All posts by Lucas Johnson

Alumni, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, GRANTS, NEWS

TSU President Glenda Glover urges faculty and staff to focus on helping students succeed

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover urged faculty and staff to stay focused on helping students succeed amid university challenges.

Glover, now in her third year at TSU, on Monday addressed the Faculty and Staff Institute for the spring 2016 semester. She noted some of the challenges the university is facing, but said they shouldn’t distract from the university’s main objective, which is to improve retention and graduation rates.

“We’re here for the purpose of educating our students, and enhancing their well-being,” she said. “That’s our one fundamental overriding goal.”

She said steps being taken to help in that endeavor include the formation of a completion committee that will meet twice a month, and requiring teachers to have an assessment measure in place to evaluate students two weeks into the year so that those who are struggling can get assistance.

“By the time it gets to mid-terms, it’s too late,” Glover said. “If we catch students early enough, we can put them in tutoring.”

The president’s speech also highlighted some of the university’s successes, such as the Tennessee Board of Regents’ approval to build a $39 million Health Sciences Building, and the record amount of money it received last year for research grants.

Last year, the university set a goal to get $50 million in grants and received $51 million. This year the goal is $60 million.

“Research grants are very important to the university because they allow faculty members to work on quality solutions that help to meet needs in our country, and give students an opportunity to get engaged in cutting edge ideas,” Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young, associate vice president and chief research officer, said after the president’s speech.

During her speech, Glover also discussed university challenges. She said one task is getting money to adequately fund security upgrades, and another is a proposed governance plan that could adversely affect the university.

Nevertheless, Glover said she’s optimistic about TSU’s future.

“We will fight through our difficulties,” she said. “We will roll up our sleeves and persevere.”

Glover told faculty and staff they can help in the fight by being “ambassadors” for the university, and promoting the positive things TSU is doing. She urged deans and faculty to make the university’s public relations department aware of what’s going on in their departments.

“It takes all of us working together, fighting together, as a unit,” Glover said. “It takes all of us.”

The Faculty and Staff Institute is a bi-annual event that convenes university employees prior to each academic semester. Following her speech, Glover took questions from faculty and staff, and later met with faculty during a planning session.

 

FEATURED, NEWS

TSU Student and Graffiti Artist’s Passion Is Transforming A North Nashville Neighborhood’s Walls

Courtesy of National Public Radio

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Jenkins lives with his grandma, Lovie Jenkins, who has turned her house into a gallery of Jenkins’s work. CREDIT JAY JENKINS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a North Nashville yard, artists have transformed concrete walls into canvases by painting a dozen large-scale murals. It’s at 817 18th Avenue North, in what owner A.J. Sankari says used to be a wheel and rubber factory. The man behind it is Jay Jenkins, an art student from TSU.

On one wall, you see a painting of a woman who is reading from a big book, while formulas and equations float through the cosmos above her. On another, a kid lifts up his shirt, revealing a bull’s eye on his chest.

Jenkins grew up in the neighborhood. He works part-time at Home Depot, collecting carts from the parking lot. But he says he’s usually preoccupied with one thing: art.

“I mean art is a lifestyle so it’s the only thing on my mind,” Jenkins says. “When I’m driving, I’m thinking about art. When I’m in class, I’m thinking about art. When I’m pushing carts, I’m thinking about art. Besides my family, it’s the only thing I think about.”

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Graffiti artist Arjae signs his Norf Wall Fest mural. CREDIT ERICA CICCARONE

Jenkins is lean and tall with short dreadlocks and a big smile. Even when he says he’s stressed out, he appears relaxed and self-assured. He’s popular among his professors and classmates at TSU, but his biggest fan is his grandma, Lovie Jenkins.

She has Jenkins’s paintings hanging in every room of her house, and even hangs up paintings that bother her. In one six-foot tall painting, a guy has caution tape wrapped around his face that’s covered in words you usually don’t want your grandma to see. But she still displayed it right outside the kitchen.

Jenkins says he didn’t think about art until high school, when he saw a friend drawing graffiti in a notebook. “I asked him can he teach me how to do that, and eventually he did show me and took me out painting. I was drawing before that, but once I started doing graffiti, it became a passion.”

His paintings are big, complex, influenced by jazz and surrealism.

Growing up, Jenkins watched North Nashville sidewalks crack and buildings fall into disrepair, while other parts of the city got bigger and better. But he also knows his neighborhood has something that others don’t: four historical black colleges.

