Researcher Coauthors Roadmap to Guide Nation’s Research, Education and Policy Decisions
Dr. Dalia Abbas
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – A professor from the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences at Tennessee State University has coauthored a report that helps outline solutions to the challenges facing natural resources in the U.S. with a “roadmap” to help guide policymakers over the next 10 years.
Dr. Dalia Abbas, assistant professor of Forestry, coauthored the report, Science, Education and Outreach Roadmap for Natural Resources released by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities on May 1. The report outlines six “grand challenges” facing the U.S. in the areas of sustainability, water, climate change, agriculture, energy and education, and recommends a series of research, education and outreach activities to help meet those challenges.
“This is a unique project in that it deals with natural resources as an integrated network,” Abbas said. “Many of the existing strategic plans focus on specific disciplines, neglecting their interrelation and function as a whole.”
Part of a 35-scientist team who authored the roadmap after receiving feedback from more than 130 scientists at public and land-grant institutions across the country, Abbas worked specifically on the sustainability portion of the roadmap due to her forestry expertise.
“There’s an extraordinary opportunity to improve the sustainability of our forest ecosystem,” she said. “For instance, a more balanced approach to forest ecosystems could help compensate for decades of high-grading practices and respond to an emerging market for lower quality wood.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored the report through a grant to Oregon State University, which then partnered with APLU.
“Scientists at our public and land-grant universities have developed this report to more clearly identify the challenges we face and prioritize our research, education and outreach efforts,” APLU President Peter McPherson said. “It provides a needed framework and should help guide policy decisions in the coming years.”
Founded in 1887, the APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization representing 235 research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organization, with member institutions in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories, Canada and Mexico.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – A Tennessee State University History professor will participate in a four-week seminar on “Arts, Architecture and Devotional Interaction” at the University of York in York, England, this summer.
Dr. Elizabeth Dachowski is one of 16 teachers selected nationwide as National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholars to attend one of 30 seminars and institutes supported by the NEH.
The Endowment is a federal agency that supports enrichment opportunities at colleges, universities and cultural institutions each summer to help faculty work in collaboration and study with experts in humanities disciplines.
Dachowsky, author of First Among Abbots: The Career of Abbo of Fleury, who also teaches world history and upper-division courses in pre-modern Europe, said the seminar will focus on medieval religious spaces.
“York’s archival resources will be very useful in my current research project, which grew out of my book on Abbo of Fleury,” Dachowski said. “Recent research on how communities used spaces is very exciting, and this seminar will give me a chance to develop materials that will fill out my medieval and early modern history courses.”
Her research interests include ecclesiastical politics in France around the year 1000, cross-cultural interactions in monastic communities, and hagiographical writings as historical sources.
At the York Seminar, Dachowski will work on cross-cultural interactions among medieval monks, as well as study the alien priories and cells of Yorkshire, and search for references to foreign monks in English houses.
“York is an incredible city, and I’ve long thought that it would be a great base for exploring the historical sites of Britain,” Dachowski added.
Topics for the 30 seminars and institutes offered for college and university teachers this summer include Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia: literature, the arts, and cinema since independence; American Maritime People; America’s East Central Europeans: migration and memory; arts, architecture, and devotional interaction in England, 1200–1600; black aesthetics and African diasporic culture; and bridging national borders in North America, among others.
According to the NEI, the nearly 437 summer scholars who participate in these programs of study will teach over 113,925 American students the following year
Additionally, Dachowsk and her fellow scholars participating in the summer program will each receive a stipend of $3,300 to cover travel, study and living expenses.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
Dr. Jason de Koff (center), assistant professor of agronomy and soil sciences at TSU, shares bioenergy research with visitors recently. The College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences will host a series of Biofuel Technology Workshops for middle and high school teachers and students from June 30 through July 3. (courtesy photo)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences (CAHNS) will host a series of Biofuel Technology Workshops for middle and high school teachers and students from June 30 through July 3.
The four-day teachers/adults workshop will help prepare educators to teach about the emerging field of biofuels with a focus on feedstocks, conversion and policy/management through hands-on biofuel conversion, a tour of TSU’s agricultural labs, and informational sessions from the CAHNS’ biofuel specialists.
After completion of the workshop, attendees should have a better understanding of the best resources available for teaching and be better prepared to meet state learning expectations in this area. Lodging and travel accommodations will be paid for by the CAHNS, and all participants will receive a take-home kit to conduct a biofuel lab with up to 30 students. Space is limited.
