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Statistics Show Promising Future for Psychology Majors

June 21, 2016 Emmanuel Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University psychology students should not have too hard a time finding employment after graduation, statistics show.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of psychologists is expected to grow by 22 percent between 2010 and 2020.

Andre K. Davis II, a senior psychology major, reviews his research project in the Neuroanatomy Lab in the Department of Psychology at TSU. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

“Psychology majors develop critical thinking skills, data analysis skills, and a very broad range of skills that a number of professions look for,” said Dr. Kiesa Kelly, professor and chair of the TSU Department of Psychology.

A recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics shows psychology is the fourth most pursued bachelor’s degree among college students.

The report said only business, health professions, and social sciences and history out rank psychology as areas with the most influx of students on the undergraduate level.

At Tennessee State University, for instance, about 300 students are majoring in psychology, the fourth single highest area of concentration for majors at the university. Nearly 50 students graduate from the program each year.

Experts say increased interest in the mental health of children and federal education legislation has influenced students’ interest in psychology.

Particularly at TSU, Kelly said “quality” is a major reason for the mass attraction.

“We have redesigned our program so that it makes our students more competitive both for graduate school and the job market,” she said. “We have excellent faculty with strong research credentials who could be faculty at major research institutions, but because of their commitment to mentoring students, they have chosen to come here.”

Andre K. Davis II is a senior psychology major in TSU’s program.

“I love the program here,” said Davis, a Memphis native. “I give the psyche program a 10 out of 10. When I came here I really didn’t know what I was going to do. But the professors here really truly do everything to help their students. Any opportunity they see, they try to get it for you.”

Kelly said the department seeks out opportunities to ensure students have all the necessary help to make them competitive for graduate work or the job market.

“We really have been working on trying to increase our admission of students into doctoral programs by increasing research opportunities for them,” she said.

Last year, for instance, Kelly said the department received a five-year, $850,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the TSU Nerve Program, which helps psychology majors and majors from other disciplines get into doctoral programs in neuroscience.

“Neuroscience is an area within our undergraduate program that we have been building,” Kelly said. “This is one of the directions of psychology as a major and we have been moving in that direction to remain on the cutting edge. As I speak, four of our students are at Princeton for the summer getting their paid neuroscience research experience.”

BestColleges.com has curated a scholarship and financial aid resource for students pursuing a degree in psychology. To get more information, visit: http://www.bestcolleges.com/financial-aid/psychology-scholarships/.

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With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

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TSU, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center partner to improve dental care

June 15, 2016 Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University and the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center are partnering to improve dental care in Nashville.

On June 11, the two collaborated to provide free dental screenings and cleanings. Organizers said the event, called “Free Dental Health Day,” was a success and will be held annually.

“We were open for service from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and people started lining up before 8 a.m.,” said Dr. Robyn Mays, dental director at Matthew Walker.

TSU and Matthew Walker are also working on a program that will allow TSU’s dental hygiene students to rotate through Matthew Walker’s dental department as part of their curriculum. Matthew Walker’s hygienist is a graduate of TSU’s Dental Hygiene Department, and would likely evaluate the students, according to Gary-Lee A. Lewis, who heads TSU’s department.

“There would be a dual benefit,” Lewis said. “We would serve as additional professionals available to provide the services, while our students would get exposure to different patients.”

The collaboration is another effort by health care experts to try to improve dental care in Nashville. For instance, the city has formed the Middle Tennessee Oral Health Coalition, which is “working to collaborate and facilitate access to those who need dental care in Middle Tennessee,” said Dr. Michelle Pardue, dental program director for the Metro Public Health Department.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, nearly 7,000 adults went to Davidson County emergency rooms in 2014 for relief of dental conditions. The number has been on the rise since 2012, the department said.

“While many have benefited from improved oral health in Nashville, we still have room to improve,” Pardue said.

Lewis said TSU’s clinic, alone, averages about 600 patients a year and he hopes that number will increase “with the linkages that we make with the community,” such as the collaboration with Matthew Walker.

In addition to dental care, Matthew Walker has served Middle Tennessee families for nearly 50 years with a comprehensive primary care model of services that include pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, behavioral health, nutrition, along with ancillary services such as radiology, laboratory and pharmacy.

