HistoryTimeline
1911
  • First faculty meeting held in the office of President Sidney G. Gilbreath.

October 2, 1911

  • East Tennessee State Normal School opens, 29 students register first day; two courses of study offered, a four-year high school curriculum and a two-year normal school curriculum.  Normal School consisted of the departments of education, English, history, science, languages, industrial training, agriculture, and the training school.

October 10, 1911

  • Normal School dedication ceremony held

November 3, 1911

  • Navy blue and gold chosen as school colors

November 17, 1911

  • Literary societies for men and women organized – Pestalozzian for men and Sapphonian for women

December 1911

  • Departments of music and art added

March 1912

  • Departments of Latin and domestic science added
  • Committee on Social Life establishes rules of social behavior for Normal School students

December 4, 1912

  • “No young woman student in the normal school will be permitted to dine at a public hotel with an escort and without a chaperon; and no young woman student will be permitted to attend any public dance.” – Sidney G. Gilbreath
  • State Normal School Faculty Association formed

1913

  • The three state normal schools establish the Inter-Normal Debating Team

1914

  • President Gilbreath raises money for student loan fund

1915

  • Alumni Association organized
  • Model School building constructed

January 1916

  • First constitution of the United Student Body; first president of United Student Body – Theodore R. Eutsler – elected

May 1916

  • First May Day festival held

September 1916

  • New course added in piano, violin and voice

September 1916

  • New departments added in methods expression, physical education, bookkeeping and penmanship

October 4, 1916

  • Mrs. Sidney G. Gilbreath organizes the Women’s Faculty Club

1917

  • Practice Teachers’ Club organized

September 1918

  • Student Army Training Corps on campus during fall quarter
  • New departments added in biology, chemistry, geography, and physics

Winter 1918

  • Women’s basketball team completes 1917-18 basketball season undefeated, 6-0 record

1919

  • First yearbook, Old Hickory, published
  • Third year of courses added to curriculum

March 1920

  • The committee on commencement costumes reports in favor of caps and gowns for graduation
  • First football team fielded, the Normalites have 3-3 season

April 25, 1921

  • The first party for the entire student body held

1922

  • The first gymnasium completed
  • Taylor Hall (men’s residence) constructed

1923

  • First school newspaper, Chalkline, published
  • The structure now housing the B. Carroll Reece Museum constructed to house the library

1924

  • Normal School baseball team has undefeated season

January 1925

  • Name changed to East Tennessee State Teachers College

September 1, 1925

  • Dr. Charles C. Sherrod inaugurated as second president of East Tennessee State

September 1925

  • Fourth year of courses added to curriculum

November 28, 1925

  • First homecoming held

November 1925

  • First student handbook published

February 1926

  • East Tennessee State becomes an accredited member of the American Association of Teachers’ Colleges

May 28, 1926

  • First graduating class to receive four-year degrees from East Tennessee State

Spring 1926

  • T-Club organized

September 1926

  • Mathematics and Physical Science Departments added

December 1927

  • East Tennessee State becomes an accredited member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

1928

  • Training School, now University School (Alexander Hall), constructed

1929

  • First women awarded athletic letters: Florence Boum, Dorothy Whitlock

February 1929

  • First radio for dormitories

June 21, 1929

  • State Board of Education turns over to East Tennessee State the new training school building

September 1929

  • Biological sciences and directed teaching departments added

Fall Quarter 1929

  • Educational tests given to all students for the first time

July 1930

  • Name change to State Teachers College, Johnson City

Fall Quarter 1930

  • Enrollment at 1,420

January 1931

  • TC sweaters given to all football players
  • Sherrod Library constructed; at the time it was called the fireproof library; dedicated Aug. 27

1932

  • First full-time athletic coach, Gene McMurray, hired

September 1933

  • Social studies department added

November 1933

  • Athletic relations with Milligan College reestablished after 1922 dispute

1934

  • WPA builds a football field on the site of the present-day science building

1935

  • First volume of the Alumni Quarterly published
  • East Tennessee State athletic teams first referred to as the “Buccaneers”

October 9-10, 1936

  • The 25th anniversary of the founding of the college celebrated
  • The Amphitheatre completed
  • The Tennessee state legislature debates closing the college as “an unnecessary luxury”

1937

  • First Buccaneer yearbook published

November 11, 1937

  • Flagpole in triangle between administration building (Gilbreath Hall) and library building dedicated

September 1938

  • Freshman Rules (later called "Rat Week") begin during fall quarter

Fall Quarter 1938

  • Bucs are football champs of Smoky Mountain Conference

January 1939

  • Library receives $6,000 for acquisition of books from the Carnegie Foundation
  • Civilian Pilot Training Program begins on campus

