Alumnus joins Tusculum staff as enrollment representative for the Tri-Cities

Kevin Rose '09

Kevin Rose ’09 has joined the staff of Tusculum College as an enrollment representative to serve adult learners in the Tri-Cities area.

Rose works in Tusculum’s Tri-Cities Center, located at 104 Dillon Court in Gray. He will serve career-minded working adults who wish to continue their education through Tusculum’s Graduate and Professional Studies program, providing information to help them with their decision of which degree to pursue, guiding them through the admission process and helping them explore financial aid.

In working with prospective students, Rose can draw on his own experiences as a Tusculum student. He earned an associate of applied science degree in respiratory care from Walters State Community College in 2003 and later returned to school through the Graduate and Professional Studies program to achieve his dream of earning a bachelor’s degree. In 2009, he did just that, earning a bachelor of science degree in organizational management from Tusculum.

Prior to joining the Tusculum staff, Rose worked as a respiratory therapist and registered polysomnographer. He later worked in corporate healthcare sales and marketing, promoting products and services in the healthcare setting.

Rose, his wife Autumn and their two children, Brandel and Baylyn, live in Mt. Carmel. In 2009, Rose and his wife started the Brandel Rose Scholarship Fund at Tusculum in honor of their son who has Down’s Syndrome. The scholarship helps students who are majoring in special education or early childhood development.

“Our lives have been greatly impacted from those who help teach and serve the special needs community,” he said. “It has been our honor to give back to this great institution.”

Tusculum’s Graduate and Professional Studies provides working adults the opportunity to earn a college degree through a uniquely focused and practical program offered at convenient locations and on a flexible, accelerated schedule. Undergraduate degree programs include bachelor of science degrees in business administration and organizational management and bachelor of arts degrees in education and psychology with a concentration in behavioral health. Master’s degrees are offered in education, organizational management and teaching.

Spring commencement is coming Saturday, May 7

grad_bagpipersIt is almost time for one of the most important events in the life of Tusculum College – commencement, a celebration of the accomplishment of hard work and dreams of all the students who have completed their degree programs.

Spring Commencement is on Saturday, May 7, and will involve two ceremonies. The morning ceremony at 10:30 a.m. will include all the students receiving bachelor of arts degrees, those in the Residential College program and the bachelor’s program in the Graduate and Professional Studies program. The afternoon ceremony at 2 p.m. will include students receiving master’s degrees and the students in the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management program in the Graduate and Professional Studies program.

Graduates participating in the ceremony should be in the Pioneer Arena an hour prior to the ceremony for graduation practice, 9:30 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 1 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony.

Pioneer Arena, the location of the ceremonies, will not be open for audience seating until after the graduation practice is completed. The arena will be open to family and friends at approximately 10 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony.

Tickets are not needed for admittance to the ceremonies and graduates are not limited to the number of guests that they can invite.

Guests are allowed to save seats for other family or friends, but are asked not to save seats during the 15 minutes immediately prior to the beginning of the ceremony to assist in ensuring there is enough seating available.

Family members and friends that may require special accommodations for handicapped seating are asked to make reservations by contacting Bobbie Greenway no later than May 6, 2010 at 423-636-7300 Ext. 5154. If prior reservations are not made, special accommodation seating may not be available.   Tusculum does not supply wheelchairs.

Guests are asked to not leave the arena until after the ceremony is finished. At the end of the ceremony, the College faculty form a “gauntlet” at the exit of arena and applaud the new graduates, and the exit needs to be kept clear.

Prospective graduates that ordered their graduation regalia (gown, hood, cap, and tassel) at the Greeneville or Knoxville GRAD FINALE event should receive it from Jostens by mid-April.  Those who did not  attend or did not order a gown, hood, cap, and tassel must order the regalia by contacting Jostens at its customer service toll free number 1-800-854-7464. The cost of ordering the regalia including standard shipping and handling is covered by the graduation fee and is paid by Tusculum College. Express mail shipping is at a graduate’s own expense.

By tradition, the Commencement ceremony is a formal, dignified event to honor the academic achievement of scholars.  To help preserve the decorum of the event, it is requested that graduates and their families exercise etiquette appropriate to the occasion.  We ask that those in attendance please observe the following:

  • As a courtesy to and out of respect for the graduates, guests are requested to stay until the conclusion of the ceremony.
  • Commencement is both a joyous and solemn event. Please express your excitement in ways that will not prevent others from hearing the speaker and enjoying the ceremony. Use of air horns, yelling, or stomping are disruptive and rude.
  • Cell phones are to be turned off or switched to the silent operating mode. Do not speak on a cell phone during the ceremony as this prevents others from hearing and enjoying the ceremony.
  • Please do not bring small children to the commencement ceremony. Due to fire marshal regulations, no baby carriers or strollers will be allowed in the auditorium.
  • We understand family and friends wanting to take pictures of their special graduate. Please refrain from doing so until after the graduate receives his or her diploma. This will allow the ceremony to flow smoothly and reduce the distractions and disturbances to other audience members as they try to see and hear ongoing presentations. An official photographer from LifeTouch will be taking a photo of each graduate receiving a diploma from Tusculum President Nancy B. Moody. Photos of the ceremony are also taken by staff from the College’s Office of Communications. LifeTouch will contact the graduates with information on how to view proofs and order prints.
  • Due to the acoustics in the auditorium, voices carry. Please do not carry on conversations during the ceremony, as this may be very distracting and prevent others from hearing and enjoying the event.