But particularly in the case of dental care, TSU dental hygiene student Rachel Rowe said she believes the continued collaboration between TSU and Matthew Walker will benefit many people. The senior was among several TSU students who participated in the “Free Dental Health Day “ in June.

“Without a doubt, everything I did … gave me a new passion for helping the community,” Rowe said. “I will remember both the knowledge and the experience I gained.”

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Two TSU Professors Nominated for Top Nashville Leadership Awards

June 9, 2016 Emmanuel Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Two Tennessee State University professors are among this year’s nominees for Nashville’s Emerging Leaders Awards.

Dr. Tameka Winston

The awards are sponsored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville. They recognize professionals younger than 40 who have made significant accomplishments in their chosen field and contributions to the community.

There are five nominees in each of the 15 categories.

DeEtraYoung_headshot — Dr. De’Etra Young

Dr. Tameka Winston, assistant professor of Communications; and Dr. De’Etra Young, assistant professor of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, were nominated in the Education, and the Environment and Sustainability categories.

A committee of community leaders and industry experts chose the nominees. Finalists will be announced at a reception June 22 at Cheekwood.

“We are excited to announce this talented group of finalists for the 2016 NELAs,” said Ralph Schulz, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “These young professionals possess strong leadership skills, and their commitment to the community is important to the future prosperity of the Nashville region.”

Winston, a 2015 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 Award winner, called her nomination “a wonderful platform” to represent her university.

“It’s truly an honor to be recognized with such a talented group of professionals,” she said.

Young said she is honored to be recognized as a nominee in the Environment and Sustainability category in a city with a number of environmental and sustainability programs and initiatives.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to these programs and initiatives as a member of Metro’s Tree Advisory Committee, and Urban Green Lab’s Board of Directors,” said Young, who is president of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.

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TSU track and field icons remember Muhammad Ali

June 6, 2016 Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – A few years before Muhammad Ali became a heavyweight champion, legendary track and field coach Ed Temple said the young fighter told him he would one day hold the title.

The former Tennessee State University coach said in an interview shortly after Ali’s death on June 3 that he first met the brazen boxer at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Temple, who was the U.S. women’s track coach, said he had just finished practicing and was sitting on a bench in the Olympic Village when then-Cassius Clay sat down beside him.

13346700_1242673612410862_8127906244216764234_n — TSU Olympic legends Ralph Boston and Wilma Rudolph hang out with Muhammad Ali during one of his visits to Tennessee State University. (TSU archives)

Temple said the two talked for more than 30 minutes. During their discussion, he said Clay talked about his aspirations, boasting that he would one day be “the heavyweight champion of the world,” Temple recalled.

Toward the end of their conversation, Temple said someone ran by yelling that Floyd Patterson was in the village. Patterson was the heavyweight champion at the time. Temple said when he asked Clay if he was going to see Patterson, he said “no.”

“People are going to be running to see me one day,” Temple said Clay told him.

Clay, who would later change his name to Muhammad Ali, went on to win a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics as a light heavyweight, and eventually became heavyweight champion in 1964 when he beat Sonny Liston in a sixth-round technical knockout that stunned a Miami Beach crowd. In the ring, Ali proclaimed, “I am the greatest! I am the greatest! I’m the king of the world.”

A year later, Ali fought Floyd Patterson and knocked him out in the 12th round to hold onto his title.

Despite his cockiness, Olympic gold medalist and TSU alumnus Ralph Boston said Ali was a friendly person. Boston, who won a gold medal in the long jump competition at the 1960 Olympics, said he and Ali met in New York while they were waiting to board a plane for Rome.

“He had brashness, but he was always very cordial,” Boston said.

Temple and Boston said Ali was also very fond of TSU alumna Wilma Rudolph, who in 1960 became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympics.

They said after they met Ali in Rome he stayed in contact, particularly with Rudolph, and made several stops at TSU to see them on his way to training camp in Miami.

Temple also recalled a banquet where both Ali and Rudolph had been asked to speak. During his speech, he said Ali bragged about the gold medal he won. When he sat down next to Rudolph, Temple said she leaned over and whispered in his ear: “You won one, I won three.”

Temple said the two remained close friends up until her death.

Ali was 74 when he died at a hospital near Phoenix, Arizona. A family spokesman said he was being treated for respiratory complications. Ali had battled Parkinson’s disease for 32 years.

