NASHVILLE, Tenn.(TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is helping area youngsters get a “healthy start” back to school.
The university will partner with several organizations on Saturday, July 29, to sponsor the 5th annual Love’s Healthy Start Festival at Hadley Park from 9 a.m. to noon.
The event, which is open to the public, was started by State Rep. Harold Love, Jr., whose district includes TSU.
One thousand youngsters will receive free backpacks and school supplies at the festival, which will also focus on health and education, as well as provide free food and live entertainment, Love said.
“Love’s Healthy Start Festival is more than a back to school event,” he said. “It is designed to give the entire family an opportunity to start the school year off right.”
Health screenings and dental exams will be available for youth and adults.
Leon Roberts is coordinator of clinics for TSU’s Department of Dental Hygiene. He said representatives from the department will be at the festival to discuss the benefits of good hygiene, as well as talk about the university’s Dental Hygiene Clinic.
The clinic provides service to nearly 600 patients a year, including students as well as the Nashville community.
“A lot of dental diseases can be easily prevented by brushing and flossing properly, and visiting the dentist at least twice a year,” Roberts said. “We plan to give people a quick demonstration on how to brush and floss properly, but also let them know about the clinic.”
Other TSU participation will include the university’s Ralph H. Boston Wellness Center, which offers a range of sports, recreation and fitness activities for students, faculty, staff and alumni.
“We want the community to know the importance of health and wellness; taking care of yourself,” said Jerry Davis, Wellness Center director. “We also want to let people know what we do, as well as look to partner with outside agencies.”
Love said the festival will also feature literacy and financial education programs. For instance, he said the festival is partnering with Book’em, a nonprofit organization, to provide 1,000 free books to youngsters in grades K-12.
There will also be information about initiatives like Tennessee Promise, which provides eligible graduating high school seniors two years of free tuition at a community or technical college in Tennessee.
“We want parents to know about the opportunity their children have to get a free education,” Love said.
Other expected TSU festival participants include the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences, and the Office of Enrollment Management.
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.(TSU News Service) – More than 300 agricultural experts, farmers and officials attended Tennessee State University’s Small Farm Expo on Thursday.
Small Farmer of the Year recipient Nicole Riddle. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)
In its 13th year, TSU officials say the expo at the Pavilion Agricultural Research and Education Center (The Farm) is a way for the university and its partners on the state and federal levels to recognize the role farmers and agriculture play in the state and the nation.
“We at TSU focus our work to support the small farms and this expo recognizes the outstanding farmers with innovative ideas,” said Dr. Chandra Reddy, dean of TSU’s College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences. “Also, participants get to see the best field research of TSU scientists and personally meet federal and state Ag leadership.”
Goats in TSU research program. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)
The expo featured speakers and agricultural research tours with TSU faculty. Topics ranged from organic agriculture to cattle and goat research, all of which have been recognized nationally.
However, the highlight of the expo was the announcement of the Small Farmer of the Year, which went to Nicole Riddle of Maynardville, Tennessee. Riddle leased 44 acres of her parents’ land and opened her own winery in 2015.
“The Winery at Seven Springs Farm is the most successful new start rural winery in the state of Tennessee,” wrote Area Specialist Charles Morris. “In an unprecedented showing, her wines received five Concordance Gold Medals, including Best of Muscadine, and three Silver Medals at the 2015 Wines of the South Competition.”
Dr. Suresh Sureshwaran, director of the division of community education with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, said TSU’s agricultural research over the years is impressive, particularly its goat research.
Earlier this year, TSU received a $496,328 federal grant to expand its research on goat meat production.
Dexter bull. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)
“Goats are becoming an important new commodity for small farmers,” Sureshwaran said. “But many in the United States don’t know how to produce, or how to sell goat. I think more research is needed, and what Tennessee State is doing is extremely good.”
TSU also has a Dexter cattle-breeding program, the only one of its kind currently in U.S. higher education. The Dexter cattle are being used to assess the potential of small-breed cattle for small-scale beef production.
“We’re hoping people will see that there are alternatives to traditional livestock production,” said Dr. Richard Browning, who heads the Dexter and goat research. “The concept of having a small non-traditional breed like that is something they say might work on their farm. The same with the goats.”
Goat meat served at expo. (Photo by Courtney Buggs, TSU Media Relations)
Regardless of the type of research, TSU junior Kayla Sampson, an agriculture science major, said the expo is beneficial because students who attend are able to learn from invited experts and officials.