He felt driven to harness the talent coming out of these schools, so he convinced Sankari to let him transform the walls in his lot into canvases for Norf Wall Fest. That’s Norf with an “F” because he says, “Everybody from North Nashville says ‘norf’ with an ‘F’ at the end of it.”

He turned to his mentor Thaxton Waters, who runs a gallery on Jefferson Street called Art History Class Lifestyle Lounge and Gallery. It’s filled with antique furniture and paintings by local Black artists.

“When he came to me with this idea, I was like man, this is beautiful because anytime we have the opportunity to heighten the aesthetic value of our neighborhood, we have to jump on that,” Waters says. “What was just him spitting out ideas is growing and has morphed into a whole ‘nother Frankenstein, so I love it.”

Waters helped Jenkins select seasoned graffiti artists who could handle the huge concrete canvases. They looked for work that addressed race, class, and community, issues central to the neighborhood.

In one mural by an artist who goes by Arjae, a nude Black woman sits among clouds at sunset, her back to the viewer, with the words “Not an object” written below her.

All this comes on the heels of *Metro Nashville Arts Commission’s recent report that highlights how people of color have been excluded from the arts. But this is not news to Jenkins’s mentor, Waters, who views his gallery and the surrounding North Nashville artistic neighborhood as a way around arts institutions.

“When I went through all the institutions and went through the art history books, I just didn’t see things that reflected me. That sends a message to the viewer: Why am I not important?” Waters says.

This feeling — to be visible, to make a mark, to assert that you exist — that’s why graffiti started, and it’s what drives Jenkins.

“I’ve got these worlds in my head that I get to show people,” Jenkins says. “I’m not really good at explaining things. My grandma says I’m quiet. I don’t really talk much, so I talk through my art.”

 

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, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Head of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation lauds TSU feature in HBCU Calendar

President Glenda Glover
President Glenda Glover

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The head of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation says the inclusion of Tennessee State University in the 2016 Black History HBCU Calendar and Resources Guide helps highlight what’s “great about Nashville.”

Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover is one of 13 leaders and visionaries in education, medicine, law, sports, corporate management and entertainment featured in the 2016 publication.

The calendar, a national fundraising vehicle for Historically Black Colleges and Universities now in its 10th year, features individuals and trailblazers who have made “outstanding” contributions in their fields.

“TSU’s feature in the HBCU calendar is yet another recognition of everything great about Nashville,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation. “TSU is a long-standing treasure and a huge part of our heritage. We couldn’t be more pleased or proud.”

Glover said she’s honored to be featured.

“It’s something I will always cherish,” she said.

Others featured in the calendar include tennis star Serena Williams; multiple award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson; and Dr. Ronald A. Johnson, president of Clark Atlanta University, among others.

As a fundraising instrument, the calendar has helped to contribute needed funds to schools across the country. It serves as a resource for students and parents.

The calendar, which is now available across the nation, can be purchased online and at Walgreens stores.

 

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, College of Engineering, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, GRANTS, NEWS, RESEARCH, Research and Sponsored Programs, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

With Engineering Clinic, TSU Students May Soon Design and Build Computer Games, Small Machines

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A new “engineering clinic” will allow students to design and build products related to their discipline. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Engineering and computer science students at Tennessee State University may soon be able to design and build products such     as hand-held computer   games, mobile robots, computer apps and small machines, thanks to a new funding from the National Science Foundation.

A $1.7 million, four-year grant intended to revamp the curriculum and increase the graduation rate of African-American males in engineering, will also include the creation of an “engineering clinic,” which will allow students to design and build products related to their discipline.

Hargrove
Dr. S. Keith Hargrove

“We are developing an innovative way of learning that would enhance students’ persistence and better prepare them for the rigors of the engineering coursework,” said Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering and principal investigator of the NSF funding.

According to Hargrove there is a demand to produce a more diverse workforce by developing curriculums that reflect theoretical and practical knowledge and allow graduates to immediately make a contribution to industry. But incoming freshmen are less prepared for the rigors of the engineering curriculum in such areas as math. Only 5.5 percent of black eighth-graders completed calculus five years later, and a mere 1.1 percent of the nation’s black college freshmen enrolled in engineering programs in 2010, an analysis by the National Association of Black Engineers shows.

With the new funding, Tennessee State University, the largest producer of African American engineers in the state, is responding to this workforce demand, Hargrove said.