Alumni volunteers needed for upcoming Junior Conference

juniorconference10Tusculum College will host area high school juniors on Thursday, April 7, for the second annual Junior Conference focusing on higher education opportunities and career awareness.

Alumni volunteers are being sought to help with the event, which will bring juniors from all five Greene County high schools to the Tusculum campus. More than 800 students are expected to attend.

Students will attend a variety of sessions that will provide career information first-hand from local company representatives and from area professionals who will share information about their fields.

The students will be divided up into morning and afternoon sessions, with each student having the opportunity to select two sessions to attend from the more than 20 choices offered, said Tankersley.

A keynote session featuring Nathan Honeycutt will be held at 8:30 a.m. Honeycutt, a successful architect, will speak about achieving one’s life dream.  In his career, he has been the lead designer on many architectural and master planning projects in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and China.  Some of his major projects include the Georgia Aquarium and the Dubai Towers, currently under construction.  He currently lives in East Tennessee and is one of the owners of Honeycutt Architecture.

Following the opening session will be two 45 minute sessions that the participating students will have the opportunity to choose from College Track, Vocational Track and Career Choices.

Participating companies include the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Century 21 Legacy, Mountain States Health Alliance and Laughlin Memorial Hospital.

Career/Professional topics covered during the career choice talk include sport management, nursing, education, athletic training, physical therapy, medical technology, business, pharmacy and law.

Alumni are needed to volunteer as moderators or campus guides for the sessions. The moderators are responsible for introducing the guest speaker (a bio will be supplied), assist the presenter with any set-up problems (the IT staff will be on call), monitor student behavior, help engage the question and answer process and help students identify their next destination.

Campus guides will be responsible for directing students to their session location and will be stationed outside to help students identify the building where they need to go. Some guides will lead a group of students to the appropriate building.

The event will involve a full-day commitment of volunteers. Volunteers need to arrive on campus at 8:15 a.m. and the event should be over by 2:15 p.m. The College will provide lunch for all volunteers.

To volunteer, please contact Colleen Cox, coordinator of alumni relations, at ccox@tusculum.edu.

Confucius Institute representatives visit Tusculum to discuss potential partnerships

Representatives the Confucius Institute at the University of Memphis visited the Tusculum College campus to discuss potential partnering opportunities for students and faculty at the college. The group was in town to meet with officials at the Greeneville City School System, with which they already have developed partnership programs, said Dr. Kim Estep, academic vice president at Tusculum College.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Memphis promotes understanding of the Chinese language and culture among the people of the United States, develops friendly relations between the two countries, accelerates the expansion of multiculturalism and provides opportunities for students studying the Chinese language. “We asked to have an exploratory meeting to discuss future partnerships with Tusculum College, particularly in the areas of language and culture classes and travel opportunities,” said Estep.

The group met on the Greeneville main campus and gave the Tusculum representatives a presentation on what they do and what kinds of partnership they have already developed with other institutions, including the Greeneville City School System. Also joining the group was Tusculum College alumnus Noah Wagner. Wagner, a 1951 graduate, has long been interested in strengthening the foreign language program at Tusculum College, as his business and language background at the school has been key to his successes throughout the years.

“I think after our discussions we really feel there are two main areas where a partnership might develop with the Confucius Institution,” said Estep. Those areas include the possibility of offering Chinese language and culture courses to students not only on the residential campus, but potentially through the Graduate and Professional Studies program as well.

“The discussions went really well, and we are continuing to explore paths to implementation,” said Estep. “We are opening up dialogue now with faculty to see about incorporating some of the ideas discussed into existing courses in our curricula.” She added the further discussions will be held in the upcoming weeks and a teleconference with representatives of the college’s Center for Global Studies Advisory Council and representatives of the Business Administration Department is being planned.

“We look forward to partnering with the faculty, students and staff at Tusculum College to provide Chinese language and cultural classes and programs independently and through interdisciplinary means as well,” said Dr. Hsiang-te Kung, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Memphis.

“We are committed to providing a global, world-class education to students as young as two up to ninety-two,” said Riki Jackson, assistant director of the Confucius Institute. “Our commitment is to reach as many students as possible at the preschool, K-12, collegiate and post-collegiate level as well as in the business community from the far southwest corner of the state all the way to the far northeast corner of Tennessee. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to explore a partnership with the wonderful students and faculty at Tusculum College.”

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