“It helps broaden our knowledge during the summer,” Sampson said. “So when the school year starts, we’re a step ahead.”
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands and the university’s College of Engineering received top honors at the recent 2017 HBCU Digest Awards.
(l to r) WDC alumni chapter member Leonard Stephens; Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering; Dr. Reginald McDonald, TSU’s director of University Bands; WDC alumni chapter president Andrea Warren; WDC alumni chapter members Jocelyn Smith and Nahshon Bigham. (Submitted photo)
TSU was a finalist in 10 categories of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Digest Awards. Its Aristocrat of Bands got Best Marching Band, and the College of Engineering won for Best Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) program.
The winners were announced July 14 at the seventh annual HBCU Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Finalists were selected from more than 175 nominations from HBCUs across the country.
“This is a proud moment in my career,” Dr. Reginald McDonald, TSU’s director of University Bands, said of receiving the award. “Not only to be recognized as the best HBCU marching band, but to be recognized along with our awesome College of Engineering.”
Former President Barack Obama greets members of TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands at the White House last year. (Submitted photo).
Last year, TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands played on the lawn of the White House. The band was invited to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It was the first HBCU band to perform for the Obama administration at the White House.
McDonald said there’s an academic connection between the band program and the College of Engineering in that engineering majors make up the largest group among the 264 members of the 2016-2017 Aristocrat of Bands.
Andrea Warren, president of the Washington, D.C., TSU alumni chapter, said the university’s band has helped the chapter spark interest in TSU with local D.C./Maryland/Virginia high school students following its performance at the White House and at Eastern Senior High School last year.
“As a product of TSU’s College of Engineering, and a lover and supporter of the Aristocrat of Bands, I could not be more thrilled with TSU receiving the Best Marching Band and Best STEM Program awards,” Warren said.
Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, dean of the College of Engineering, said the HBCU award his college received recognizes the hard work of its faculty, staff and students.
“The demand for engineers, technologists, and computer scientists still exceeds the supply, and our dedicated faculty and staff are committed to providing a quality education with their engagement in classroom and laboratory learning,” he said.
Also this month, Hargrove received the INSIGHT into Diversity magazine’s 2017 Inspiring Leaders in STEM Award, which pays tribute to those who inspire a new generation of young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Last year, TSU received HBCU awards for: Alumna of the Year, Dr. Edith Mitchell; Female Coach of the Year, Track and Field Coach Director Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice; and Female Student of the Year, RaCia Poston.
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, 25 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.
Joanne Rong Wang, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Leadership at Tennessee State University, has been awarded a $7,000 seed grant from Vanderbilt University’s Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to use toward her dissertation research.
Joanne Rong Wang
Wang’s dissertation, entitled Chief Diversity Officers’ Perceptions of the Degree to which a NACUBO Economic Model is Effective in Producing Outcomes Leading to Institutionally Sustainable Diversity Programs, seeks to study the intersection of finance and diversity in higher education.
“There are rapidly changing demographics in education,” Wang said. “By 2065, there will not be a minority race. Higher education has to respond quickly to be market smart.”
Wang was inspired to study this intersectionality by the rising costs of higher education, increasing budget cuts, and the financial challenges universities face. She believes diversity programs are necessary for the future of higher education because they are essentially marketing strategies. With the high investment costs of education, students want to attend colleges and universities that they feel will represent them. However, diversity programs face issues with long-term sustainability due to leadership changes and financial problems.
“Lots of educational models and leadership have been used to examine outcomes [in diversity programs], but I’m examining them from a business perspective,” Wang said.
When the call for grants was announced, Wang decided to submit her dissertation, which is still in the proposal stage at TSU. More than 60 prospective grants were reviewed and 29 were funded. Wang plans to use the grant to help further her research by funding travel to conferences and hiring statisticians and editors for her dissertation.
Wang is especially excited about an upcoming conference that the grant is funding. She plans to attend the National Association of College and University Business Officers Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she will meet Dr. Jacalyn Askin, the project manager for NACUBO’s Higher Education Economic Models Project. NACBUO is an organization that represents financial officers, whose mission is “to advance the economic viability, business practices and support for higher education institutions in fulfillment of their missions.” After reading a paper Askin had authored, Wang contacted her to discuss her research findings, and the two have been in constant communication ever since. Askin, who sits on Wang’s dissertation committee, will meet in person for the first-time.
