Monthly Archives: May 2016

Alumni, Athletics, EVENTS, FACULTY, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Retiring TSU-Trained Speech Pathologist Loves Giving Children a Voice

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.”

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

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

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.

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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.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, Athletics, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

TSU a finalist in 11 categories of HBCU Digest Awards

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.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

 

Alumni, Athletics, EVENTS, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

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

Courtesy: WMCActionNews5.com

 

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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.

Alumni, Athletics, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS

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

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.

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, Research and Sponsored Programs, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

TSU Summer Camps Provide Real-World Educational Experience

Edward S. Graves Summer band Camp (1)
Dr. Reginald McDonald, TSU director of Band, instructs students during the Edward S. Graves Summer Band Camp in 2015. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is the place to be for cool summer camps that provide youngsters and incoming college freshmen with real-world educational experience.

The university is offering a variety of camps and programs intended to help participants learn something new, while also spending quality time with top-tier faculty, staff and students.

Summer camp themes and subjects range from science, applied mathematics and engineering, to music, athletics, real-world scientific work, and cutting-edge research.

Youngsters from 5 years on up will participate in early learning, musical and sports camps such as the TSU Women’s Basketball Kids Camp, the Offense Defense Sports Football Camp, and the Community Academy of Music and Arts Piano Camp, among others.

Dance
Dance instructor Princecilla Ridley demonstrates a dance routine to students in the Musical Theater Camp at TSU in 2015. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

Overall, more than 2,000 students are expected on the university’s main campus, and its Avon Williams Campus. They range from elementary to college freshmen, some of whom will come from as far away as California and Puerto Rico.

One of the more popular camps is the Academic Boot Camp, a key recruitment tool for the university. Now in its sixth year, the four-week residential program gives incoming freshmen an early introduction to college life. Participants earn college credit toward their major.

The camp offers an academic and college preparedness program, including introduction to college life, public speaking, workshops and technology. Physical and mental development exercises, such as self-discipline, respect for others, good study habits and how to succeed in life, are key components of the program.

“The object of this program is to ensure that students who have already been admitted for the fall semester actually get a jump start on enrollment,” said Dr. John Cade, TSU’s interim  vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Support Services.

He said the retention rate for students who enter the university through the Academic Boot Camp is very high.

“It is about 85 percent, which shows that the program has proven to do what it was designed to do. We have also found out that when those students actually return in the fall, they are better able to navigate the system, many of them become mentors for other students, and many get actively involved in extracurricular activities,” Cade said. The camp runs from June 4 – July 1, 2016.

Another camp favorite is the Summer Apprenticeship Program, or SAP, a science-based initiative for college freshmen and rising high school seniors that exposes them to cutting-edge research. The camp is hosted by the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences. It runs from June 13 – July 15, 2016.

Agriculture
Students weigh a goat as part of their hands-on activity during the Summer Apprenticeship Program last year. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

Last year, 21 students from Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Indiana and Georgia spent five weeks engaged in studies from understanding the hypersensitive response of tobacco plants, to comparing DNAs in chickens and Guinea fowls. Their finished works were presented as scientific papers and research results to a standing-room only audience of parents, faculty and guests on TSU’s main campus.

William F. Hayslett Sr., coordinator of the SAP, said the objective of the program is to dispel the “myth” that agriculture is farming.

“Our goal here is to make students aware of the academic programs in the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences and the many career opportunities available to its graduates,” he said.

See the following link for a list of all summer camps and programs and contacts.

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, Athletics, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

TSU mourns loss of former Tigerbelle, U.S. Olympian Mamie Rallins

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service/TSU Sports Information) – Tennessee State University is mourning the loss of former Tigerbelle and U.S. Olympian Mamie Rallins.

The 74-year-old passed away on Monday, May 16, following a car accident in Ohio.

“It’s a sad day not just for Tennessee State, but for the Tigerbelles,” said TSU Track and Field Director Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice.

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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)

Rallins, who graduated from TSU in 1976, ran for legendary TSU track and field coach Ed Temple. She competed for the United States in the hurdles during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City as well as the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

The Chicago native went on to serve as 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.

Helping to start the women’s track and field program at Ohio State, she coached 60 Big Ten champions, 24 All-Americans and one Olympian during her 18-year career in Columbus.

On the national and international level, Rallins was the head coach of the U.S. Indoor World Championship team in 1987 and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1996. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Rallins worked as the head manager for the USA women’s track and field team.

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

All Roads Lead to TSU with Discounted Tuition Rates for Out-of-State Students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University has just made it more affordable for out-of-state students to attend the university. TSU is now offering discounted tuition rates of nearly 40 percent for students in counties within 250 miles of Nashville.

The new rates apply to students in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

TSU President Glenda Glover said one of the most rewarding phrases a college president likes to hear from a prospective student is “I’ve selected your university to continue my education,” and that the new discount will play a vital role in the recruitment and retention of students.

“TSU is very excited to launch this new initiative that will allow students to attend from bordering states who may have taken us off their list as the top choice because of out-of-state tuition costs,” said the TSU president. “This will also ease the financial burden of hundreds of students who are already enrolled at TSU.”

Dr. John Cade, interim vice president of TSU’s Enrollment Management and Student Support Services, said the offering is part of a new Tennessee Board of Regents policy, which allows TSU and other TBR institutions to offer discounted rates to students within a 250-mile radius of their campuses.

