GREENEVILLE – Highlighting multiple successful initiatives and achievements, Tusculum University’s acting president is sharing with the community the positive direction the higher education institution is headed.
Dr. Greg Nelson, Tusculum University’s acting president, speaks at the Greene County Partnership meeting.
Dr. Greg Nelson, Tusculum’s administrative leader since August, was the featured speaker at the Greene County Partnership breakfast held Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the Meen Center on the Greeneville campus. He expressed Tusculum’s enthusiasm about the arrival of Dr. Scott Hummel, who will become president Monday, Feb. 17.
“I am positive, knowing his nature, that he is going to be meeting you,” Dr. Nelson said. “He very quickly wants to become a part of this community. We are thrilled at Tusculum to have Dr. Hummel here. He is absolutely the kind of the leader that Tusculum University needs to move further ahead.”
Dr. Hummel has served as executive vice president and provost at William Carey University since 2013 and in leadership positions there since 2008. That university’s enrollment has doubled during his time there, and Dr. Nelson said one of the primary growth areas has been graduate and adult programs.
He said a key focus for Tusculum will be to continue having robust programs for adults as well as traditional students. He said Tusculum has planted the seeds for success in adult study, particularly in the College of Business and College of Education.
“Tusculum has had a long track record of providing adult education over the years, and as we look toward the future, we see how our curriculum and our programs must continue to be relevant,” Dr. Nelson said. “We’re bringing a leader in Dr. Hummel who has been a part of making that happen operationally and has delivered success.”
Dr. Nelson touted the work taking place in Tusculum’s College of Science, Technology and Math.
“You’re sitting in a building that is the epicenter of Tusculum teaching STEM education,” he said. “The new dean of this college has already been talking about how we strengthen Tusculum’s partnership with local high schools in order to provide STEM opportunities while students are still in high school. That will inspire them to understand they can succeed in subjects such as biology, chemistry and math.”
Dr. Nelson noted progress continues on the Niswonger College of Optometry, with a site visit from the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education planned for the summer. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has approved Tusculum to offer as many as three doctoral degrees, and the first one the university anticipates granting is a Doctor of Optometry.
In his remarks, Dr. Nelson shared the importance Tusculum places in following its mission statement, including the components about the value of civic engagement and provision of a comprehensive education in a Judeo-Christian environment.
“Civic engagement is about having your graduates understanding the value of being connected with their communities,” he said. “It’s about recognizing civic engagement is not something you do for a course credit but rather something you do for life. In many ways, the careers that will thrive in the future are careers that are based on civic engagement. Tusculum continues to strengthen that.”
The emphasis on a Judeo-Christian environment has a prominent spot in the mission statement, Dr. Nelson said.
“We believe Tusculum is a place that must have values, and we must teach values and demonstrate values,” he said. “We cherish that mission, and you can expect us to continue that mission and keep it front and center.”