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Internships help prepare TSU students for success in the workforce

June 3, 2016 Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University students are taking advantage of internships they hope will give them real-world experience to be successful in the global workforce.

The internships include positions with the U.S. Department of Defense, health care, education and engineering, to name a few.

2016-05-04 10.46.47 (1) — TSU’s Career Development Center is among a number of job readiness initiatives that help to prepare students for the workforce. (photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

“I strongly recommend that all students complete at least one internship while matriculating through school,” said Tina Reed, director of TSU’s Career Development Center. “By completing an internship, students gain hands on experience while learning about their chosen industry.”

Reed added that students who participate in an internship, or some type of other experiential learning, are “more likely to receive gainful employment upon graduation.”

She said that based on a small sampling, 50 percent of TSU students who complete internships while in school receive employment offers before graduating, or immediately after graduation.

Isaiah Grigsby, a junior majoring in computer science, hopes that will be the case with him following an internship this summer in cybersecurity at Hospital Corporation of America, or HCA.

“It’s going to benefit me going forward because it gives me experience in the field I’m trying to go into,” Grigsby said of the internship. “The things that we do in school are just the theories, but actually going to a company and applying those theories, that’s what I look forward to.”

Business administration major Delveedra Davis, who is entering her senior year, said she hopes to stay with the U.S. Department of Defense when she finishes her internship with the department.

However, if she doesn’t, she acknowledges that the experience gained will be “invaluable.”

“You’re able to build professional skills, and make connections, that you’re not able to do in the classroom,” said Davis, who will mainly be working in the DOD’s human resources department.

Computer science major Alan Bond said it’s unlikely that he’ll be hired permanently after working at Fox Network Engineering and Operations in Los Angeles. But the 21-year-old senior said he plans to make the most of his internship in broadcast engineering.

“It would be nice to work here full-time, but for the most part, I’m just hoping to learn as much as possible,” Bond said. “As far as broadcast engineering goes, working in a major top five market … looks good on the resume.”

TSU takes pride in its programs that help students not only find internships, but seek to give them the best shot at success once they graduate.

The university recently received a $150,000 job placement grant from the United Negro College Fund Career to Pathway Initiative. TSU was one of 30 colleges awarded the funds intended to help students gain the knowledge, preparation, insight and skills needed to secure meaningful employment following graduation.

Tyler Kinloch, who graduated from TSU on May 7 with a degree in Aeronautical and Industrial Technology, said the Career Development Center and the university’s other job readiness initiatives are an asset.

“Being able to connect with the Career Development Center and taking advantage of all the services they provide – resume building, printing business cards, mock interviews, critiques – has helped to prepare me for the real world,” Kinloch said.

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Retiring TSU-Trained Speech Pathologist Loves Giving Children a Voice

May 31, 2016 Emmanuel Freeman

Courtesy: Herald-Citizen

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As Putnam County students and teachers settle into summer break, Tennessee State University alumna Patti Marquis is beginning a new chapter in her life after 31 years of working for the school system.

Marquis, a speech pathologist, began her career in the county schools in 1984 after moving to Cookeville from Oklahoma, where she had obtained a bachelor’s degree in English secondary education from the University of Oklahoma.

Marquis received her master’s degree in speech pathology from TSU in the mid-1990s. She has seen changes in the field of speech pathology throughout her career, including more paperwork, but also better identification of students who need services as well as more awareness to help students.

“It’s hands on,” she said. “No matter what you learn in school, you’re always getting ideas from others. Your tool box grows and grows.”

Marquis learned about speech pathology from a friend who was working for the school system at the time and obtained her certification in speech and hearing from Tennessee Tech.

“I found I really loved it,” Marquis said of speech pathology from her classroom at Cane Creek Elementary School last week. “It’s an opportunity to work with children, to give them a voice, to work with families and to share strategies to help children.”

Marquis has served as one of the 13 speech pathologists and speech therapists who work in Putnam County schools.

“I really consider it a ministry,” she said. “It’s been an amazing blessing to me.”

Each of them works with anywhere from 65 to 100 students per year.

Of working with 30 to 40 kids per day, Marquis said, “It is really working on all levels of communication, articulation, fluency, voice problem. Language is a big component in working with children who have minor speech problems to autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy. It’s a wide variety.”

