East Tennessee State University

By Don Good

East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, was founded in 1911 as East Tennessee State Normal School to provide teachers for the state s public schools. The institution originally offered two courses of study: a four-year high school program and a two-year normal school curriculum, which initially enrolled 29 students. Today ETSU serves more than 14,000 students and offers over 100 undergraduate programs, 75 master's programs, and a dozen areas of doctoral study. The university is organized into 11 colleges and schools. Approximately 700 full-time faculty members, 80 percent of whom hold doctorates, serve the institution s students. Indicative of embracing its Appalachian heritage and location, the university boasts several unique programs, which include bluegrass studies and storytelling. While ETSU offers all the opportunities and resources of any large university, it also has many advantages typically found only in small colleges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jul 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439626214

Don Good

Don Good is associate professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis department at East Tennessee State University. Dr. Good holds degrees from Western Carolina University, Winthrop University, and the University of South Carolina. Images for the book are courtesy of the university archives at ETSU.

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INTRODUCTION

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is located in Johnson City, Tennessee (population approximately 60,000). Since its inception, the institution has become the largest, most diverse, and most prominent institution of higher education between Knoxville, Tennessee, and western North Carolina.

Shortly after the War Between the States, advocates in Tennessee encouraged the establishment of a state system of public schools as well as the establishment of state normal schools for the purpose of training teachers for those public schools. The 1909 Tennessee General Assembly authorized the creation of normal schools in Johnson City, Murfreesboro, Nashville, and Memphis. Railroad magnate George L. Carter donated 120 acres for the Johnson City campus, and what is now East Tennessee State University formally began operation as East Tennessee State Normal School on October 10, 1911. Sidney G. Gilbreath, former state superintendent of schools, was the first president; he served 14 years. The institution originally offered two courses of study: a four-year high school program and a two-year normal school curriculum, which initially enrolled 29 students.

The year 1925 was a watershed for the institution. Charles C. Sherrod succeeded Gilbreath as president, and the school’s name changed to East Tennessee State Teachers College. The first four-year degrees were awarded in 1926. Sherrod’s numerous accomplishments during his 24-year presidency included the institution’s initial accreditation by the American Association of Teachers Colleges (AATC) in 1926, regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (SACSS) in 1927, an increase in student enrollment from approximately 200 students to 1,600, and the construction of many buildings. Perhaps Sherrod’s greatest accomplishment lay in the fact that the school remained in operation.

During his term, the state legislature seriously considered closing many of the state-supported colleges, including State Teachers College, Johnson City, as it had been renamed in 1930. The legislature called the school an unnecessary luxury. While the schools suffered for a period of time in terms of financial appropriations, they not only survived but thrived thanks to the valiant efforts of Sherrod and others. State Teachers College, Johnson City, became East Tennessee State College (ETSC) in 1943 as the institution’s range of liberal arts offerings expanded.

Burgin E. Dossett Sr. assumed the presidency of ETSC in 1949 and held the post until 1968. The graduate school was organized during the first year of Dossett’s presidency, and the first master’s degrees were awarded in 1951. Student enrollment had surpassed 7,000 by the end of Dossett’s administration. The growing complexity of the institution in terms of increased enrollment and the expansion both in number and types of academic offerings resulted in the final name change in 1963 to East Tennessee State University.

Growth of the university continued under Delos P. Culp, president from 1968 to 1977. For example, ETSU awarded the first doctorate, the doctor of education degree, in 1972 and in the same year came under control of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), now the sixth largest system of higher education in the nation. In the ensuing years, through the administrations of Pres. Arthur H. DeRosier Jr. (1977–1980), Ronald E. Beller (1980–1991), Bert C. Bach (interim 1991–1992), Roy S. Nicks (1992–1996), and Paul E. Stanton Jr. (1997–present), ETSU has grown from what began as a tiny normal school into a major university.

Today East Tennessee State University serves over 14,000 students. The institution is classified by the Carnegie Foundation in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities–Intensive. ETSU offers over 100 undergraduate programs, 75 master’s programs, and more than a dozen areas of doctoral study. The university is organized into 11 colleges and schools, which include the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Technology, Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences, Education, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health, as well as the Honors College, the School of Graduate Studies, and the School of Continuing Studies. Approximately 700 full-time faculty members, 80 percent of whom hold doctorates, serve the institution’s students.

In 1974, after political battles that included overriding a gubernatorial veto, the College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University was created. The medical school enrolled its first students in 1978 and awarded its first doctor of medicine degrees in 1982. The James H. Quillen College of Medicine has been recognized among the nation’s best in the areas of rural medicine, family medicine, and primary care education.

Prior to the establishment of East Tennessee State University’s College of Pharmacy, the only such program in Tennessee was over 500 miles away from Johnson City. Therefore, many students who were qualified and desired to study pharmacy did so at institutions located in other states and often remained outside Tennessee at the conclusion of their studies. The College of Pharmacy enrolled its first students in January 2007. In 2008, it was named the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy after the local businessman and benefactor.

While East Tennessee State University offers all the opportunities and resources of any other large university, it also has many advantages typically found only in small colleges. The faculty prides itself on giving students, both undergraduate and graduate, individual attention. Most classes for freshmen and sophomores have fewer than 25 students. Undergraduate research is prized, and opportunities for all students are available through the Honors College.

The university clearly and proudly embraces its location in the southern Appalachian region. The Center for Appalachian Studies and Services (CASS) documents and showcases Appalachia’s past, celebrates its cultural heritage, and promotes an understanding of the influences that shape its identity. The university offers Appalachian Studies as an undergraduate major and as a concentration within the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) degree program. Those undergraduate and graduate programs offer students the opportunity to explore the culture, history, heritage, problems, and potential of the Appalachian region.

East Tennessee State University is the only four-year university in the world with a comprehensive bluegrass music program and was the first to offer a bachelor of arts degree in