The workshops for middle and high school students will be held on June 30 and July 2, respectively, and focus on teaching basic lab techniques used in biofuel conversion and growing biomaterials used in this process through hands-on participation, and will also include a leadership development component. All participants will receive a free TSU Biofuels T-shirt.
All workshops will be free to attend, in part to a grant funded by the USDA. To apply or request more information, contact Dr. Ahmad Naseer Aziz at [email protected] or (615) 963-1595; Dr. Jason de Koff at [email protected] or (615) 963-4929; or Dr. Fisseha Tegegne at [email protected] or (615) 963-5830.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Two professors from Tennessee State University had the opportunity recently to have a voice in statewide arts programming and planning when they took part in the Tennessee Arts Commission’s 2014 Citizen Advisory Panel.
Dr. Robert Elliott
Dr. Robert Elliott, professor and Chair of the Department of Music, along with Dr. Patricia Reeves, associate professor and coordinator of Music Education, offered advice on program planning and reviewed grant applications, as well as served as advocates for the arts in their communities.
“Working with music professors and professionals in reviewing Tennessee Arts Commission grant applications from across the state provided a unique opportunity to take the pulse of arts and music integration in communities throughout Tennessee,” said Elliott. “This experience will aid in helping to assure that students at Tennessee State University are provided appropriate instruction and preparation for careers in our state and across the country.”
Reeves agrees, stating that arts education is, without question, valuable and important in helping to shape and enhance the lives of children and adults.
“I am honored to have been asked to serve as a grants panelist for the Tennessee Arts Commission, both this year and last year,” Reeves said. “I am pleased to be able to help promote the wonderful work of our arts educators and the organizations that support them throughout the state of Tennessee.”
Dr. Patricia Reeves
The annual meetings were held in Nashville throughout the month of April. Panels are divided into different categories including: Arts Education, Arts Access, Community Arts, Folk Arts, Literary Arts, Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Theater, Inter-Arts, Funds for At-Risk Youth, and Rural Arts. Panel members are appointed to two-year terms, and generally consist of professional artists, arts administrators, patrons, sponsors, educators, and community leaders.
“Our citizen panels consist of dedicated, informed and impartial individuals from across the state who provide an invaluable service to the arts in Tennessee,” said Anne B. Pope, Executive Director of the Tennessee Arts Commission. “The caliber of individuals serving on the panels is impressive, and their nomination for the panel is a testament to their expertise in arts-related fields. We are so appreciative of their time and effort—they are critical to making arts investments in every Tennessee community.”
In 2013, $6.3 million in arts grants was invested in every region of the state. The Tennessee Arts Commission, a state agency that cultivates the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and their communities, made grants to more than 600 non-profit organizations, over half of which were schools.
The panel process is open, fair and based on independent peer reviews who are nominated. In order to be selected, panelists are required to include a statement of their individual qualifications to serve on the advisory panel. Nominees are contacted to confirm their interest and commitment to attend specific meetings and their willingness to serve as arts advocates in their areas. Panelists are expected to make a commitment to participate in an area orientation and to attend the grant applications review meeting.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – James Bowen is proving that college isn’t just for students age 18 to 22. Bowen is part of a growing population of older students returning to college, and will be the oldest student at Tennessee State University to receive his degree at the upcoming 2014 Spring Commencement at age 67.
“This is all part of me reinventing myself,” said Bowen, who will graduate with a master’s degree in Educational Technology. “I would like, in the long run, to encourage people to keep on learning. Our education is never complete.”
Bowen first stepped onto the TSU campus in the mid 1960s and played defensive back on the football team under Coach “Big John” Merritt while pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. He went on to graduate in 1968.
“Things were a lot different back then,” added Bowen. “We were a wild bunch back then and not as dedicated to our studies as students today. Heck, we even had a curfew.”
Bowen left TSU after graduation and pursued different career opportunities, including teaching, but ultimately ended up in sales, where he became one of the top 50 car salesmen in the country. “I was enjoying life and making lots of money while raising a family but there was something missing,” he added. “At age 65, I decided I needed to go back to school to start on my next business venture.”
Bowen is part of a growing trend of older students returning to college and wants to help those returning “navigate the waters” of the admission process and how to approach “younger America.”
