Message from the Dean

Dear Alumni and Friends,

This has been a momentous week and month with a lot of great things happening all at once. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission approved the Ph.D. degree proposal in Agricultural Sciences. We will begin offering this unique and multi-disciplinary research-based doctoral program in Agricultural Sciences in the Fall of 2022. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has re-accredited Tennessee State University for the next 10 years. Gov. Bill Lee proposed in his new budget a $318 million investment in TSU, a historic commitment by the state. It’s thrilling to hear this announcement and imagine the possibilities of what our students might experience in just a few short years as these dollars transform the campus landscape!

TSU sophomore and agricultural business major Shaun Wimberly and TSU President Glenda Glover joined Fed EX Corporation and rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 1 starting Black History Month with a historic clang. Dr. De’Etra Young, the associate dean for Academics and Land-Grant Programs, was recognized by the publication, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, as an Emerging Scholar for 2022. We congratulate our undergraduate and graduate students who successfully completed their academic requirements and graduated in Fall of 2021! We were able to send 12 students to the Agriculture Future of America, a prestigious leadership program for college students majoring in agricultural fields. These students were selected on a competitive basis and one of them now serves on the Student Advisory Board, the highest position a student can earn. As detailed in this issue, several other students won awards at different professional and leadership development organizations across the country. Our graduates are making a difference in this world; read the story about Mr. Hubert Hamer, a 1980 graduate. We are proud of them all!

We began the process to expand our Extension County operations to 10 more counties, which will bring our total to 60 counties. This expansion is made possible by the additional support we are receiving from the state, and we are extremely thankful to Gov. Lee and the legislators. The rebuilding effort of the Agricultural Research and Education Center research facilities destroyed by the 2020 tornado is in full swing. This is a great collaborative effort among several internal and external partners including the Tennessee Board of Regents, several state agencies, and the insurance company.

Continuing the saga of COVID, Omicron, the new variant of COVID 19, is still a major problem in the country and the world. We are continuing our hybrid format of teaching and program execution. Faculty began to travel on a limited basis to attend professional conferences. On a positive note, recent trend data indicates COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are starting to decline across the United States. According to one report shared by the CDC, compared to vaccinated adults, unvaccinated adults had five times the risk of infection and more than 50 times the risk of COVID-19-associated death. Please encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Thanks for your continued support of Tennessee State University and its land-grant programs!

Chandra Reddy Dean and Director of Research Administrator of Extension