Dr. Sachin Shetty
Dr. Sachin Shetty

“We have developed a pre-engineering sequence of courses for freshmen that students must take before embarking on the traditional four-year curriculum,” he said. “These courses are infused with hands-on design projects to motivate and inform students about the discipline, and promote team dynamics and engineering fundamentals.”

Freshman Mechanical Engineering major Isaiah Pirtle, a beneficiary of the pre-engineering program, has seen great progress in his performance.

“I was fortunate to participate in the ‘Engineering Concepts Institute,’ a summer pre-college program,” Pirtle said. “That experience gave me an excellent academic background for the mathematics required in my major.”

According to Hargrove, with that preparation, Pirtle and his fellow classmates’ program for the next five years will focus on more design-related projects with the development of the engineering clinic.

Dr. Sachin Shetty, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Co-PI of the NFS fund, will manage the project and the development of the clinic. The project will also support a retention study on the attrition of African-American students, with particular emphasis on black males. Faculty from the Department of Sociology Department and College of Education will coordinate the study.

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 Alumnus Kevin W. Williams Elected to Nation’s Largest and Most Prominent Physicians’ Group

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Kevin W. Williams (’83) has been elected to a public member position with the American Medical Association, according to a recent announcement released by the 168-year-old organization.

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Kevin W. Williams

A former senior executive with General Motors, Williams joins the nation’s largest and most prominent physician organization on its 21-member board which sets standards and policy for the medical profession. He is only the fourth person to hold the public member position on the governing board, which added the first public member to its Board of Trustees in 2002. Williams will begin his four-year term at the conclusion of the AMA Annual Meeting in June 2016.

“Mr. Williams brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the AMA board from his private sector career as a high-level leader with national and international business experience,” said Stephen R. Permut, M.D., AMA Board chair, in a release. “We look forward to his new perspectives that will help enrich our continuing efforts to address the leading health care issues facing our nation.”

Over the course of his 31-year career at GM, Williams accumulated extensive experience where he held numerous global roles. Most recently, he served as board chairman, president and managing director of General Motors (GM) of Canada Ltd. He also served as president and managing director of GM de Mexico, and GM North American vice president of quality.

Williams began his GM career in 1983 as a reliability analyst at Buick City in Flint, Michigan, and over the years he took on diverse key leadership roles as global executive director of Supplier Quality; global executive director of Supplier Quality, Development, and Supplier Diversity for Worldwide Purchasing; and executive director of Supplier Quality for GM Europe with responsibilities spanning 22 countries and 1,500 employees.

Williams has a demonstrated passion for giving back. He is a board member of the United Negro College Fund Foundation, a former trustee of Genesys Health System of Michigan, a former chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ A World in Motion Advisory Committee, and continues to support his alma mater by serving on the TSU Foundation Board of Trustees.

A native of Lexington Park, Maryland, Williams earned a bachelor’s in Business Management from Tennessee State University in 1983 and a master’s in Business Administration from Central Michigan University in 1989. In 2002, Williams completed the GM Senior Executive Development Program.

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 Aristocrat of Bands Selected for the 2016 Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands is preparing to perform once again in the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase. The band was recently selected in a competitive online voting process in which the nation’s top band contenders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities vied for a spot in the annual showcase.

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TSU Aristocrat of Bands set for its seventh appearance at the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

TSU was among only eight HBCU bands making the final cut and will gather at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Jan. 30, 2016 to entertain thousands of students, alumni and other fans with their musical talents and showmanship.

Along with Tennessee State, the other bands selected included Alabama A&M University, Alcorn State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Jackson State University, Lincoln University (PA), Prairie View A&M University, and South Carolina State University. Each band will receive a $20,000 grant from Honda to support their music education programs, and will receive paid travel and lodging accommodations to the Invitational Showcase.

“The Honda Battle of the Bands is an once-in-a-lifetime experience that helps HBCU student musicians showcase their talent and discover their greatness, both on- and off-the-field,” said Steve Morikawa, vice president of Corporate Community Relations, American Honda. “Honda is proud to have a longstanding relationship with America’s HBCUs, and is honored that many students consider this event a highlight of their collegiate experience.”

This will be the seventh appearance for the Aristocrat of Bands at the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase, having performed in 2003, 2004, 2011, and 2012, 2013, and 2015.

“Our Aristocrat of Bands students work extremely hard academically and as musicians, and we are proud that we have been selected to participate in the Honda Battle of the Bands for yet another year,” said Dr. Reginald McDonald, director of University Bands. “We appreciate all of those who voted for us to be a part of this competition and look forward to presenting a show that lives up to the outstanding Aristocrat of Bands legacy of quality musicianship and energetic showmanship.”

