GREENEVILLE – A major component of Tusculum University’s mission statement is civic engagement, a principle incorporated in many activities performed in the community by the higher education institution’s faculty, staff and students and lessons taught in the classroom.
Now, Tusculum has received national recognition for these efforts with the receipt Friday, Jan. 31, of the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. This prestigious designation from the Carnegie Foundation honors Tusculum’s work to build even stronger bonds with the community.
“Throughout our 225-year history in East Tennessee, we have recognized the value of connecting with our neighbors in the region,” said Dr. Greg Nelson, Tusculum’s acting president. “Building these bridges to the community helps our students, as well as our faculty and staff members, understand the importance of service. It also enables the university to develop more comprehensive relationships with the public in meaningful ways.”
Tusculum received the classification after a self-evaluation on civic engagement, headed by Dr. Ronda Gentry, executive director of student persistence and engagement. The Swearer Center for Public Engagement at Brown University, which is the administrative and research home for the classification, led the national committee that reviewed Tusculum’s application.
Assisting the community is a hallmark for Tusculum. The university imparts lessons on civic engagement in its Tusculum Experience class for freshmen, and other courses throughout a student’s studies contain a service learning component.
One of the most notable examples of Tusculum’s involvement is the annual Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day in which students as well as faculty and staff members spend a day performing community service tasks. During the 2019 event, more than 700 Tusculum family members fanned out to 34 sites to enhance the region’s quality of life.
In addition, highly trained students, under the supervision of faculty members, provide free federal income tax preparation services each year to hundreds of residents at multiple sites throughout the region. Another annual tradition is the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee organizing events to raise several thousands of dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Other recent examples include:
- In October, 24 students from the School of Nursing participated in Spa Day at First Baptist Church in Greeneville, an event sponsored by Ballad Health to pamper breast cancer survivors with a full complement of services, such as massages, facials and pedicures.
- Two optometrists with the Niswonger College of Optometry provided vision care to patients at the Remote Area Medical clinic in Gray in November.
- The Tusculum family stepped forward to purchase gifts for more than 70 children and their families in Greene County before Christmas.
“Serving the community is embedded in our culture and demonstrates our provision of a comprehensive education in a Judeo-Christian environment,” Dr. Gentry said. “We are grateful for the validation of our work by an organization as well respected as the Carnegie Foundation because it shows we are on the right path. This serves as motivation for us to seek additional ways we can help strengthen our bonds with those we are privileged to serve.”