Dr. Roberta Herrin named director of CASS

JOHNSON CITY – Dr. Roberta T. Herrin has been named director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services (CASS), a Tennessee Center of Excellence, at East Tennessee State University.

The first native Appalachian to lead the Center, established in 1984, she chaired the CASS Board of Directors from 1985-1993, and says that allowed her to learn about the Center through the years.

“I’ve seen it grow to the point where it’s done what it was intended to do – raise the profile of Appalachian scholarship and culture and of ETSU,” she said.

Herrin, a professor of English who came to ETSU in 1976 and just completed nine years of service as associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies, finds working with the Center, its staff and its many components very attractive.

CASS is comprised of the Regional Resources Institute (RRI), the Carroll Reece Museum and the Archives of Appalachia. Within the RRI are the Appalachian, Scottish and Irish Studies (ASIS) Program; the Encyclopedia of Appalachia project; the Governor’s School for Tennessee Heritage; the Appalachian Studies minor; the Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Program; and Now & Then magazine.

Herrin’s many goals include expanding the Appalachian Studies curriculum from a minor to a major, and perhaps offering a graduate certificate through the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree program.

Herrin pointed out that the massive Encyclopedia of Appalachia project is winding down and should be in print in 2005 (University of Tennessee Press).

“Once the Encyclopedia is published, that puts us on a whole new stage,” she said. “Nothing like that exists for this region. That will spark conversation about the Appalachian region. It’s a seminal work that will generate interest and direct scholarship and research in new ways.”

Another area of publication which Herrin hopes to revitalize is the Center’s magazine, Now & Then, which just published its last issue due to state budget cuts.

“The magazine has been a prominent part of CASS for years,” she pointed out. “Now we have to decide if we want to rebirth the magazine or come up with some other type of publication. I see that as a central part of CASS – to be involved in publication, to have a venue for research, scholarship and issues about the region.”

Herrin plans to foster a continual relationship with the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is a major component of the ASIS Program. ASIS is led by Director Dr. Ted Olson, who also served as interim director of CASS following the retirement of Dr. Jean Haskell.

Traditionally, through an exchange agreement between the two universities, ETSU students have visited UE in odd-numbered years and Scottish students have visited ETSU in even-numbered years for summer study. However, due to administrative changes at UE, budget cuts at both universities, and travel concerns following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, ASIS has been unable to travel to Scotland since the summer of 2001. In addition, the success of ETSU’s ASIS program has been so great over the years that other regional universities have established similar entities.

“We are going ahead with the ETSU course here this summer, which will be taught by Dr. Olson,” she said. “And, I would like to rebuild our connection with the University of Edinburgh and construct a program that is unique among these other offerings and that meets a specific need. The tradition of cooperation between ETSU and the University of Edinburgh is too strong, too rich.”

In addition, Herrin said that although the Governor’s School for Tennessee Heritage has suffered some from budget cuts, applications from high school students are up for this summer.

“I would like for us to do some creative thinking about that program,” she said. “It’s already unique, but perhaps we could partner with professional organizations in the community and bring more visibility to the experience.”

Herrin also hopes to further the growth and success of the Reece Museum, the Archives of Appalachia, and the Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Program, and to raise the level of external financial support for the Center.

“Our Archives of Appalachia is nationally known,” she said. “Over the past years, the collections have grown exponentially. The potential there for scholarship, research, service and visibility for the university is rich.

“A museum is a core element of any university; for us to have an accredited museum is such a plus for ETSU. And the potential is unlimited for the Bluegrass Program.”

She would also like to establish a collaborative relationship between CASS and the History of Medicine Museum, which is operated cooperatively by the ETSU James H. Quillen College of Medicine and the Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and is housed in the clock tower building on the VA campus. She believes the two units could apply for grant funding that might allow the museum to become a major showcase, which could be tied in with the medical, nursing and public and allied health curricula of the university’s Division of Health Sciences.

Herrin earned both her B.S. and M.A. in English at ETSU and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee. Through the years, Appalachia has been a major focus of her teaching and research. She has taught courses in Appalachian literature, Appalachian women authors and Appalachian children’s literature, a field in which she is currently working on a bibliography to be published by McFarland Press.

She has given presentations for professional and community organizations and various other groups, and her writings have been published in the Appalachian Journal, Iron Mountain Review, Southern Exposure, Now & Then, Journal of the Appalachian Studies Association, The Highlands Bulletin, Kentucky Folklore Record and many other publications. She has written two entries for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, is the author of “The Education of Little Tree” Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Biography, and edited two volumes of Journey Through Fantasy Literature.

Herrin has served in leadership positions in the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Appalachian Consortium, Appalachian Studies Association, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Jonesborough/Washington County Heritage Alliance, and numerous other organizations.

Excited about the opportunity to lead the Center, Herrin said, “I’ve watched it grow all these years, and there’s so much more to do. That’s intellectually exciting, and I think it will be personally rewarding.”