Currently, Wang works for Vanderbilt University’s School of Engineering, where she plans, organizes, and executes special projects for the school. She earned an Education Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision with a concentration in Higher Education and a Master of Science in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from her home country of China. Wang decided to pursue her doctorate at TSU because she wanted to focus on higher education. TSU is the only middle Tennessee institution that offers a doctorate with an emphasis on higher education. She was also awarded an assistantship working for the dean of the Graduate School, which she thought was a good opportunity.
“Experimenting with different universities has made me expand my view. Each one is very different. TSU is one of few HBCUs in this area, and now I work at Vanderbilt, a PWI. No matter public or private, they’re all different, and all of their diversity plans are different,” Wang said.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Britt Mabry Young is an intern in the Office of University Publications. She is a master’s level student in the College of Education at TSU working on an independent study project with a focus on communications.
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is a finalist in 10 categories of the 2017 Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Digest Awards.
The winners will be announced at the seventh annual HBCU Awards ceremony to be held on July 14 in Washington, D.C.
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’s track and field All-American Amber Hughes, the Ohio Valley Conference Female Athlete of the Year for 2016-17, is a finalist for Female Athlete of the Year among HBCUs.
In other categories, TSU is up for Best Marching Band; Best Student Government Association; Best Alumni Publication; Best Research Center; Best Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) Program; Best Nursing Program; and Male Alumnus of the Year.
Finalists were selected from more than 175 nominations from HBCUs across the country.
Last year, TSU received awards for: Alumna of the Year, Dr. Edith Mitchell; Female Coach of the Year, Track and Field Coach Director Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice; and Female Student of the Year, RaCia Poston.
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is a Best Value School for 2017.
TSU was among 80 universities and colleges nationwide to receive the designation by University Research and Review, a technology platform that researches, reviews and suggests colleges, universities and career schools.
According to the UR&R website, institutions receiving the Best Value School designation are “good, reasonably priced colleges loved by students and alumni, and selected based on research by higher education experts.”
These institutions also offer students a unique balance of academics, student life and financial manageability, the site said.
The 2017 Best Value School designation is just one of many national recognitions TSU has received recently.
Earlier this year, the university was ranked No.7 in the nation as the Most Affordable Online College for RN and MSN Programs. This followed TSU’s MSN program’s No. 2 ranking among the 50 Best Graduate Nursing Schools in America for 2016.
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, 25 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.
Although native Floridians, Freddie L. and Dr. Susie Blocker Stewart Robinson, Sr. , were only two hours away from each other in their hometowns of Fort Pierce and Sanford, respectively. It was an 11-hour trip up the road to Nashville, Tennessee that created the setting for this couple to meet.
The voice of the late powerhouse blues and jazz vocalist, Etta James, rocked the then-Tennessee A & I State University Homecoming dance in 1962, which provided the perfect backdrop for a chance meeting between the future husband-and-wife.
The Robinsons celebrate their 50th class reunion together at TSU. (Photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)
“That’s how I met him in 1962,” said Susie, still beaming over her college sweetheart. “I stepped on his foot at the homecoming dance.”
Three years later, they were married on February 8, 1965.
At that moment, they became inseparable, spending 52 years of their lives still doing everything “together,” Susie said, including celebrating as Golden Vintagers marking their 50th anniversary as TSU graduates during the annual event held earlier this month.
The two, who were both the first to graduate from college in their families, remember those times on TSU’s campus as a place that felt much like the family they left many miles away.
“My memory of TSU was that something was always going on,” said Freddie, who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1967 and even ran for president of the freshman class. “It was full of activity.”
“The campus was very exciting,” added Susie, who earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1967. “People were close and friendly. People would help you when you were in need.”
Over the years, education became an important career path for the couple with emphasis placed on continuing their studies in the field. Freddie attended the University of Northern Colorado, earning a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Nova Southeastern University and a certificate in administration and supervision from Florida International University. Susie furthered her studies at Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, earning a master’s in administration and supervision, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
The duo has enjoyed long careers in education, and credit TSU for giving them their foundation to be successful. Both are long-time educators and administrators with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Freddie retired in 2004, having served in many roles, including assistant principal and Principal’s Designee. Susie, who retired in 2016, was an elementary teacher, assistant principal, and principal receiving recognition as “Teacher of the Year” and “Mentor Principal of the Year.” Between the two, they have more than 70 years of dedicated commitment to academic excellence.
