Tennessee State Is a Star Player in Education
Published Apr 30, 2009
Tennessee State University in Nashville has added a master’s program in physical therapy to its academic offerings.
Tennessee State University may be able to count Oprah Winfrey among its most-accomplished alumni, but the school has plenty of other stars on its mind – BD +20 307, for example.
More than 300 light years from Earth, the numerically known star recently yielded an exciting find as Tennessee State’s Gregory Henry and several other astronomers discovered evidence that two planets in its orbit had collided, reducing each other to dust.
“It would be like Mercury or Venus colliding in our system,” Henry says. “There’s nothing else like it that’s been discovered so far.”
The rare find is one of the successes stemming from the 9,000-student TSU, the only public historically black college in Tennessee, and one of 21 four-year colleges and universities in the Nashville area, including Vanderbilt University.
Of course, most of TSU’s other successes are distinctly more earthbound than Henry’s focus, like Darrell Freeman, who developed Zycron Inc. in the school’s business incubator on its downtown campus.
The information technology business is now one of the largest minority-owned companies in the state, with Freeman showing his gratitude in 2008 by making a large donation to the center, which provides resources and expertise to fledgling businesses.
“He’s a mega-supporter,” says Mildred Walters, the incubator’s executive director, inviting others to follow his path to success. “We’re open to anyone with a good idea that is viable and feasible.”
The university offers more than 40 undergraduate and 20 graduate degrees with doctorates available in a half-dozen fields. TSU also provides an array of continuing-education classes geared to nontraditional students, as well as degree programs that are aligned with workforce needs.
According to TSU, the average class size is 19 students. TSU’s most popular majors include business administration, biology, nursing and psychology. The university recently received validation of its work in the form of its largest private gift ever – $1 million from Charles and Edith Duvall, a 1966 graduate who ran on the track team and won gold and silver medals in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
“When I look back at Tennessee State, it has done so much for so many different people,” Edith Duvall told the school. “If I can continue to help some other people, then I want to be able to do that.”
Story by Sam Scott
Photo by Jeff Adkins
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