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that the most significant shift of student growth is probably the massive increase in the adult-student population in higher education in the past 20 years. Thirty-eight percent of those enrolled in higher education are over the age of 25 and one-fourth are over the age of 40. The share of all students who are over age 40 is projected to increase another 23 percent by 2019. It is that growing population Bowen wants to target.
“I want to help others make that leap and provide them some insight on the application process and dealing with students more that half their age,” Bowen added.
Life on campus, added Bowen, as well as students have changed in the 46 years since he left the University. “I want to serve as an inspiration to students age 65 or older who want to return but don’t know where to start.”
Students are more disciplined today, said Bowen, but the biggest challenge he, and perhaps those returning have to deal with, is the advancement of technology. He has been required to learn everything from computers to mobile devices and social media.
“It’s was tough at first,” said Bowen. “I started the process early so I could prepare myself for what would be thrown my way. I started with an email address, which I never had, bought a computer and started teaching myself the basics. I then slowly learned about the different social media platforms and how they all connected.”
Now that he is ready to graduate, Bowen is not only ready to share what he learned with others, but remain on campus with other students and continue learning. A life-long learner, he eventually wants to teach.
“Since being here at Tennessee State University, I’ve acquired this hunger and thirst for education,” Bowen said. “I would love to continue my studies and go into agricultural education and go into teaching. It’s a passion.”
At graduation on May 10, family members from around Nashville will file into Hale Stadium and turn out to support Bowen. They include his children, ex-wife, grandchildren and various other family members.
“I want to show my family members and anyone else that if you dream it, you can do it,” said Bowen. “I am proud to be an inspiration to others, whether they’re in their 30s, 40s, or even their 90s, and let them know that it’s never too late to chase your dreams.”
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Fresh out of an abusive marriage with no money, mounting bills and three children to care for, Karen Denese Munoz had no where to go but down, at least so she thought.
With a last gasp for relief, the college dropout turned to her father, Leo Ronald Summers Sr., for advice on how to cope.
“Don’t complain when you don’t have; learn to improvise,” the retired Army lieutenant told his daughter.
While Munoz said her father’s response was not exactly the answer she was looking for, it gave her a different perspective on life and how to find strength in the face of difficulties and unfortunate circumstances.
No doubt that renewed sense of determination has worked well for Munoz, who will accomplish a journey she started more than 32 years ago.
In spite of multiple surgeries and operations to repair a crushed vertebrae, head injuries and a broken neck and back, that left her in constant pain and in a state of severe depressive disorder and anxiety, the Fort Hood, Texas, native will receive her college degree when Tennessee State University hold its spring commencement May 10.
“I live by trying to improvise as my father told me,” Munoz said about how she was able to maintain a near 3.0 GPA to graduate with a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Human Resource Management, despite her disorder, which has left her unable to fully concentrate, think or remember “as others.”
“I had to study twice as hard as the average person to concentrate and retain,” said Munoz, who keeps sticky notes “everywhere” to help her remember.
Munoz’s college journey began in 1983 at TSU as an Architectural Engineering major. Three years into her college work, things began to unravel for the young, promising student. Married at the time, with children and a physically and mentally abusive husband, who insisted she seeks full-time employment, she quit school to work with the Metro Public School Harris Hillman as a Para Professional.
Although Munoz eventually walked out of her marriage, having to care for her children alone, a series of unfortunate events soon began to unfold that would change the course of her life forever. Because of the seriousness of her neck and vertebrae injuries, she was reassigned to several different departments in Metro. Finally she received permanent placement at the Transportation Department.
One day while getting something from the supply closet at work with the door opened, Munoz said, a coworker (who was not aware of her presence) pushed the door, apparently trying to open it while she was behind, the knob on the other side hit her directly in the tail bone. The force sent her crashing, head first, into the door paneling ahead, crushing her vertebrae.
As if fate had an unfinished business with Munoz, while recovering from that injury, she was in a car accident that left her with a broken back and neck.
“I was in a concussion that lasted two years,” she said. “My vertebrae had to be fused from the top to the bottom through a process called spinal track titanium fusion. That’s the only thing that’s holding my head up. I do not have any peripheral view because I cannot move my head side to side. I can only look ahead.”
For Munoz, being able to cope through all her pain and suffering have not come without a good sense of humor.
“I am the ultimate bionic woman,” she said. “If you move all of the titanium from my body I will never move again. My condition is irreversible.”
