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Former names | Greeneville College (1794–1868) Tusculum Academy (1818–1844) Tusculum College (1844–1868) Greeneville & Tusculum College (1868–1908) Washington & Tusculum College (1908–1912) Tusculum College (1912–2018) [1] |
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Motto | Sit Lux (Latin) ("Let there be light") |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1794 |
Religious affiliation | Presbyterian Church (USA) |
Endowment | $23.9 million (2023) |
President | Scott Hummel |
Administrative staff | 272 |
Undergraduates | 1,111 |
Postgraduates | 192 |
Location | , U.S. 36°10′23″N82°45′42″W / 36.1730°N 82.7616°W |
Campus | Rural, 140 acres (0.57 km2) |
Colors | Orange and black |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference 18 sports teams |
Mascot | Pioneers |
Website | www |
Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States. [2]
In addition to its main campus, the institution maintains a regional center for Adult and Online Studies in Knoxville, and Morristown.
In 1806, emancipated slave John Gloucester became the first African-American student to study at Greeneville College. He was the first African-American educated by a college in Tennessee and later helped found the First African Presbyterian Church in 1807, in Philadelphia. [3] [4] [5]
Samuel Doak and Hezekiah Balch sought the same goals through their separate colleges. They wanted to educate settlers of the American frontier so that they would become better Presbyterians, and therefore, in their thinking, better citizens. [6]
Samuel Doak left Washington College and founded Tusculum Academy, on the present campus of Tusculum University, in 1818 with his son, Samuel Witherspoon Doak. [7] S.W. Doak was named after Princeton University's then-president Dr. John Witherspoon, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and Tusculum Academy was named after Witherspoon's estate at the College of New Jersey (Princeton). The original Tusculum was a city near Rome, Italy, and home to Roman scholar and philosopher Cicero. It was he who, along with others, identified the civic virtues that form the basis of civic republican tradition, which emphasizes citizens working together to form good societies that in turn foster individuals of good character. [8]
Academic rankings | |
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Master's | |
Washington Monthly [10] | 341 of 604 |
Regional | |
U.S. News & World Report [11] | 86 (tie) of 90 |
Tusculum is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, baccalaureate and master's degrees.
Tusculum athletic teams are nicknamed as the Pioneers. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the South Atlantic Conference since the 1998–99 academic year.
Tusculum fields 24 recognized varsity sports teams: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, cheerleading, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track & field and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cross country, cheerleading, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
Although most of those sponsored sports compete in NCAA D-II in the SAC, two teams compete as de facto NCAA Division I members. In women's bowling, a sport added in 2019–20 in which the NCAA holds a single championship open to members of all three NCAA divisions, the Pioneers are single-sport members of the Conference Carolinas. [12] Also added for 2019–20 was men's volleyball, in which the NCAA holds a combined Division I/II national championship; the Pioneers compete in that sport as an independent. [13] Tusculum also added the non-NCAA sport of men's bowling in 2019–20, [13] and also recognizes its cheerleaders (both male and female) as varsity athletes.
In 2004, Ricardo Colclough, a defensive back and kick returner, became the first Tusculum Pioneers football player to be drafted by the National Football League when he was selected in the second draft round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Colclough, the first Tusculum player to appear in an NFL game, played for the Carolina Panthers. He was dismissed from the team in August 2008. [14]
In 2007, former Tusculum College basketball player, Tyler White, became a member of the Washington Generals, the exhibition team that travels with and plays against the Harlem Globetrotters.
In August 2009, Chris Poore, another former Tusculum College basketball player, also became a member of the Washington Generals. [15]
On September 4, 2014, the Tusculum football team hosted the College of Faith, an online institution in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a 71–0 win, the Pioneers set two NCAA all Division records: fewest total yards allowed (minus-100) and fewest rushing yards allowed (minus-124). [16] Tusculum also had three safeties, which tied a Division II record.
Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the second oldest town in Tennessee. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there are numerous U.S. towns named Greenville. The town was the capital of the short-lived State of Franklin in the 18th-century history of East Tennessee.
Tusculum is a city in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,298 at the 2020 census. It is the site of Tusculum University, the oldest university in Tennessee and the 28th oldest in the United States. Tusculum is a suburb of nearby Greeneville. The population of both Greeneville and Tusculum combined was approximately 18,777 at the 2020 census.
John Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
The State of Franklin was an unrecognized proposed state located in present-day East Tennessee, in the United States. Franklin was created in 1784 from part of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains that had been offered by North Carolina as a cession to Congress to help pay off debts related to the American War for Independence. It was founded with the intent of becoming the 14th state of the new United States.
John D. White was an American lawyer and politician who was the 15th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1841 to 1843. A member of the Whig Party, he represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives from 1835 to 1845. He was also a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1832.
New Bethel Presbyterian Church is the oldest Presbyterian congregation in Tennessee, according to church historian Maynard Pittendreigh, who authored a book about the congregation. It is located in the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee, in the tiny hamlet of Piney Flats.
Oscar Byrd Lovette was a United States Representative from Tennessee.
Samuel Doak (1749–1830) was an American Presbyterian clergyman, Calvinist educator, and a former slave owner in the early movement in the United States for the abolition of slavery.
Limestone is an unincorporated community on the western border of Washington County and the eastern border of Greene County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its zip code is 37681. Limestone is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
Thomas Gray Hull was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Washington College Academy was a private Presbyterian-affiliated educational institution located in Washington College, Limestone, Tennessee. Founded in 1780 by Doctor of Divinity Samuel Doak, the academy for many years offered accredited college, junior college and college preparatory instruction to day and boarding students, but financial difficulties in the 2000s forced the school to restructure its offerings and focus instead on continuing education courses for adults.
The First Presbyterian Church in Greeneville, Tennessee is a historic congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) located in downtown Greeneville, TN. It was the first church established in Greeneville and is one of the oldest churches in the State of Tennessee. First Presbyterian Church, originally Mount Bethel Presbyterian Church, was first gathered in 1780 at the Big Spring in downtown Greeneville, with the first services preached by traveling frontier minister Samuel Doak. In 1783, regular services began, and Rev. Hezekiah Balch was the first settled minister.
Samuel Milligan was a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court and a judge of the Court of Claims. He was a close friend and confidant of President Andrew Johnson.
The Tusculum Pioneers football team represents Tusculum University in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The Pioneers are members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC), fielding its team in the SAC since 1998. The Pioneers play their home games at Pioneer Field in Tusculum, Tennessee.
Hezekiah Balch, D.D. (1741–1810) was a Presbyterian minister and the founder of Greeneville College in 1794. After the Civil War, Greeneville College merged with what is now Tusculum University.
Afton is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Tennessee.
Nancy B. Moody was the president of Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee from until October 2009 through September 2017. Previously, from 2002 to 2009, Moody served as the president at Lincoln Memorial University.
Theodore E. "Ty" Disney was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at the University of Tennessee. He served as the head football coach at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee in 1937. He also served as the school's men's basketball coach during the 1937–38 season.
Frank T. DeBusk is an American former college football coach and player. He was the head football coach at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee, from 1998 to 2015.