing the high top sneakers the athletic department had ordered for her. Dr. Brooks was one of the first women to graduate, about 1918, from the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in history. Her dissertation focused on the topic of how Britain and France colonized the islands of the South Pacific, or as she put, “How they stole half of Asia.”

Each year she taught four or five sections of freshman “Western European Civilization” as well as two or three upper class courses. Over a three-year period she alternately offered every course she thought necessary for a history major’s education. But a history major had to pay attention, or he or she would lose out, since the class would not be offered again out of cycle.

There was quite a bit of test stealing in those days, but no one ever stole a Dr. Brooks test or exam. She had a small safe in her apartment in what is now called the Old College, and she locked away every copy of the test questions plus the blue books in which the students had written their answers. She also had each student sign a pledge on the last page of the blue book, “I have neither given nor received information on this test.”

At first I did not sign my tests that way. I wrote, “I have not cheated on this test.” So she called me in and asked, “Does this mean that you gave information but did not receive it?” I said no. “Then why do you sign it that way?’ I was a little ashamed, but said, “I don’t know how to spell received.” “It’s ‘I’ before ‘e’, except after ‘c,’” she said, and that was that.

She was fearless. There were many ex-servicemen at Tusculum, and just about all of them were good people who added maturity and stability to the campus. There was one man, however, who threw his weight around. He was quite a bully, and had even broken his dog’s leg. One morning he burst late into class glaring at anyone who got in his way. Dr. Brooks looked down from behind her podium, removed her reading glasses and said, “Mr. Andrews, you’re not as tough as you think you are,” then again placed her glasses on her nose and resumed her lecture.

She refused to compromise her high standards, and failed about one third of her freshman students in the required “Western Civilization.” Ken Hellyer ’63 and I admired her standards of excellence and decided to major in history, but that did not vitiate the intimidation she engendered. There was nothing more terrifying than confronting a blank physical map test of Europe and having to decipher which squiggly lines were the Rhine or Po rivers, or which set of bumps were the Carpathian Mountains.

Dr. Brooks lectured from yellowed, handwritten notes that smelled more of Woodrow

Wilson than FDR, but they were still first rate. Like Katherine Hepburn she had essential tremor. Her head shook slightly from side to side, and her voice alternated between the lower and the higher registers. Many students tried to major in history, but she winnowed them out. By our senior year there were only six of us left in our whole class. Outside the classroom she was quite convivial.

Once a year she would invite her history majors over for dinner. It did not occur to me until much later that maybe she washed out history majors until there were just enough to fit around her table. Of course a few days after each dinner she would spring a test on us that would peel off a great deal of our hides.

The best class Dr. Brooks ever taught was “The Intellectual History of Greece and Rome.” She of course plowed through “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” as well as “The Aeneid.” She dissected the Greek tragedies, and Puritan or not she helped us understand the risqué Greek comedies. Her only comment was, “Why did they have to be so dirty?”

The most turgid course on her rotating schedule was first semester “History of England.” I cannot count the times I had to fight to keep awake in that class. So at registration in January I omitted second semester “History of England” from my schedule. Dr. Brooks’ response was immediate and to the point. “I don’t consider a student a history major if he doesn’t take both semesters of History of England,” she said, her head moving slightly from side to side.

It took maybe five seconds for me to write second semester “History of England” into my schedule. Second semester was better, but not by much. The night before the first test we were studying as usual when we took a break in the lobby of Rankin Hall. “Why don’t we play a short game of hearts?’ One of us suggested, and we did. The idea of getting back to those boring, dry notes and text we found appalling, so we played another hand, and then another, and still another. When we looked up at the clock it was 7:30 a.m. Our test was scheduled for 8 a.m.

We washed up and plodded over to our classroom on the second floor of the library. Of course we had already been exposed to a lot of material in class and from the text, and some of it had stuck. There were many details, however, that we had not studied. So, we had to give the impression that we knew those details without delving too deeply and exposing our ignorance.

I had never believed in miracles, at least not until the day we got back our blue booklet test papers. Dr. Brooks’ only reaction was the strange look she gave me when she handed me my blue booklet. I held my breath and opened it to the first page. There looking back at me was a C-, a minor miracle indeed.

Eventually I teased out what had happened. Dr. Brooks categorized each of us according to our grades on previous tests. If a student wanted to go from a C to a B for example, writing one B test paper would not be enough. That student would have to write two B test papers in a row to reach the B tier. It was the same when the student went down a grade—two papers in a row.

My test paper was apparently so dreadful that with just that one test I dropped more than one whole grade. But that was ok with me. I had survived a giant case of feckless immaturity.

Still, when I look back it had been quite a coup to pull off.

The last time I saw Dr. Brooks was the following May. I was a junior. I was writing my answers to the “History of England” final. This time I had studied and was prepared. As usual I was still writing after nearly everyone had finished. Only fellow history major, Paul Lewin ’63, was there with me. Dr. Brooks had always accommodated me and waited until I was finished, and for that I was very grateful. This time she stood up, gathered the other students’ test booklets and said in her fluttering voice, “Mr. Romano, Mr. Lewin, I have a faculty meeting. When you are finished come to our meeting room, knock on the door and hand in your test booklets.”

In the fifty-six years since that day I have never been more flattered. Dr. Brooks knew there was cheating on campus. That is why she locked away her tests and blue books. But she knew there would be no cheating in that classroom that day.

The next day before we headed home I went to stop by Dr. Brooks’ office to see if I could find out my final grade. The door was closed, and I heard raised voices from way down the hall. One of the voices belonged to President Raymond Rankin.

“You need to join our church in town.”

“You know I’m a member of the chapel up the road,” Dr. Brooks said.

“I understand, but it would be advisable for you to change your membership.”

I didn’t really understand the argument. Both were Presbyterian churches.

“I am committed to my little church. I’m at home there,” she said, her voice rising with each word.

President Rankin could barely contain himself. “I insist,” he said. There was a scraping of a chair across the floor.

“Then you have my resignation,” Dr. Brooks said, her voice quavering but strong.

“You have a contract. I’ll sue,” Rankin said.

“See my association,” Dr. Brooks said, steel in her voice.

The doorknob began to turn, and I walked away as fast as I could. That was it. We were all to be deprived of her excellence, her high standards, for our senior year. In her place was a good man and a fine teacher, Luther Mundy. I liked him immediately. He was sitting behind a table at registration. There was a painted sign taped to the table that said, “Dr. Luther Mundy.” He had scratched out the Dr. and wrote Mr.

“I’m just about all done with my doctorate,” he said when he saw me staring at the sign.

“My dissertation is completed, and I’ve passed my orals, but I haven’t received official confirmation yet.”

President Rankin had over the years received two honorary doctoral degrees and insisted on being call Dr. Rankin. This struck us as hypocritical and phony, and here was this man who was earning a legitimate doctorate but would take nothing for granted until he received final word.

Yes, Luther Mundy was a good man, but through no fault of his own he was not Dr.

Brooks. A few years later my wife Sue and I had gone back to graduation when Mr. Mundy sought us out.

“I’m leaving the college,” he said. “The official reason is I want to get back to my expertise, which is church history. But it’s actually because of that man, Rankin.” And we never saw him again, either.