Legendary Tigerbelles’ Coach to Receive Honorary Degree at Fall Commencement

A Tennessee State University committee has selected Coach Edward Stanley Temple as a recipient of the Doctor of Humane Letters. A legendary coach of the TSU Tigerbelles and distinguished educator, Temple will be awarded the honorary degree at the Fall Commencement exercise on Saturday, Dec. 19, 9 a.m., at the TSU Gentry Complex.

 

“This honor was well deserved due to his tremendous coaching accomplishments in athletics and life’s work in the field of education,” wrote selection committee chairperson Dr. Murle E. Kenerson in a letter to TSU President Melvin N. Johnson.

 

Temple earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health and physical education with a minor in sociology from TSU. He also served as associate professor of sociology at the university.

 

During Temple’s 44 years as women’s track head coach at TSU, 40 members of his famed Tigerbelle teams competed in the Olympics, winning a total of 23 medals, including 13 Gold. Temple also led the Tigerbelles to 34 national titles and 30 medals in the Pan American Games. Eight Tigerbelles have been inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.

 

Temple’s coaching accomplishments extend well beyond the practice track at TSU. He served as women’s track head coach for two consecutive U.S. Olympic Teams (1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo), as well as an assistant head coach for the 1980 Games.

 

He served as the women’s track head coach in 1958 and 1959 in dual competitions between the USA and the USSR; the 1959 and 1975 Pan American Games; the 1970 European Tour of Germany, Russia and Romania; and the 1975 USA vs. China competition.

 

Temple also served as head coach of the USA Junior Team at the 1982 and 1986 Pan American Junior Games, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Women’s Track Team at the dual meet with Romania, and head coach of the first ever World Junior Championships held in Athens in 1986. 

$5,000 Grant Awarded to Tennessee State University Women’s Center by Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Tennessee State University Women’s Center has received a $5,000 grant to launch a career planning and life-skills training program for middle-school age girls to help decrease infant mortality and teen pregnancy.

As part of an annual grant-making process, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has distributed more than $900,000 in grants to 198 nonprofit organizations in 30 Middle Tennessee counties

The Women’s Center at Tennessee State University received the grant in support of its mission to enhance the academic experience and personal development of all women by providing an inclusive and supportive environment.

“As needs in middle Tennessee grow the work of our nonprofit partners to provide vital services and innovative programs has never been more important,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

“The Foundation is honored to connect generosity with need through our annual grant-making and congratulates nonprofits on their efforts to improve the quality of life for our community,” said Lehman.

For more information about the Women’s Center at Tennessee State University, contact Dr. Jewell G. Winn at 615-963-5685 or jwinn@tnstate.edu and Sandra Keith at 615-963-7438 or skeith@tnstate.edu.           

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee oversees more than 700 charitable funds. In the past 18 years, The Community Foundation has distributed $440 million to its nonprofit partners. For more information, call 615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org.

Tennessee State University to Phase Honors Program Into Honors College Fall 2011

One of Tennessee State University’s nationally acclaimed academic programs has been designated by University faculty to transition into a college, as early as fall 2011.

A steering committee of faculty suggested the University Honors Program become an honors college, as one of the 2008-2028 Academic Master Plan’s cross-cutting focus areas. The Academic Master Plan is the University’s blueprint for future academic programming at TSU through 2028. It includes an academic vision statement and goals, as well as the academic areas that will receive priority attention and targeted resources.

“The thrust for establishing an honors college at TSU is focused on the recruitment, retention and development of outstanding undergraduate students. Having an honors college will help provide a nurturing, enriched academic experience in the culturally diverse environment at TSU that will foster active, innovative learning,” said Dr. Pamela Burch-Sims, chairwoman of the steering committee and director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Quality and Assessment.

Burch-Sims further explained the AMP committee also envisioned the honors college as a positive means of promoting faculty-student interaction with an innovative curriculum that challenges the brightest students while advancing excellence throughout the University. An advanced curriculum will offer individualized academic program planning for talented students in the honors college who demonstrate an extraordinary ability to pursue independent scholarship, think globally and be creative.

Dr. Sandra Holt, director of the University Honors Program, said the transition to an honors college will help poise the University to become the major academic institution in the state of Tennessee, citing its ability to use as a recruitment tool as well as enhance academic quality, research-based critical thinking and the overall quality of University programs.

“The decision to have an honors college represents a huge milestone for the entire University. We have one of the oldest and strongest honors program in the country. For the AMP steering committee to recognize that it is time for TSU to have an honors college is exciting and I’m glad to be a part of it,” Holt said.

The University has come to rely on its honors program to provide national visibility of its commitment to academic excellence, educational quality and intellectual integrity. The honors program has continually served to emphasize ongoing campus efforts such as recruiting, leadership, innovations and community outreach. Designation of an honors college would enhance the honors program’s contributions and facilitate multi-disciplined academic and non-academic opportunities for the entire University. 

College of Business Takes MBA Program to China

The Tennessee State University College of Business has negotiated an agreement in partnership with Tianjin Polytechnic University that will allow students to receive an MBA while completing coursework in China.

“We have taken a multi-faceted approach in making our MBA program available at Tianjin Polytechnic University. It is linked to our ongoing efforts to enhance the international dimension of our academic program, support the University’s mission and offer our students a global perspective,” said Dr. Tilden Curry, dean of the TSU College of Business.

To date, the TSU College of Business has worked to position the University’s role in a tough, competitive global economy through forging educational and service learning partnerships in Ukraine, Malawi and Tunisia, developing new international courses and establishing a minor program in international business.

Now, with the MBA degree, the College will deepen its focus on international student collaborations and exchanges, faculty development abroad and increased enrollment of foreign students.

“Management graduates trained in global business practices through an American approach to management education are in great demand in China. The program will assist us in our attempt to meet the needs of companies engaged in international commerce” Curry added.  

Tianjin is China's third largest city with a population of 13 million and is only 30 minutes away from Beijing by light rail. A very commercial and heavy industrialized area, it is also China's third largest seaport and many multinational corporations have  manufacturing plants here including Motorola, LG, Samsung, Toyota and GlaxoSmithKline among others.

Qiang Wu, member of the TSU College of Business board of advisors, believes that the program is an ideal opportunity for both universities and states to strengthen ties. "I am sure the joint MBA programs will attract many Chinese students as well as TSU students who are interested in learning international trade and commerce as well as American and Chinese culture and language. This program will certainly help the graduates to find a job requiring more international experience and acknowledge," he said. Wu is president of Tianjin Newtrans Import & Export Company.

Approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) earlier this year, the program will begin offering courses in Fall 2010.