Saying that she is being held together by modern technology, Munoz is thankful to God, her family and the doctors at Vanderbilt Hospital for giving her a chance, although she laments the constant pain from screws, nuts and bolts in her body.”
“The pain never goes away; I have to take medication to sleep. This is something I live with,” she added.
But with all of what seem to be impairments, and getting out of yet another physically and mentally abusive relationship, in addition to losing her job with Metro, Munoz said she was constantly haunted by her desire to complete her college work.
“These disabilities from my injuries affected me so much at work that I asked for an IOD (Injured while on Duty and or Medical Disability) waiver, which Metro denied and fired me,” Munoz said, adding that the denial and subsequent dismissal gave her more inspiration.
With five children (including a step son and a nephew), no job, her house in foreclosure and no money, Munoz said she applied for and was granted financial aid loan at TSU.
“When they checked my record they told me I was a senior and I had only few credits to complete my college work,” she said.
Munoz immediately went to work, with the deeply imbedded thought of the advice her father had given her, and the urging of her mother to leave her second abusive husband and return to school. She registered with a full load of college work.
“I decided I would pursue my degree in the hopes of changing my circumstances. I studied twice as hard, using my sleeplessness to my advantage to take in as much as I could,” she said.
Even at that, Munoz, whose father is also a TSU graduate, said many times she wanted to quit, having been out of school for nearly 32 years, but a sign on the Business Information board at the Avon Williams campus that read, “You are never too old to achieve your goal,” inspired her to press on.
“It was at that moment that I went full steam ahead stopping at nothing to achieve this goal which I had dreamed of all these years,” she said.
And so she did.
Munoz, 48, who is now married to Lugo San Munoz, a Salvadoran native, said she plans to go to graduate school and open a preparatory college in El Salvador for underprivileged high school students who have graduated high school but have no where to go. The school will be named Summers International Integration College of Excellence, after her father and mother who have been her inspiration.
“The hope is to partner with El Salvador to send their students to TSU and after they graduate they will return to their country where they will teach others.
“This is my lifelong dream. This is what God has sent me forth to do, and I intend to improvise in anyway possible to accomplish that ….screws, nuts, bolts or not.”
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
Ryan Gammon, a junior majoring in Criminal Justice, displays his letter from Barack Obama congratulating him on his President’s Volunteer Service Award along with an award citation. (photo by John Cross. TSU Media Relations)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Imagine going to the mailbox to retrieve your mail and discover a non-descript manila envelope with two words, “White House” and no return address, all written with a ballpoint pen. Upon opening it you discover that you are the recipient of an award signed by the President of the United States.
That is exactly what one Tennessee State University student found in his mailbox recently.
“I don’t know anyone in Washington, D.C., and found it very odd,” said Ryan Gammon, a junior majoring in Criminal Justice. “What I found inside both surprised and shocked me.”
Opening the envelope, he found another plain white envelope. Inside, it contained a letter signed by Barack Obama congratulating him on his President’s Volunteer Service Award along with an award citation.
“I was just amazed that someone here in Nashville recognized all my efforts and nominated me for the award,” said the Memphis native. “To be recognized by the President is quite an honor.”
According to the citation, the president thanked Gammon for his devotion to service and for doing all he can to shape a better tomorrow for the nation.
“Your volunteer service demonstrates the kind of commitment to your community that moves America a step closer to its great promise,” the letter said.
Since arriving at TSU, Gammon has been taking on volunteer projects that range from picking up trash around campus to larger projects in conjunction with the Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement. Some of the volunteer projects he has been involved in include the March of Dimes Walkathon, and the MLK Service Day projects.
But the two biggest and what he is most proud of are working with The Little Pantry that Could, a small food pantry associated with the West Nashville United Methodist Church, and Adopt a Stream, a program initiated by Gammon and the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, to keep a section of the Phillips Branch of the Cumberland River clean.
“I just think it is important to give back,” added Gammon. “My ultimate goal it to leave TSU with a legacy of giving to this community and to make it a better place.”
According to Guthrie, Gammon was nominated for his hard work and commitment, and his ability to find worthwhile projects that help the University and the community.
“Ryan is an organizer and really gets people motivated to get involved,” Guthrie said. “I wish we had more students like him that don’t mind getting their hands dirty and getting involved.”
Guthrie was also quick to point out that Gammon does not volunteer for the notoriety or the recognition.
