Thomas J. Garland H’86 was named to the Tusculum College Board of Trustees on Friday, February 5. This will be a return for Garland, who previously served as a Trustee and former chairman of the Board.
Garland was born in Kingsport, was educated in the Kingsport and Oak Ridge school systems and graduated from East Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952-56.
Garland served as a Republican Tennessee Senator from 1964 through 1985, 17 of those years as Senate minority leader.
He was honored with the ETSU Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1973.
His positions in business, education and government have included chairmanship of the board of Commerce Union Bank, chancellorship of the Tennessee Board of Regents and the interim presidency of Tusculum College (1999-2000), where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees and a former Chairman of the Board.
In 1986 he received an honorary doctor of law degree from Tusculum College and has received the College’s Distinguished Service Award.
He has also served on numerous civic and corporate boards and served as senior advisor to the Niswonger Foundation, as chairman of the Tusculum Institute for Public Leadership and Policy and as director of Atmos Energy Corporation.
Garland has served on the Tennessee Ethics Committee and has previously served as its chairman.
The renovated Tusculum College library, the Thomas J. Garland Library, was named for Garland in 2008 in recognition to the service, dedication and support Garland has provided to the institution throughout his life.
He and his wife, Pat, reside near Tusculum College. They have been Greeneville residents for many years. The Garlands have four children and seven grandchildren.