Cade said the plan will help boost the university’s effort to recruit out-of-state students, a breadbasket for TSU.

“Based on our national alumni base and legacy, out-of-state students have traditionally been attracted to Tennessee State University, but the cost of tuition has been a major barrier for many,” Cade said.

Called the 250-Mile Radius Rate, the new discount plan will be effective beginning the 2016-2017 academic year. It will benefit students like Atlanta native Jordan Gaither, a senior Exercise Sports major who dropped his athletics scholarship playing basketball to concentrate on his academics. Gaither does not have a Pell Grant and has to rely on his parents to help pay for his fees.

“It has been hard on them and me for the last two years,” Gaither said. “If I can get this discount, it will definitely help a lot.”

Under the new plan, eligible incoming out-of-state undergraduate students enrolled in 15 credit hours will receive a 43 percent reduction in tuition, or pay $5,903 per year.  Graduate students taking nine credit hours will pay 35 percent less, or $6,176.

Tuition is slightly higher for undergraduates taking more than 15 credit hours, and for graduate students taking more than nine credits hours.

In 2015/2016, full out-of-state tuition for undergraduate students enrolled in 15 credit hours was $10,387, and for graduate students enrolled in nine credit hours the tuition was $9,439.

The discount applies only to tuition and not to costs, such as housing, meals, books and other fees. But Joshua Brome of Stone Mountain, Georgia, sees the offer as a major break for students in need of assistance.

“The foreseeable benefit of this plan of lower tuition will release me from my dependence on student loans,” said Brome, a sophomore Civil and Environmental Engineering major. “I don’t have a Parent Plus loan and this goes a long way in ensuring I might not have to apply for one to cover the out-of-state cost. This is a huge weight off my shoulders and will free up my mind to concentrate more on me and my academics.”

Visit http://www.tnstate.edu/bursar/radius.aspx for a list of eligible high schools and additional information regarding fees.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, GRANTS, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Grant from United Negro College Fund to enhance TSU’s student career development initiatives

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is using a $150,000 grant from the United Negro College Fund to improve job placement outcome for graduates.

The university was one of 30 historically black colleges and universities that recently received the grant made possible through funding by the Lilly Endowment, Inc, which has committed $50 million for UNCF to launch the UNCF Career Pathways Initiative.

TSU will use the money to enhance its student career development initiatives.

“As the nation focuses on its capacity to address the current and projected needs for a more educated, better trained and diverse workforce, TSU is poised to confirm our position as a significant source of premier employee and entrepreneurial talent,” TSU President Glenda Glover said. “This funding will allow us to focus on a campus-wide career planning and development initiative that will ensure that even more of our students are exposed to various career and employment options.”

Kierston Moorer and Tyler Kinloch, both of whom graduated from TSU on May 7, said the university’s Career Development Center has done a good job preparing them for the workforce.

“I’ve been involved with this center since my freshman year,” said Moorer, a computer science major who is taking a job at IBM as a software engineer-technical support in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The center set up a mock interview for me, guided me with my resume and everything else. They are very proactive and very encouraging.”

Kinloch, who interned with Alcoa, Inc., last year, has been hired by the company as an industrial engineer. He said the Career Development Center “enhanced my ability to prepare for my career.”

“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,” said Kinloch, who graduated with a degree in Aeronautical and Industrial Technology.

Eloise Abernathy Alexis, associate vice president for Institutional Advancement at TSU, said the funding is intended to integrate and institutionalize existing and new career development programs, partnerships and principles under four key priority areas, including curriculum, coaching, concepts and connection.

For instance, she said one program the funding will benefit is Backpacks to Briefcases: A Social Media Platform Integrating Career Curriculum, Coaching, Concepts and Connections.

“Our students represent a diverse population of individuals seeking to acquire the academic credentials, training and experience required to embark upon pertinent career opportunities, innovative startups and civic service,” she said. “We must ensure that current TSU students have practical and relevant career preparation as a continuum of TSU’s track record of success after graduation.”

Bertina Reed-Hewett, director of the Career Development Center, agreed.

“We don’t want students to graduate with a mediocre job, we want them to have gainful employment,” she said.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.

Alumni, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

TSU Vintagers Report nearly $256,000 raised for Student Scholarships

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University alumni who graduated from the institution at least 40 years ago recently reported raising more than $250,000 for student scholarships.

The  Vintagers return to their alma mater each spring commencement and hold different functions on graduation day. They dress in caps and gowns, and join the ceremony to relive their graduation day.

TSU’s graduate commencement is Friday, May 6, and the undergraduate ceremony is on Saturday, May 7.

At a luncheon in their honor before the May 6 commencement, the Vintagers made presentations totaling nearly $256,000.

“When you come back and bring a gift like this, you are securing the future of Tennessee State University,” TSU President Glenda Glover told the former students at the packed ceremony on the main campus. “Your gifts are making a tremendous difference in the lives of our students.”

This year’s celebration recognized the classes of 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966 and 1971.

The newest members of the group, the Class of 1976, were inducted into the organization, and pledged to support the institution.

On the fundraising, the Class of 1966 reported $118,067, the most raised by any group. The Class of 1956 came in second with $53,159, followed by the classes of 1971, $35,426; 1976, $32,463; 1951, $9,495; and the Class of 1961, $7,250.

The Vintagers are organized under the Office of Alumni Relations in the Division of Institutional Advancement, which planned the luncheon.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

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.