Just three days before her last day as a full-time speech pathologist, Marquis was working with pre-kindergarten students on naming animals through a sorting activity that helps students with word retrieval and building general vocabulary skills. Even in retirement, she plans to maintain her work in speech pathology on a contract basis with the school system.

Marquis has worked with pre-kindergarten students through high school and has seen the effects of her work through many of the kids she’s followed from preschool to graduation.

Just last week, Marquis attended a graduation party for a young man on the autism spectrum whom she worked with as a preschooler.

“That was really sweet,” she said.

One tool she’s used successfully over the years is PECS, or Picture Exchange Communication System, which can help students who don’t communicate verbally at all be able to transition to a regular classroom.

“We set up the environment where they have to communicate in some way,” she said. “Bubbles are a preschool speech teacher’s best friend.”

Marquis recalled one activity where she was blowing up a balloon and letting it go, prompting one boy to say his first words to her, “Let go.”

And she’s received feedback from parents on how what she’s doing has helped their kids.

“They’ll say, ‘They (students) talked to their grandparents on the phone, and they could actually understand them.

“Communication is such a part of who we are as human beings, to help with a piece of that, is beyond rewarding.”

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Olympic hurdler Mamie Rallins remembered for her tenacity on and off the track

May 26, 2016 Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Legendary TSU track and field coach Ed Temple and others say the tenacity of Olympian Mamie Rallins allowed her to overcome hurdles on the course, and in life.

Rallins, 74, died May 16 in a car crash in Ohio.

She was a hurdler for Temple at Tennessee State University when she was in her early thirties. Temple said in an interview shortly after Rallins’ death that she didn’t let her age hinder her success.

8051746928_c2da85b0bf_o — TSU Director of Athletics, Teresa Lawrence-Phillips, left, presents Mamie Rallins with a plaque at the Breakfast of Champions luncheon marking the TSU Centennial Celebration in 2012. (photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

“She was a hard worker,” said Temple. “She was determined.”

In the book, “A Will to Win,” co-author Dwight Lewis writes about Rallins’ rough upbringing on Chicago’s Southside and her desire to escape her environment.

The only girl among five boys, Rallins’ mother died when she was 13. She was raised by her father.

“It was rough,” Rallins said in the book. “When I was in high school, I saw that by running track I might be able to get out; and even maybe travel around the world someday.”

Rallins eventually became a world-class runner, specializing in hurdling.

At age 27, she ran the 80-meter hurdles for her team in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and won the first heat in 10.6 seconds. She placed fifth in the semifinals with a time of 10.7 seconds. Sports Illustrated covered the Olympics and in one of its articles wrote the following about Rallins:

“Mamie Rallins, that tiny-waisted thing who does not look strong enough to handle a hurdle, always does. It was typical: the gun went off and here came Mamie—who had politely waited for the other girls to start first, since Mamie is courteous that way—suddenly moving so fast that she seemed to be taking tippy-toes steps between the hurdles and passing everybody easily.”

During a meet in Romania, Temple said Rallins approached him about attending college at TSU. Temple helped get her a scholarship, and she enrolled at TSU in the fall of 1971 at the age of 30 and became one of the famous Tigerbelles, who won 23 Olympic medals under Temple.

When Rallins got to TSU, Temple didn’t allow freshmen to have cars, so she had to park hers.

“She had to change a lot of things that she used to do to comply with the freshman requirements,” Temple recalled. “But she moved right along.”

Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice, TSU’s director of track and field and a former Tigerbelle, said she was in high school when she first met Rallins in 1975. Cheeseborough-Guice said Rallins left a lasting impression on her because “she treated me with respect, even though I was a high schooler.”

Looking back, Cheeseborough-Guice said she admires Rallins’ willingness to do what was needed to further her education.

“She was determined to get an education no matter how old she was,” said Cheeseborough-Guice.

Rallins went on to compete in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. She graduated with a business degree from TSU in 1976, and later became head coach of the track and field/cross country programs at Ohio State University, Hampton University and Chicago State University.

She was the first African-American woman to coach at Ohio State and also served as an assistant athletic director for three years.

At the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia, Rallins worked as the head manager for the USA women’s track and field team.

Lewis said Rallins’ achievements show that she was “more than an Olympian.”

“She will remain an inspiration to people everywhere, that with determination, no goal is out of reach,” Lewis said.

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TSU a finalist in 11 categories of HBCU Digest Awards

May 25, 2016 Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is a finalist in 11 categories of the 2016 Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Digest Awards.

