Philanthropy Week begins on Monday, Feb. 3

Monday, Feb. 3, 2014: Awareness Day

Your Tusculum experience would not be possible without the generosity of our donors.  Everything from spaces on campus to materials in the classrooms is a result of gifts made to Tusculum College.  Take a look at the signs around campus and learn how students benefit from outstanding donor support.  Institutional Advancement will have a table in the Commons today from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. where you can compete in a class Penny War (with proceeds going to the Tusculum Fund), participate in a campus-wide scavenger hunt about well-known Tusculum College donors (for a prize at the end of the week), and learn about the Office of Institutional Advancement. When you come by you can enter the raffle for a prize drawing at the end of the day.

 

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014: Tusculum College Appreciation Day

Take part in Thank-a-thon, your opportunity to give a nod to those who have had a part in enabling your Tusculum experience—from renovated classrooms and new materials to whole buildings and scholarship funds. Share your thanks by stopping by the Institutional Advancement table in Niswonger Commons.  We will be there from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with a photo booth and props.  We will take your picture holding “Thank You” signs that will be posted on Tusculum’s Institutional Advancement web page for our donors to see.  When you participate you can enter the raffle for a prize drawing at the end of the day.  The class Penny War jars will also be available during this time.

 

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014: Community Appreciation Day

Today is part two of Thank-a-thon!  Thank a local person or business for their positive role in our community.  Today we will provide materials for you to say thanks to local businesses that have been there for Tusculum College for years.  Come by and sign a thank-you note from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and enter the raffle for a prize drawing at the end of the day.  The class Penny War jars will also be available during this time.

 

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014: Participation Day

Do something good today for someone else and tweet about it!  Tweet @TusculumCollege and use the hashtag #TusculumGivesBack.  Your act of kindness can be anything—bring cookies to class, pay for someone else’s coffee at The Perk, pick up litter on campus—be creative!  And whatever you do, we want to hear about it!  Also on Participation Day, we would like you to know about your opportunity, as a student, to start giving back right now in order to help keep the Tusculum experience going for future generations of Pioneers.  Stop by the Institutional Advancement table in Niswonger Commons from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  to learn about the Tusculum Fund and its role in your education here at Tusculum.  There will also be a raffle for a prize at the end of the day and the class Penny War jars will be available during this time.

 

Friday, Feb. 7, 2014: Celebration Day

Today is the day to celebrate 220 years of philanthropy at Tusculum, and the dreams and goals you will be able to accomplish because of your education here.  We are asking you the question: “If money were not an object and you could do something for any person or place, what would it be?” Come write your answer on our “Dream Wall” in the Commons from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and enter the raffle for a prize, participate in the class Penny War, and eat some food!  Today is also the deadline to turn in your scavenger hunt.

Schedule information for Thursday, Jan. 30

Administrative Offices at all sites will be open on a regular schedule and morning classes at all sites will start at 10 a.m.. Afternoon and evening classes at all sites will be held on schedule.

Sculpture from Angelique Lynch featured in Allison Gallery exhibit at Tusculum College

Works by East Tennessee sculptor Angelique Lynch are on display through Feb.17 at the Allison Gallery on the Tusculum College campus.

Lynch has a MFA from East Tennessee State University in sculpture and is well versed in many processes including stone carving, metal fabrication and woodworking techniques.  She grew up in Jonesborough and now lives in Piney Flats.

Sculpture by Angelique Lynch

The work investigates social patterns associated with preconceived roles of gender and how those patterns relate to housework. The artist experiments with an array of different materials including wood, stone, steel and bronze that are fashioned into forms such as irons, ironing boards and clothes pins.

Lynch describes her work as “an endeavor to elevate ordinary household tools into artworks with meaningful resonance.”  The household tools of daily life become surrogates for her personal symbols and thoughts.

A reception for the exhibit will be held 4-6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17. For more information about the artist, contact Angelique Lynch at angeliquelynch@yahoo.com.

The Allison Gallery is open daily from 3:30 – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

‘Charles Tunstall’s World of Guitar’ performance to be postponed

Charles Tunstall’s performance scheduled for Tuesday evening has been postponed due to the winter weather.

“Charles Tunstall’s World of Guitar” will be rescheduled and the new date announced once it has been set. Tunstall’s recital will include some personal sacred and jazz arrangements, a new show-tune medley, a new 1960s medley and two or three surprise guests to accompany him on some songs.

Tunstall, who is reference and instructional services librarian at Tusculum, has more than 50 years of playing experience. Primarily self-taught, he has been mentored by a large number of individuals. Although he prefers to entertain as a solo act, he has played in a variety of bands through the years. While he is skilled on several types of guitars, his main focus is in finger-style playing on the classical nylon-stringed guitar. He emerged from a country-bluegrass background and now enjoys playing and learning music from different periods.

Admission to the recital is free. Refreshments will be served, and arts and lecture credit is available for Tusculum College residential students.

