Tusculum University is aprivatePresbyterian university with its main campus inTusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States.[2]
In addition to its main campus, the institution maintains a regional center for Adult and Online Studies inKnoxville, andMorristown.
In 1806, emancipated slaveJohn Gloucester became the first African-American student to study at Greeneville College. He was the first African-American educated by a college in Tennessee and later helped found the First African Presbyterian Church in 1807, in Philadelphia.[3][4][5]
Samuel Doak and Hezekiah Balch sought the same goals through their separate colleges. They wanted to educatesettlers of the American frontier so that they would become betterPresbyterians, and therefore, in their thinking, bettercitizens.[6]
Samuel Doak left Washington College and founded Tusculum Academy, on the present campus of Tusculum University, in 1818 with his son, Samuel Witherspoon Doak.[7] S.W. Doak was named after Princeton University's then-presidentDr.John Witherspoon, a signer of theUnited States Declaration of Independence and Tusculum Academy was named after Witherspoon's estate at the College of New Jersey (Princeton). The originalTusculum was a city nearRome, Italy, and home toRoman scholar and philosopherCicero. It was he who, along with others, identified the civic virtues that form the basis of civicrepublican tradition, which emphasizes citizens working together to form goodsocieties that in turn foster individuals of goodcharacter.[8]
The entrance gate to Tusculum University, TennesseeScott Niswonger Student Center on the campus of Tusculum UniversityAnnie Hogan Byrd Hall is a performance space used for both university theatre and music events as well as outside arts events
The tennis courts and athletic buildings on the campus of Tusculum University
Although most of those sponsored sports compete in NCAA D-II in the SAC, two teams compete as de factoNCAA Division I members. In women's bowling, a sport added in 2019–20 in which the NCAA holdsa single championship open to members of all three NCAA divisions, the Pioneers are single-sport members of theConference Carolinas.[12] Also added for 2019–20 was men's volleyball, in which the NCAA holdsa combined Division I/II national championship; the Pioneers compete in that sport as an independent.[13] Tusculum also added the non-NCAA sport of men's bowling in 2019–20,[13] and also recognizes its cheerleaders (both male and female) as varsity athletes.
In 2004,Ricardo Colclough, a defensive back and kick returner, became the first Tusculum Pioneers football player to be drafted by theNational Football League when he was selected in the second draft round by thePittsburgh Steelers. Colclough, the first Tusculum player to appear in an NFL game, played for theCarolina Panthers. He was dismissed from the team in August 2008.[14]
In 2007, former Tusculum College basketball player, Tyler White, became a member of the Washington Generals, the exhibition team that travels with and plays against the Harlem Globetrotters.
In August 2009, Chris Poore, another former Tusculum College basketball player, also became a member of the Washington Generals.[15]
On September 4, 2014, the Tusculum football team hosted the College of Faith, an online institution inCharlotte, North Carolina. In a 71–0 win, the Pioneers set two NCAA all Division records: fewest total yards allowed (minus-100) and fewest rushing yards allowed (minus-124).[16] Tusculum also had three safeties, which tied a Division II record.
Henry Dircks (1806–1873) (Honorary degree, 1868), English engineer who is considered to have been the main designer of the projection technique known asPepper's ghost in 1858[23]
James Dobson (1920–1987) Broadway, film and television actor
Cyrus Fees (b. 1982), mixed martial arts/pro wrestling TV announcer
John Harvey Girdner (1856–1933), ProminentNew York surgeon who attended PresidentJames Garfield after Garfield was shot in 1881; inventor of a "telephonic bullet probe" that came into use before the first x-rays and a pioneer in skin grafting; author ofNewyorkitis[25]
Oliver Perry Temple (1820–1907) (attended, two years), attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century[37]
^On February 28, 2009, the Tusculum College board of trustees elected Dr. Nancy B. Moody, president ofLincoln Memorial University, to be the institution's 27th president. She was scheduled to assume office on April 27, 2009. (SeeTusculum College Names Dr. Nancy Moody President, Greeneville Sun, March 2, 2009.)
^Patrick, James (2007).The beginning of collegiate education west of the Appalachians, 1795-1833: The achievement of Dr. Charles Coffin of Greeneville College and East Tennessee College.Lewiston, New York:Edwin Mellen Press (ISBN0773454470)
^Sexton, Jr., Donal J., & Smith, Jr., Myron J. (1994).Glimpses of Tusculum: A pictorial history of Tusculum College. Marceline, MO: Walsworth Publishing.
^Lewis, Marianne W. (October 2000). "Exploring Paradox: Toward a More Comprehensive Guide". The Academy of Management Review. 25 (4): 760–776. doi:10.5465/amr.2000.3707712. JSTOR 259204.
^"Milligan, Samuel – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov
^"Vanguard University – 2009–2010 women's basketball roster". vanguardlions.com
^United States Congress. "David T. Patterson (id: P000110)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Allen, Ortha B. (1970).The philosophy of the library-college and its applications to Tusculum College (thesis). Johnson City, TN: East Tennessee State University. (OCLC 25212791)
Bailey, Gilbert L. (1965).A history of Tusculum College, 1944-1964 (thesis). Johnson City, TN: East Tennessee State University.
Hearn, Steven B. (1983).Survival strategies for Tusculum College: An ethnographic evaluation of enrollment, student recruitment, and school image (thesis). Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee – Knoxville. (OCLC 9939082)
Patrick, James (2007).The beginning of collegiate education west of the Appalachians, 1795-1833: The achievement of Dr. Charles Coffin of Greeneville College and East Tennessee College.Lewiston, New York:Edwin Mellen Press (ISBN0773454470)
Ragan, Allen E. (1945).A history of Tusculum College, 1794-1944. Greeneville, TN: The Tusculum Sesquicentennial Committee.LCCN46-18213
Treadway, Cleo C. (1974).Reclassification: The Tusculum way. Greeneville, TN: Tusculum College Press. (OCLC 6922139)
