Dear Tusculum family,
We have a lot of good news to share about progress that has been made for our students and Tusculum University.
At the moment, we have about 25 students who remain on campus. Our Office of Student Affairs has performed outstanding work to make this happen in concert with our students. Many students have returned to their hometowns, but we have been blessed that the generosity of others has resulted in other students having other places to stay.
Carson-Newman University has generously housed 110 of our students, and Lincoln Memorial University has housed about 30. In addition, many families in Morristown and Knoxville have agreed to take some of our students. We are extremely grateful to these institutions and families for their kindness and Christian spirit during this time.
Thanks to the Tusculum Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, we received a shipment of seven pallets of bottled water Sunday. In addition, Arrowhead Church Morristown brought two pallets of water. One couple from Knoxville brought snacks and several cases of water. Another couple from that city brought water, snacks, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent and trash bags. We also received water and snacks from a lady in Kingsport.
As a result of this generosity, we have three to four days of water on hand. We are also receiving a large tractor trailer tanker of water from Chartwells, our food service provider, to be used for cooking, cleaning and sanitizing.
Students who remain on campus are receiving appropriate support from staff members on campus. The cafeteria continues to feed students, and nondrinking water is available for students to flush toilets. Eight portable toilets are expected to arrive today. Students who are experiencing any other needs should contact the Office of Student Affairs.
There is another way people can help students. Tusculum is pleased to accept donations to the Student Emergency Fund. You can make a gift by visiting https://ssl.charityweb.net/tusculum/ and selecting “Student Emergency Fund” in the drop-down menu box that says, “Please use my donation for.” We are thankful for all donations to support our students.
We also commend our faculty members who worked tirelessly to convert classes to online instruction through Oct. 15. Many faculty members experienced challenging circumstances with electricity and internet connections but still made this change happen. Our Information Services Department also worked diligently to support this effort and ensure continuity of operations for staff members as well. Our students are also adapting to the new teaching method.
Meanwhile, our Facilities Management Department has begun the process of cleaning debris caused by the storms in addition to completing many other tasks. We have electricity on campus.
Everyone is pulling together to respond to this situation with expediency and professionalism and demonstrating our caring Christian environment. We thank our students, faculty and staff for all of their efforts.
Pressing forward.