Swing dance lessons part of benefit event for band program

The Tusculum College Pioneer Jazz Band will be hosting a Valentine’s Day Dinner/Swing Dance benefit on Friday, Feb. 14, at the General Morgan Inn. The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. The event will include dinner and a performance of the Pioneer Jazz Band, along with special guests.

The event is a fundraiser to help raise money for much-needed equipment for the entire Tusculum band program, according to David A. Price, director of music at Tusculum College.

As an added bonus, swing dance lessons will be offered free of charge beginning at 5:30 p.m. Lessons will be provided by professional dancers Darian and Tiffany Chancellor. The Chancellors have been professional ballroom dance instructors and competitors for more than 10 years. They began with Fred Astaire Dance Studios and opened Johnson City Ballroom in 2012.

“We are thrilled to have Darian and Tiffany as part of our program. With years of professional experience, it is a great time for beginners to learn or for more experienced dancers to pick up a few new moves,” said Price.

Ticket prices for the event are $50 per person and include dance tickets, free dance lessons, an opening reception, a prime rib and shrimp dinner and a special dessert. Please call in advance to request a vegetarian substitution. A cash bar will be available.

Darian and Tiffany Chancellor

Tickets are available for purchase at the General Morgan Inn or by contacting Price at 423-636-7303 or emailing daprice@tusculum.edu. A hotel package special is also available by contacting the General Morgan Inn at 423-787-1000.

Special table reservations are available for larger group seating by contacting Price.

The Pioneer Band Program at Tusculum College began in 2010, with the creation of the Pioneer Pep Band. The Pep Band became a much-enjoyed feature of the 2010 Pioneer football and basketball seasons, as the band performed at the Pioneer Club tailgate parties before each home football game and during pregame and half-time festivities.

Since that time a concert band, jazz band, marching band, handbell choir and several small ensembles have been added to the program.  The groups play several events on campus each year, as well as events in the community.

Tusculum College hosting informational sessions at Kingsport Center for Higher Education on Feb. 4

The Tusculum Graduate and Professional Studies Program will be hosting two Information Drop-In sessions at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

The sessions will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m.  This informal event will have information on degree programs, admissions materials and financial aid information. In addition, Enrollment Representative Amanda McQueen will be on site to offer guidance and answer questions.

Applications are currently being accepted for the Bachelor of Science degree programs in Business Administration and Organizational Management which will be offered at KCHE in April. For more information, call 888.488.7285.

Religion in America class hosting Jehovah’s Witness program on Thursday, Jan. 23

This week Dr. Williams’ Religion in America (RELG 203) class will be hosting members from the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Religion in America is an elective course designed to analyze and observe the beliefs, rituals and practices of religious groups in America, thereby enabling students to appreciate the varieties and significance of religious experience undertaken around them. As part of this course goal, these representatives will give a presentation on the beliefs and practices of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, followed by a question and answer session. Some of the topics that will be addressed include: the Bible, Jesus, salvation (and afterlife), and the church. This is not an platform to promote a belief or to debate, but an open and non-confrontational atmosphere where better understanding and appreciation can be reached.

 

The presentation will be held in the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building (Room 42) from 8:30-11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23. Anyone who is interested in attending is encouraged to contact Dr. Williams (campus phone: ext. 5272; email: trwilliams@tusculum.edu) so that proper seating arrangements can be made.

Variety of musical styles to be featured in ‘Charles Tunstall’s World of Guitar’ Tuesday, Jan. 28

Charles Tunstall

The versatility of the classical acoustic guitar and its adaptability to a variety of musical styles will be featured in Charles Tunstall’s recital Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Tusculum College.

“Charles Tunstall’s World of Guitar” will begin at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the Thomas J. Garland Library on campus. The performance will feature guitar music from the Renaissance to the present. Styles will include classical, sacred, folk, popular tunes from the 1960s, Broadway show tunes and more.

The recital will include some personal sacred and jazz arrangements by Tunstall, a new show-tune medley, a new 1960s medley and two or three surprise guests to accompany him on some songs.

The musical program will introduce the classical (nylon-string) guitar and the literature from several periods to the audience. Tunstall will demonstrate the versatility of the familiar instrument through his musical selections that incorporate a number of different playing styles, various voicings, chords, playing techniques and discussion about leading guitarists of the present and the past. In his program, Tunstall hopes to help the audience better understand the acoustic style of music and playing as opposed to electric or synthesized guitar music.

Tunstall, who is reference and instructional services librarian at Tusculum, has more than 50 years of playing experience. Primarily self-taught, he has been mentored by a large number of individuals. Although he prefers to entertain as a solo act, he has played in a variety of bands through the years. While he is skilled on several types of guitars, his main focus is in finger-style playing on the classical nylon-stringed guitar. He emerged from a country-bluegrass background and now enjoys playing and learning music from different periods.

As a guitarist, he has been inspired by Christopher Parkening, Chet Atkins, Rick Foster and Charlie Byrd, and he has had the opportunity to meet Parkening and Byrd.

Admission to the recital is free. Refreshments will be served, and arts and lecture credit is available for Tusculum College residential students.