“We have a lot of students like Ryan, at the University, who do a lot of great work in the community,” she said. “Sometimes they fly under the radar while volunteering throughout the community, and they do it not for the recognition, but because it is the right thing to do.”
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension program in the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences will host a “New Farmer Academy” to help inspire a new generation of farmers, ranchers and returning veterans to develop successful small farm enterprises in the state, beginning June 16.
The academy, which targets potential owners of small acreages who desire information on how to best utilize their land and other resources to produce crops and raise livestock, will meet on the third Monday of each month from June to October, with graduation set for November 17. Graduates will earn a certificate while gaining hands-on practical agricultural training and advice from mentors. Each participant will receive a notebook including workshop presentations and other helpful resources.
“Here at Tennessee State University, we are very pleased to provide this opportunity to anyone but specifically to new farmers and returning veterans who are interested in starting a small farm operation in Tennessee,” said Dr. Latif Lighari, associate dean for Extension.
Topics to be addressed during the six-month program include: Agricultural Leadership, Agricultural Regulations; Agri-Tourism; Enterprise Selection; Financial Planning; Fruit and Vegetable Production; Hydroponics and Irrigation; Organic Production; Farm Equipment Selection, Maintenance and Safety; Soil Fertility and Suitability; Small Flock Poultry Production; and Value-Added Agribusiness and Direct Marketing Techniques.
The cost to attend is $150 per person and includes all educational material and a lunch at each session. To register, contact Rhonda Ewing at (615) 963-1351 or [email protected]. For more information about this program, contact Finis Stribling at (931) 375-5301 or [email protected].
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University and former golf coach Dr. Catana Starks will take over the big screen when From the Rough opens nationwide on Friday, April 25.
The film highlights the powerful story of Coach Starks as the first female golf coach of a Division I men’s team while at Tennessee State University. Through grit and determination, she overcame incredible odds to guide a group of golfers to a championship season.
“This is an amazing story about an amazing woman, and the entire Tennessee State University family is so proud of her,” said University President Glenda Glover. “Equally important is the fact that the HBCU experience is being shared with a broader audience.”
Academy Award-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson will portray a fictionalized version of Coach Starks named Cassandra Turner. The character parlays a successful stint as coach of a women’s swim team at a historically black university into a shot at building the men’s golf team. With the availability of black players scarce, Turner scours Europe, Australia and Asia for hidden talent and constructs a uniquely multi-racial team.
According to Starks, the production of the film has been in the making for years.
“I was really pleased and I thought it was a great idea,” Starks said. “I am a shy person; I don’t even like taking pictures, but I think it’s good to have a female being honored in this way.”
When Tennessee State University joined the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference in 1986, then-Athletic Director Bill Thomas traded the University’s swimming program for a men’s golf team and called on the leadership of Starks to guide the program. Starks then made history becoming the only African-American female in the nation to coach a men’s golf team.
Starks has coached a diverse group of players throughout her career, including Canadian Sean Foley, who is currently Tigers Woods’ swing coach.
Foley believes Starks had a big impact on his life, as stated in an ESPN article.
“Coach Starks has a Ph.D.,” Foley said. “She’s well-educated… I used to sit in the front of the bus with Coach. We would ride for hours and hours. She always saw something in me. She always knew I was going to do special things in some form. She didn’t know what I was going to be.
“As I got little older, I looked back on Coach. She was so impressive. I should have spent more time trying to figure out how she did it all. To see what Coach accomplished, and became as a professor at the university, and all that stuff is really something.”
Starks, who retired in 2011 as head of TSU’s Department of Human Performance and Sports Sciences, guided the team to a Division I record win for the National Minority Championship. Under her guidance, the team also produced the first African-American men’s head coach for Michigan State University (Sam Puryear) and an All-American, who is a member of the European Tour (Robert Dinwiddie).
“Hopefully this will draw more African-American females into coaching on the collegiate level and coaching the opposite sex,” Starks said. “Men have been doing it for many years and I think there are a lot of great women out there who probably could do a much better job than I have done. I hope this film inspires other women to try their hand at coaching.”
President Glover agreed, adding that that Starks’ story is one of perseverance, hard work, faith and excellence. She also acknowledges that this is just one of many remarkable stories to emerge from TSU.
“This is a great opportunity for TSU to publicly acknowledge another chapter of our institution’s storied and proud past,” she said. “Today, we soar to new heights as our students, faculty and alumni continue to accomplish great things in academics and athletics.”
