GREENEVILLE –The Tusculum University Alumni Association will honor four people with strong ties to the higher education institution and highly accomplished careers during this year’s Homecoming.
Angelo Botta
The honorees and the awards they will receive at the Alumni Dinner and Dance Saturday, Nov. 1, at Hackler Hall Event Center in Greeneville, are:
- Dom Donnelly, associate athletic director for communications – Honorary Alumni Award
- Dr. Jane Morse, an alumna and member of the Board of Trustees – Pioneer Award
- Dr. Chuck Pearson, assistant dean of the Math and Science Division – National Living Faculty Award
- Justin Phillip Reed, an alumnus and national award-winning writer – Frontier Award
“We are thrilled to honor these four individuals, who have distinguished themselves in their careers and represented Tusculum exceptionally,” said Angelo Botta, president of the Alumni Executive Board and a 1975 graduate. “The excellence they have demonstrate is not only inspiring to the Alumni Association but also serves an example for our students to emulate. These awards are a major highlight of Homecoming.”
Pioneer Award
The Pioneer Award was established in 1962 and is presented to an outstanding alumnus or alumna in recognition of outstanding or meritorious achievement in that person’s chosen field; distinguished service to his or her church, community, country and humanity; and continuing and loyal service to Tusculum.
Dr. Jane Morse
Dr. Morse graduated from Tusculum in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She remains extremely active with her alma mater, including serving on the university’s Board of Trustees since 2016. She is also a member of the Alumni Executive Board and is deeply involved with keeping our graduates connected to Tusculum. She was a member of Tusculum’s Bicentennial Planning Board. She has been called a shining example of what it means to be a Pioneer by demonstrating lifelong leadership, a deep commitment to service and unwavering dedication to Tusculum.
Professionally, she is a physical therapist and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at a college. Those who know her say her career has been marked by excellence and integrity. She continues to inspire those around her with her thoughtful leadership and commitment to making a difference. Her professional accomplishments speak volumes about her character, work ethic and the values instilled in her through her Tusculum education.
“When the Alumni Office informed me that I had been selected for the Pioneer Award, I was both surprised and humbled,” Dr. Morse said. “I know many of the past recipients and feel very honored to be among their ranks. Tusculum gave me a wonderful foundation for the physical therapy program at UT Center for the Health Sciences and for my career. I was definitely more than prepared for the intensity of the program at UTCHS because I had professors at Tusculum who challenged while supporting me. It has been a privilege to try to repay them for that with my time serving on the Alumni Executive Board and the Board of Trustees.”
Frontier Award
Created in 1995, The Frontier Award goes to an outstanding alumnus or alumna for outstanding or meritorious advancement in that person’s career. The former student must have graduated between five and 15 years ago to be eligible, and judges take into account continuing and loyal service to Tusculum.
Justin Phillip Reed
Reed graduated from Tusculum in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing. In 2018, he earned the National Book Award for poetry for “Indecency,” a collection he launched at Tusculum’s Old Oak Festival. Others who have previously received a National Book Award include prestigious writers such as William Faulkner, John Updike and Katherine Anne Porter.
He has also authored the poetry collection “The Malevolent Volume,” winner of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses’ Firecracker Award for poetry, and the book “With Bloom Upon Them and Also with Blood: A Horror Miscellany.” His writings have appeared in publications such as “African American Review,” “Best American Essay,” “Callaloo,” “The Kenyon Review” and “Obsidion.” Reed earned a fellowship from the Poetry Foundation and serves as writer-in-residence at Clemson University.
“I’m honored to be remembered 12 years later, as I’ve been honored to be an alum of the Tusculum that I remember,” Reed said. “The communities that my professors and classmates created there, if only for a few golden years, were nothing less than rare and remarkable. I know this because I describe my college experience to folks, and it wows them a bit. I’m nostalgic about some matters that were chance happenings, sure, but mostly I’m referring to thankless, coordinated choices that people made in the name of care.
“So, in reacting to this award, I can think of no choices I’ve made that warrant it, but only of my Tusculum family’s dedication to each other in those years – the reason East Tennessee has remained my heart’s home – and of the recognition they have deserved.
Honorary Alumni Award
The Honorary Alumni Award dates to 1996 and goes to an individual connected with the university who did not attend the institution but has made outstanding contributions to Tusculum and the community. The recipient must have an active relationship with the university for at least five years and excelled in his or her service to Tusculum by demonstrating a commitment and dedication to its students.
Dom Donnelly
Donnelly has served in Tusculum’s athletic communications office since 1999. He has oversight of the sports information and publicity needs of the university’s 23 intercollegiate sports. He serves as the primary media contact for baseball, football, men’s and women’s golf and men’s basketball.
With Donnelly at the helm, the athletic communications team was named the inaugural recipient of the South Atlantic Conference Media Relations Staff of the Year Award during the 2019-2020 season. The group was honored a second time with this award this summer. He also holds extensive knowledge of Tusculum athletics history.
“I am overwhelmed to receive this tremendous honor from Tusculum University,” Donnelly said. “I am truly blessed to work at this outstanding institution and to be associated with its faculty, staff, students and alumni. TU has and always will have a special place in my heart. My thanks to the alumni board and all those involved in this recognition. I am truly humbled.”
National Living Faculty Award
The National Living Faculty Award was created in 1996 and is presented to a Tusculum faculty member. The award’s purpose is to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Tusculum’s academic programs. To qualify the faculty members must have been a Tusculum employee for at least five years.
Dr. Chuck Pearson
In addition to providing leadership as an assistant dean. Dr. Pearson serves as professor of natural science and the Dr. Ronald H. Meen Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. He has been a Tusculum faculty member since 2016 and teaches his courses with tremendous energy. He has collaborated with Dr. Henson-Ramsey to design the pre-health seminar course, taken by students in the multitude of sport science programs as well as those in the pre-medical, dental and veterinary concentration of the biology program. He has served as chair of Tusculum’s Teaching and Professional Growth Committee.
One of the other components of Dr. Pearson’s teaching is his organization of and leadership in middle school and high school quiz bowls across the country. For several years, he has led the Tusculum Earlybird, which has brought dozens of high school students to campus for a quiz bowl, and uses the event to help attract students to enroll at the university. He is also working to establish a larger quiz bowl team at Tusculum.
“I’m gratified to be receiving this award from Tusculum’s alumni,” Dr. Pearson said. “I’m always keenly aware that the thing that I do more than anything else is teach, and institutions like Tusculum that honor and recognize faculty teaching are increasingly rare on the American educational landscape. What we do at Tusculum is incredibly important, and I’m only one of many wonderful teachers on this faculty. And in my role as assistant dean, I’m so grateful for the support I receive from the faculty members I supervise.”
Alumni who are interested in attending the Alumni Dinner and Dance can register and learn more about this year’s Homecoming events at https://site.tusculum.edu/homecoming-2/. Additional information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu.