JOHNSON CITY (September 11, 2012) – East Tennessee State University president Dr. Brian Noland has announced the names of the individuals who will serve on the Committee for 125, a group that will help create a vision and strategic goals for the university as it progresses toward its 125th anniversary in 2036.

Academic and business leaders serving on the Committee for 125 are Dr. Frank H. Anderson, Rear Admiral, DC, USNR (ret.), Johnson City; Dr. Ronald E. Carrier, president emeritus, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.; Dr. Joni E. Finney, practice professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia; Thomas J. Garland, Board of Trustees, Tusculum College, Greeneville; Dorothy Grisham, owner, Dorothy Grisham Allstate Insurance Agency, Chattanooga; Mark D. Musick, president emeritus, Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta; Dr. Roy S. Nicks, chancellor emeritus, Tennessee Board of Regents and former ETSU president, Old Hickory; Scott Niswonger, chief executive officer, Forward Air and Landair, Greeneville; Dr. Shirley Raines, president, University of Memphis, Memphis; and Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr., president emeritus, ETSU, Jonesborough.

ETSU benefactor and founder of the Roan Scholars Leadership Program Louis Gump is chairing the Committee for 125.

The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 29, and through deliberations created six task forces charged with identifying opportunities for excellence and priorities that ETSU might pursue during the next 25 years. These task force groups will focus on the areas of academics, health sciences, student life, athletics, extramural resources, and culture and outreach. The work of the task forces will encompass topics such as student success, community engagement and outreach, access to education, existing programs as well as new academic and athletic initiatives, and the role of technology. Nominations and appointments to these groups will include faculty, staff, students, professionals and community leaders.

“The process we have chosen for this visioning effort will be data driven and will include input from students, various campus and community leaders, and industry experts. I am extremely grateful to the members of the Committee for 125 for their willingness to serve in this leadership capacity, and I look forward to the insights we will gain from the ETSU campus and the community,” Noland said.

“This initiative is an opportunity to define an even greater culture of excellence at ETSU,” Gump added.

Task force groups will begin work by the end of September and the next Committee for 125 meeting will be held in December.