Tickets to the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase are available for purchase now on the HBOB website, http://www.hondabattleofthebands.com/, and start at just $10.

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

Lomax Tapped as TSU’s 2015 Fall Commencement Speaker

Unknown
Dr. Michael L. Lomax

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – During Tennessee State University’s highest and most dignified academic ceremony, nearly 500 undergraduate and graduate students in various disciplines will take their final walk as they graduate Dec. 12, 9 a.m. in the Howard C. Gentry Complex on the main campus, during the 2015 Fall Commencement.

In what may be the end, and for others, a continuation of their academic journey, the graduates will be celebrated with pomp and circumstance, and extended words of wisdom from Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, the featured Commencement speaker. Lomax has served in his current role with UNCF, the nation’s largest provider of scholarships and other educational support to African-American students, since 2004. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised $2.3 billion and helped more than 92,000 students earn college degrees and launch careers. Annually, UNCF’s work enables 60,000 students to go to college with UNCF scholarships and attend its 37 member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Before coming to UNCF, Lomax was president of Dillard University in New Orleans and a literature professor at UNCF-member institutions, Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. He also served as chairman of the Fulton County Commission in Atlanta, the first African-American elected to that post.

“Dr. Lomax has done outstanding work advocating for students of color to receive funding support in pursuit of higher education,” said TSU President Glenda Glover. “Over the years, his efforts and that of so many UNCF and TSU supporters, has benefitted many Tennessee State students who now call themselves graduates of the university. We expect that he will deliver an energetic and timely message to our graduates.”

At UNCF’s helm, Lomax oversees the organization’s 400 scholarship programs, which awards 10,000 scholarships a year worth more than $100 million. He also launched the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building, which helps UNCF’s 37-member historically black colleges and universities become stronger, more effective and more self-sustaining. Under Lomax’s leadership, UNCF has fought for college readiness and education reform through partnerships with reform-focused leaders and organizations. He serves on the boards of Teach for America and the KIPP Foundation.

“This is our first opportunity to hear Dr. Lomax as Commencement speaker and we are looking forward to the inspiring and encouraging message he has for our students,” said Dr. John Cade, Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Support Services.

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, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

TSU Dean Named Consultant to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Dean Michael Harris, Director Mark Mark R. Gwyn TBI, Sep. 10, 2015
The Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Mark R. Gwyn, right, presents Dr. Michael Harris with the TBI badge during a ceremony at the agency. (Submitted Photo)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Dr. Michael Harris, dean of the College of Public Service, has been named a consultant to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. This follows two years of collaboration between the college and TBI on a variety of professional development and education initiatives.

Harris will be a non-salary consultation of the agency. TBI Director Mark R. Gwyn called Harris’ appointment “an added value” to the agency.

“We have worked with Dean Harris for over two years and know that his expertise and experiences will be of great value to the work of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,” Gwyn said.

TSU President Glenda Glover applauded the TBI for recognizing Harris’ talent in appointing him a consultant.

“His (Harris) integrity and resourcefulness are unmatched and he will be an asset to TBI,” Glover said. “The appointment reflects the strong commitment that TSU has to serve Middle Tennessee and the State of Tennessee.”

Harris holds a Ph.D. in public policy from Indiana University, an M.A. in public policy from Tel-Aviv University, and a B.A. in economics and business administration from Bar-Ilan University.  He is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership, and the Higher Education Oxford Round Table.

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, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Tennessee State Opens Satellite Police Office in Heart of Campus

Hilliary Parks-2
A Facilities Management staff affixes the TSU Police Satellite Station sign on the door, as a Channel 5 cameraman covers the opening of the new office. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Tennessee State University Police Department has increased its presence on campus recently opening a new satellite office right in the heart of the campus.

The new office will put the department in closer proximity to the university’s high-traffic area at the Floyd-Payne Campus Center near the courtyard area, and will serve to build stronger relationships with students in an effort to protect the campus community and visitors and to provide quicker response to criminal activity, and identify and remove those who are unauthorized visitors to the campus.

SGA Pres
Student Government Association President Racia Poston, left, talks to reporters during the opening of the new TSU Police Satellite Station in the campus center. (Photo by John Cross,TSU Media Relations)

“The administration is taking a multifaceted approach to further enhance safety measures that strategically address the issue of ensuring that there are no weapons or other illegal activity on our campus,” said TSU President Glenda Glover. “We will strictly enforce the TSU ID policy, requiring students, faculty and staff to wear IDs at all times.”