They remain active in the community and hold life memberships in their respective affiliations of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. They are also members of the Miami Alumni Chapter of Tennessee State University, and currently serve as University Supervisors for Pre-Student Teachers and Internships at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens.
Since the inception of the Vintagers program in 1971, Freddie and Susie have come back to every single one. But the year 2017 has been a little extra special.
“We are so energized and excited to share in this milestone,” Susie said. “I am just so thankful and extremely proud.”
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State women’s track and field All-American Amber Hughes added to her decorated career by earning Ohio Valley Conference Field Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season.
The award, which is voted on by the league’s head coaches, was announced by the league office on Thursday, May 11.
For Hughes, who also won OVC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and Indoor Field Athlete of the Year this season, it is her 11th major award from the OVC during her career.
The senior from Atlanta currently ranks sixth in the nation in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 13.62m (44’8.25”) at the North Florida Invitational. Her long jump distance of 6.21m (20’4.5”) is good for second among OVC student-athletes and is 47th in the nation.
On the track, Hughes is currently first in the OVC and tied for 36th nationally in the 100m hurdles (13.35).
Throughout this outdoor season, the OVC has honored Hughes with three Field Athlete of the Week awards and one Track Athlete of the Week honor.
The three-day OVC Championship in Oxford, Alabama, gets underway May 11 and runs through May 13.
AMBER HUGHES MAJOR OVC AWARDS
2017 OVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year
2017 OVC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
2017 OVC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
2017 OVC Indoor Championship MVP
2016 OVC Outdoor Championship MVP
2016 OVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year
2016 OVC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
2016 OVC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
2015 OVC Outdoor Championship MVP
2014 OVC Indoor Freshman of the Year
2014 OVC Outdoor Freshman of the Year
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University was honored at the city’s annual Arbor Day Celebration for its dedication to help improve the environment.
TSU legendary coach Ed Temple was remembered at the annual Nashville Arbor Day Celebration, that also honored Tennessee State for its dedication to help improve the environment. In this photo is Coach Temple’s daughter, Edwina, with TSU students studying urban forestry. (photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)
Mayor Megan Barry recognized TSU and two other universities on Thursday, March 9, for being part of the Tree Campus USA program, which recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees, and strive to engage their student population utilizing service learning opportunities centered on campus, and community, forestry efforts.
“It shows that TSU is dedicated to helping to improve the environment in Nashville, but also beautifying the campus and recognizing the importance of trees,” Dr. De’Etra Young, assistant professor of Urban Forestry at TSU, said after the event at Centennial Park.
Colleges and universities across the United States can be recognized as a Tree Campus USA institution by meeting five standards developed to promote healthy trees and student involvement.
TSU student Jerome Pittman, who attended the event, said he’s proud Tennessee State was recognized.
“It’s giving us a voice; a chance to impact the community in a positive way,” said Pittman, who’s majoring in agricultural business.
Also Thursday, there was a memorial tree dedication at the park that included legendary track and field coach Edward S. Temple, who died Sept. 22, 2016, at the age of 89. A tulip poplar was planted in his honor.
Coach Temple’s daughter, Edwina, provided remarks and highlighted some of her father’s accomplishments, to which, at one point, she received a standing ovation.
“He’s most proud of having 40 of his Tigerbelles chosen to be on the United States Olympic team,” she said. “And of those 40 women, all 40 graduated with one or more degrees.”
In memorializing Temple and the others – Jane Eskind, John Jay Hooker, Betty Nixon, and Matthew Walker Jr. – Mayor Barry said planting trees to remember them was fitting because “trees are the longest living organisms on the planet.”
“They were a shining example of what is possible, and what we can do as a city,” Barry said of the five. “And the trees … are a fitting tribute to their legacies of leadership.”
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, 25 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Before he became a heavyweight champion and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay sat down on a bench beside Ed Temple at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and boasted that he’d one day hold the prestigious boxing title.
What Clay didn’t realize, was that he was actually talking to a legend in the making.
Clay went on to win a gold medal in Rome as a light heavyweight, and eventually became a heavyweight champion a few years later when he beat Sonny Liston, backing his claim to Temple that “people are going to be running to see me one day.”