TSU will make it a From the Rough weekend providing transportation for students to see the movie in local theaters. The school has also encouraged alumni across the country to support the film.
“Dr. Starks’ contributions to Tennessee State University as an alumna, faculty member and coach are nothing short of incredible,” said Cassandra Griggs, director of TSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. “These extraordinary stories play out every day among our university community, and we are so thankful of all that Dr. Starks has given to this university. I know our alumni nationwide join us in our excitement and look forward to supporting this film highlighting yet another dynamic TSU success.”
The movie From the Rough opens nationwide in theaters April 25. See the attached list of current markets, and check local listings for show times in your area.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Life is about second chances. Just ask Johnathan Fitzgerald.
The soon-to-be Tennessee State University graduate has gone from college dropout to graduating with top honors as a biology major. He has already been conditionally accepted to medical school and will start in the fall of 2015.
But Fitzgerald readily admits, his journey was not always easy, and eventually found out what he was looking for was already in his own back yard.
Along the way, he attended numerous colleges, started a career and family, and ultimately dropped out of school to adopt his two-week old niece to raise as his own daughter.
“I knew I had the potential to do something great with my life,” Fitzgerald said. “My educational journey has truly been a long and arduous journey.”
The journey started in 1996 at McGavock High School for the Nashville native. He graduated with honors and was ranked in the top 11 percent of his class, while his senior class voted him “Most Likely to Succeed.”
“My goal was to go to college to become a physician and follow in the footsteps of my uncle,” said the 36 year-old Fitzgerald. “It has been a dream of mine from a very early age. I always wanted to specialize in internal medicine.”
The first leg of his journey took him to Atlanta where he attended Morehouse College and majored in pre-med. He lasted a year because he was not prepared for life so far away from home.
“I had no role model for what it took to go through pre-med classes or college life,” Fitzgerald added. “I returned home because I just didn’t have the support system I needed in Atlanta.”
His next stop was Volunteer State Community College, where he took general education classes, then transferred to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Instead of pre-med, he changed his major to music.
“I always loved music and was a musician in high school,” he said. “I played viola and was in the band, so I thought I could pursue a career in music.”
But he quickly found out that working full-time and going to school was not easy. After a series of life-changing events, he eventually dropped out of school to adopt his two-week old niece, leaving a 1.9 grade point average in his wake.
“It was not a hard decision to make to drop out of school to take care of my daughter and my family,” he said. “She needed me and, at that point, my family came first.”
For seven years, Fitzgerald continued to raise his family, adding two more children along the way, and concentrating on his business career. But there was always a “monkey on his back” nagging at him to go back to school.
In 2009, dressed in his best suit, he made the drive to Tennessee State University, a university that was right in his backyard, and one he never really considered.
“While I was growing up my father would bring me to the football games and I remember singing, ‘I’m so glad,’ and watching the band perform,” Fitzgerald said. “But I heard negative things so I didn’t give TSU a good look.”
But that first walk through the doors, he said, was like a second chance at pursuing the dream of becoming a doctor. Giving it the “old college try,” he walked into Dr. Lois Harlston’s office and told her he wanted to give his dream another shot.
Harlston, chair of the Pre-Professional Students in Health Services, helped Fitzgerald get into the dual Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine (BS/MD) fast-track program with Meharry Medical College. The program prepares students to go to medical school by allowing them to study three years at TSU then enter Meharry as a first-year student. Fitzgerald was one of five students to be admitted into the program that year.
“He was very serious and had his entire education mapped out,” Harlston said. “He told me about his life struggles, but also told me he would do whatever he needed to accomplish his goals. Jonathan has far exceeded my expectations and has performed at the top-tier level.”
During his four years, Fitzgerald’s hard work has paid off. He has been named to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, been the recipient of three TSU scholarships and, most recently, been named the Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Biology by the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences. He is also graduating with a 3.907 GPA.
It has been a very long journey for Fitzgerald to realize his educational dream and will graduate with nearly 1,000 other candidates Saturday, May 10. He is also keeping a promise he made to his mother who passed away in 2012.
“Before she died, I promised her that I would press on and become the doctor that she and my father always knew I could become,” he said. “I know she will be smiling down on me when I finally receive my diploma. All it took was a second chance, and TSU was willing to give that to me.”
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About Tennessee State University
With nearly 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.