The satellite location has been fully operational since Nov. 1 as part of new safety measures announced by Glover under her 10-Point Safety Enhancement Plan. The office is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and operates through staffed police officers and security guards in three eight-hour shifts, according to TSU Police Chief Anthony Carter.

“In just a short time, we have noticed a safer, more collegial environment since opening this location,” Carter said. “It is much better and it’s getting better every day.”

Carter continued, “This location has also done a lot to improve our engagement with students. Our officers laugh, joke and have conversations with them. It has been beneficial in building relationships with the student body and creating a more safe and friendly atmosphere.”

The increased visibility of TSU’s police force is amplified by a partnership with Metro Nashville Police, who have joined with TSUPD to provide increased patrols on campus. Other safety measures under the incorporation of a tip hotline, the offering of cash rewards for anonymous tips, a Student Safety Patrol, more frequent room inspections, and enhanced surveillance, among other efforts.

Students, employees, and visitors are encouraged to report all incidents, emergencies and crimes directly to TSUPD. For more information on the new TSU Police satellite office, contact (615) 963-5171.

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, GRANTS, NEWS, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Tennessee State University Installs New Student Safety Patrol Officers

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SGA President Racia Poston, second from right, was among those sworn-in to protect their campus as part of the Student Safety Patrol. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – For JerMilton Woods, it is personal when it comes to campus safety and the well-being of his fellow students, especially when he thinks about outsiders coming on campus to cause problems.

“This is a great university that has been very good to me,” Woods said. “Anything I can do to protect its good image and keep my fellow students safe, I am willing to do it.”

The sophomore Human Performance and Sports Sciences major has joined about 25 other schoolmates as part of the Student Safety Patrol, a volunteer group of male and female students providing safe escort for other students across campus.

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JerMilton Woods

The patrol is drawn from fraternities, sororities, service organizations and other related campus groups. It is part of Tennessee State University’s 10-Poing Safety Enhancement Plan announced by President Glenda Glover on Oct. 30 to assure students, parents, alumni, and the public they are safe and secure on campus.

At a ceremony on the main campus Monday, Nov. 16, group members were sworn-in after completing training in observation, reporting and escorting techniques. The volunteers will work in two-hour shifts between 6 p.m. – midnight. Assignments will vary between “Fixed Post” and “Safe Escort Across Campus.” They will wear specially designed uniforms that distinguish them from the general student population, and carry equipment such as whistles, flashlights and radios.

“It is truly personal for me to be a ‘vocal point’ on campus safety,” Woods said after taking the oath to protect his fellow students. “Anytime that I can give back to my university that has given me so much, that is enough for me.”

“I have a vested interest to see this campus safe,” added Tariq Muhammad, a sophomore Agricultural Science major and a member of the SSP. “We want to take back our campus and one way of doing that is by taking the initiative of patrolling our campus ourselves.”

According to Frank Stevenson, coordinator of the Student Safety Patrol, the goal of the programs is to provide safe transport to students across campus and to create opportunities for “peer engagement” in student safety.

“This program will allow students to have true ownership into a safer TSU campus,” Stevenson said. “The intend is to provide safe escorts for our campus community so that no one has to travel alone in isolated areas of campus and/or after dark. The Student Safety Patrol will provide extra eyes and ears for a safer campus.”

Assistant Vice President for Communications and Public Relations Kelli Sharpe congratulated the students on behalf of President Glover, who was away on business.

“We see the Student Safety Patrol as extra eyes and ears on campus safety,” Sharp said. “We commend these students for taking on such an initiative to make sure their fellow students are safe on campus.”

The establishment of the SSP comes on the heels of the recent opening of a police satellite station in the campus center. Also, Metro Nashville Police are teaming up with TSU Police Department to provide more campus coverage. In addition, students, faculty and staff are mandated to visibly wear their university-issued ID badges.

In announcing the Safety Enhancement Plan, Glover said the primary objectives of the Student Safety Patrol are to provide TSU campus safety escorts and transports; observe and report suspicious and unusual activity to police; and provide an active presence. While membership is voluntary with no pay, applicants must be in good academic standing, exhibit good character, maintain good conduct, commit at least two hours per week, and must have genuine concern about safety on campus. In return members receive credit for community service, a certificate of recognition, and internship credits.

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.