The winners will be announced at the sixth annual HBCU Awards ceremony on July 15 at the University of District of Columbia.

TSU is a finalist for University of the Year, and TSU President Glenda Glover is in the running for Female President of the Year.

In sports, TSU men’s basketball coach Dana Ford, the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, is a finalist for Male Coach of the Year, and his team is in the running for Men’s Team of the Year.

Women’s track and field coach Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice is a finalist for Female Coach of the Year, and Tigerbelle and Olympic Trials qualifier Amber Hughes is up for Female Athlete of the Year.

In the other categories, TSU is up for National Alumni Association of the Year; Damon Lee III is a finalist for Alumnus of the Year; Edith Mitchell for Alumna of the Year; RaCia Poston for Female Student of the Year; and Dr. Gregory Henry for Male Faculty Member of the Year.

Finalists were selected from more than 600 submissions from colleges and individuals from around the country and based on media exposure and impact on institutional progress made during the 2015-16 academic year.

Winners will be selected by a panel of previous HBCU Award winners, presidents and chancellors, media members who cover HBCU programs, alumni and students.

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Newspaper Teen Headed to TSU Says ‘Education’ is Key to His Success

May 25, 2016 Emmanuel Freeman

Courtesy: WMCActionNews5.com

10632676_G — A passerby snaps a photo of Kevuntez King on the corner where the Memphis teen has sold newspapers for four years, rain or shine. (Courtesy photo)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Working as a paperboy on a roadside corner is only a small part of Kevuntez King’s story. The graduating senior made a commitment to education, and he’s following through by going to Tennessee State University.

“Education – that’s the key to my success, that’s my way out,” King said.

Every Sunday for four years, rain or shine, King stood on the corner of Poplar Avenue and Estate Drive in Memphis selling newspapers.

“I came back the next week, I made $150,” King said. “I just kept doing it, kept doing it.”

What he continued to do was not only sell newspapers, but make an impression on the people who live close-by.

On May 22, Molly Laster snapped a photo of King, a recent graduate from Craigmont High School, in his graduation cap. That picture sparked a frenzy of positive words and posts from Sea Isle neighbors.

“He always had a smile, always had something nice and positive to say,” Laster said.

Along with his upbeat attitude, King also maintained a desire for success. While keeping his grades up, King competed in three sports: golf, baseball and bowling.

He said his motivation is his mother and aunt.

“Even when I’m at the point where I’m like it’s getting hard, she just pushed me, ‘Son you got it,’” King recalled.

As for the next phase of his life, King is headed to TSU to study Physical Therapy.

Dr. John Cade, TSU’s interim vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Support Services, said King has been admitted to TSU for the 2016 fall semester and that he will be participating in the university’s summer Academic Boot Camp.

“Kevuntez is to be commended for having persevered and for having set goals and objectives … to ensure that he goes to college,” Cade said.

King said it wasn’t easy staying out of trouble and focusing on his books, but he has a message for youngsters who feel like they are fighting against unbearable odds.

“Just chase your dreams,” King said.

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TSU Men’s Basketball Coach Ford To Serve on Panel to End Violence Against Women

May 23, 2016 Emmanuel Freeman

Courtesy: TSU Sports Information

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State University men’s basketball Head Coach Dana Ford will serve as a panelist for The MEND Experience, an event geared toward engaging men to end violence against women.

Ford, who recently completed his second season as head coach of the Tigers, is one of the high-profile panelists who will share their knowledge and experience about changing a culture that supports violence against women.

The event will be held on Thursday, May 26, at Bridgestone Arena.

MEND is an initiative run through YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee dedicated to ending violence against women and girls through engaging and educating men and boys in the community. The program aims to educate and equip coaches and athletes to serve as positive role models in violence prevention in the greater Nashville area.

Hosted by MEND Director Shan Foster, who starred at Vanderbilt before going on to a professional basketball career, the discussion will include Ford and four other leaders from the Nashville community.

Other panelists include: Sean Henry – Nashville Predators President and CEO; Tony Majors –CEO Supports Services Department of Metro Nashville Public Schools; Derek Mason – Vanderbilt Head Football Coach; David Williams – Vanderbilt Athletics Director.

The free event is set for 9 a.m. – noon at Bridgestone Arena, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

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