Coincidentally, “running” made Temple a legend. Under his leadership, five members of Tennessee State University’s track team earned gold medals at the Rome Olympics. Wilma Rudolph, alone, won three gold medals and became the first American woman to achieve such a feat at any of the Olympic Games.
TSU Coach Ed Temple and his famed Tigerbelles. (TSU archives)
Over the years, Temple went on to lead 40 athletes to the Olympics. His famed Tigerbelles, including Rudolph, snagged a total of 23 Olympic medals.
Temple died Sept. 22 at the age of 89 after an illness. He and Ali remained friends after they met in Rome, and had a mutual respect for one another. Shortly after Ali’s death, Temple had talked about his first meeting with the brazen fighter in Rome, and how Ali visited TSU from time to time to see him, Rudolph and some of the other athletes.
But while he was proud of his relationship with Ali, nothing made his chest stick out more than the accomplishments of his athletes.
“They are an inspiration to everybody,” Temple said in an interview shortly before his death. “It just shows what can be done. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover called Temple a “global icon in the world of track and field,” and lauded him for what he did for athletes outside the sport.
“His accomplishments are unparalleled and continue to resonate even today on our campus and with any organization participating in the sport,” she said. “Of the 40 athletes Coach Temple trained and had participate in the Olympics, 100 percent of them received college degrees. This speaks to his greatness and impact. He was a legend of a man. I am so thankful and proud of all he did for the university. Tennessee State will always remember Ed Temple, the man and the coach.”
Ed Temple
TSU Director of Athletics Teresa Phillips echoed Glover’s sentiment.
“We have truly lost a crown jewel in the treasure chest of our university,” she said. “His life, his work and his results are textbook of what one would like to emulate.”
Temple’s achievements were even more impressive coming in the midst of severe racism and discrimination that permeated the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.
“There were times when riots were going on, but they kept running and competing,” said Dwight Lewis, who is co-authoring a book about the Tigerbelles. “They stuck with it and performed to the best of their ability, and won.”
For many of his athletes, Temple wasn’t just a coach, but also a father figure.
“I always looked at Coach Temple as a father figure and a man of truth and wisdom,” said TSU Olympian Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice, a former Tigerbelle who inherited the title of TSU track and field coach from Temple. “He is one of the finest people I have ever had an opportunity to meet. He really brought out the best in me. He made me realize my potential that had not been tapped.”
Former Tigerbelle Edith McGuire Duvall said Temple was there for her after she lost her father.
“This man treated us all like his kids,” Duvall said. “He impressed upon me to finish school. We were there to run track, but also to get an education and to be ladies.”
Temple was head coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Track and Field teams in 1960 and 1964, and assistant coach in 1980. He was inducted into nine different Halls of Fame, including the Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012, in which he was one of only four coaches to be inducted. He also served as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the international Women’s Track and Field Committee and the Nashville Sports Council.
In addition to being part of the Tennessee State University Hall of Fame, Temple’s legacy continues in such recognitions as the Edward S. Temple Track at TSU; Ed Temple Boulevard in Nashville, adjacent to the TSU campus; the Edward Temple Award established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Track and Field Coaches Association; and the Edward S. Temple Seminars: Society and Sports, held annually at TSU.
Temple’s autobiography, Only the Pure in Heart Survive, was published in 1980. The book, along with additional papers and memorabilia from his lifetime of achievement, are part of the Special Collections department in TSU’s Brown-Daniel Library.
“Even after his retirement, he continued to represent TSU,” said Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor David Gregory. “He emphasized excellence in athletics, academics and in life. His former athletes are a testament to his mentorship.”
In 2015, a 9-foot bronze statue was unveiled in Temple’s likeness at First Tennessee Park in Nashville.
“Even the Bible says a prophet is seldom honored in his hometown,” U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper said at a ceremony for the unveiling of the statue. “But here we are honoring perhaps one of the greatest coaches in all of history.”
Following Temple’s death, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry released a statement directing departments and agencies to light the KVB Bridge and public buildings blue the night of Sept. 23 to honor Temple.
“Coach Temple was in a league of his own as a coach and teacher, and Nashville will miss him dearly,” Barry said.
TSU track and field exhibits are a part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. They are there mainly because of Coach Temple and his accomplishments with the TSU program and Olympics.
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, 25 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.
