GREENEVILLE – Building on its rich Presbyterian heritage, Tusculum University has reaffirmed its connection with a local presbytery by renewing and updating its covenant relationship.
Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president, front and center, and the Rev. Diana Moore, front right, sign the updated covenant as the Rev. Rodney Norris, front left, watches. On the back row are, left to right, Dr. Greg Nelson, the Rev. Karen Russell, Dr. Dan Donaldson and Dr. Chris Shumate.
Representatives of the university and the Holston Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA) recently held a ceremony to sign the newest version of the covenant. The updated document retains all of the core elements that describe the Christian nature of the university and its mutually beneficial relationship with the presbytery.
“We are thrilled to reinforce our partnership with the Holston Presbytery,” said Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president. “Tusculum is proud of its Presbyterian heritage even as it works with a broad range of denominations to equip students in a caring Christian environment to be civically engaged, career-ready professionals. The support of the Holston Presbytery is vital and welcome in helping us achieve our mission.”
The Rev. Diana Moore, transitional stated clerk for the presbytery, expressed gratitude to Dr. Hummel; Dr. Dan Donaldson, pastor emeritus of First Presbyterian Church in Greeneville and vice chair of Tusculum’s Board of Trustees; and Dr. Chris Shumate, Tusculum’s campus minister, for urging the presbytery to renew and update the covenant. She said the updated covenant is important and represents a visible way for the two to work together.
“To renew this covenant reminds us that we are connectional, that this university is an important part of our lives and that we need to support Tusculum like it supports us and our churches,” Moore said. “The fact that the university and the Presbyterian Church have been here for 200-plus years is a reminder of how important this relationship is and that we don’t need to let things slide. We need to constantly be aware of each other and support each other.”
Among the responsibilities for Tusculum in the covenant are:
- Offering a quality education in the liberal arts and sciences with the concept of the wholeness of life as interpreted by the Christian faith
- Creating a campus climate in which the Christian faith is reasonably and persuasively presented without undue pressure for acceptance
- Requiring religious studies by all students in the civic arts curriculum and the requirements for graduation
- Providing opportunities to explore the relationship between religion and other aspects of life while preparing students for Christian service in all walks of life
- Demonstrating active concern for social justice and human mercy by the Tusculum family and fostering a spirit of volunteerism
- Maintaining Christian governance and leadership by having Christians as a large majority of trustees and administrators
- Having a large majority of the faculty be Christians while insisting on freedom of inquiry for faculty and students
Responsibilities for the presbytery include:
- Praying for Tusculum students, faculty, administrators, trustees and friends
- Encouraging youth in the presbytery to consider enrolling at Tusculum
- Promoting understanding of Tusculum’s educational opportunities through presbytery publications and communications
- Encouraging individuals and congregations in the presbytery to financially support the university
Examples of the way Tusculum puts the covenant into action are holding the Theologian-In-Residence series in February and having a campus minister. In addition, a Presbyterian minister has regularly served on the Tusculum board.
Theologian-In-Residence is a weekly event that brings community members and the Tusculum family together on campus to explore a religious subject in greater depth. Moore is particularly pleased Tusculum once again has a campus minister. Dr. Shumate joined the Tusculum family in 2022 and is leading and growing faith development activities for students, faculty and staff. Dr. Donaldson has served on the board for several years and was preceded by Dr. Angus Shaw and Jerry Ward, who both now serve as life trustees.
“The board has been committed to having Presbyterian representation,” Dr. Donaldson said. “Part of that was because I was the pastor of First Presbyterian, Tusculum’s mother church. Even before that, the Presbyterian Church and Tusculum have cooperated to have representation of the Presbyterian Church on the board.”
Tusculum encourages students, faculty and staff to grow in their faith and provides opportunities through coursework and robust campus ministries, such as chapel. Members of all faiths and even those who do not practice a faith are welcome and encouraged to enroll at Tusculum.
Moore said the presbytery and its churches value Tusculum. The presbytery comes to the university for the organization’s meetings and backs Theologian-In-Residence. She said a number of churches within the presbytery support Tusculum financially.
“The Presbyterian Church was at the forefront of education and continues to value education,” Moore said. “It is not just theological but also education in the sciences, training of teachers and career preparation in other fields. Education is part of what we do. It’s a mission of the church. I don’t want the presbytery and the churches in the presbytery to ever forget that Tusculum is a Presbyterian institution. We should encourage children and adults in the congregation to come to Tusculum for their education.”
Likewise, Dr. Hummel sees the updated covenant as extremely helpful to Tusculum, the Holston Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church.
“The updated covenant reaffirms the history and current nature of our relationship,” Dr. Hummel said. “It is important to insist on freedom of inquiry and include that in the covenant to serve as a guardrail so we do not move away from some of these core values in being a Presbyterian-affiliated university. The covenant also undergirds the university spiritually and reinforces that Tusculum is a Christian university and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
More information about spiritual development opportunities at Tusculum is available at https://site.tusculum.edu/campus-ministries/. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu. Additional information about the Holston Presbytery is available at https://holstonpresbytery.org/.