1940

  • “Nearly 70” graduate in largest-ever graduating class

1941

  • College grill opens in cafeteria building
  • Second generation of students welcomed to Teachers College on school’s 30th anniversary

December  5, 1941

  • Winter quarter registration numbers drop over 10 percent resulting from high numbers of enlistments in the armed services

September 1942

  • Business administration department added
  • Brown Hall (science building) constructed

March 1, 1943

  • 2205 Army Air Forces Air-Base Unit arrives on campus and stays until June 30, 1944

March 1943

  • Name changed to East Tennessee State College
  • Program for the preparation of nurses and assistant health workers added with the cooperation of officials of the Appalachian Hospital in Johnson City

1944

  • Sam Wilson Hall (business) constructed 

1945

  • 85 World War II veterans enter ETSC as postwar enrollment climbs to 461 

1946

  • Servicemen returning from World War II enter college on GI Bill of Rights for first time; 225 enter ETSC during spring quarter 
  • Bucs basketball team wins Smoky Mountain Tournament 

January 1947

  • Enrollment reaches record as servicemen attend college on the GI Bill
  • Rat Week revived 

1948

  • Dean of Women Ella V. Ross named Johnson City’s first “Woman of the Year”

November 20, 1948

  • 10,000 fans watch Bucs and Milligan College battle to a scoreless tie in football 
  • Power Plant begins operation 

1949

  • Dr. Burgin E. Dossett Sr. inaugurated as the third president of East Tennessee State 
  • Graduate school organized
  • Browning Hall (men’s residence) constructed

1950

  • Teaching Aids Laboratory (now IMC) organized

September 1950

  • ETSC offers first athletic scholarships 

1951

  • East Tennessee State awards its first master’s degree 

1952

  • ETSC withdraws from the Smoky Mountain Conference and joins the Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) 
  • Brooks Gymnasium and Carson Hall constructed 
  • ETSC victorious in Burley Bowl 

September 1953

  • Military science, religion, speech correction and audiology courses added to the curriculum 
  • Stone Hall (women’s residence) constructed 
  • Football team wins Burley Bowl second consecutive year 

1954

  • East Tennessee State adopts rules of compliance to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against racial segregation 

November 1954

  • Kappa Delta and Alpha Delta Pi become national sororities 
  • First college museum opens at ETSC 

September 1955

  • College organized into schools and departments; four schools: Arts and Sciences, Business Administration and Economics, Education and Graduate Studies 
  • Old gymnasium (built in 1928) moved to become part of Mathes Hall (music and military science) 

1956

  • First bookstore opens on campus 
  • Dean of students post created 
  • WETS begins broadcast as closed-circuit radio station 
  • Fall quarter enrollment tops 4,000 

1957

  • ETSC joins the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) 
  • Yoakley Hall (women’s residence) constructed 

1958

  • Lambda Chi Alpha opens first fraternity house in Tennessee at 431 West Maple Street 
  • ROTC forms Honor Guard at ETSC 

1959

  • Kingsport Center opens 

April 1959

  • ETSC cagers win George Mikan Award; named “most improved” NCAA club for 1958-59 season 

1960

  • Lamb Hall (health) and the student union building constructed 

1961

  • East Tennessee State College celebrates its 50th anniversary; a telegram of congratulations received by President Dossett from President John F. Kennedy 
  • Ellington Hall (men’s residence), Powell Hall (women’s residence) and Burleson Hall (English) constructed, and Carson Hall receives an addition 
  • Student book exchange opens 
  • Sidney G. Gilbreath dies on January 6, age 91 
  • Enrollment tops 5,000 

1962

  • Social Work program established 
  • Upper and lower division requirements defined and placed in effect 
  • Record 2,000 freshmen enrolled 

February 1963

  • ETSC achieves university status, becoming East Tennessee State University 
  • West Hall (women’s residence) constructed 

1964

  • Enrollment reaches 7,000 
  • Undergraduate program in psychology established 

April 1964

  • Construction begins on B. Carroll Reece Museum addition 

1965

  • Traffic regulations require registration of vehicles for the first time 
  • University organized into four colleges and one school: Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration and Economics, Health, and Education and the Graduate School 
  • Ross Panhellenic (women’s residence) and Frank Clement Hall (men’s residence) constructed 

1966

  • Nell Dossett Hall (women’s residence), Wilson-Wallis Hall (industrial education) and Ball Hall (art) constructed 
  • University centers open in Bristol and Greeneville 

October 7, 1966

  • First annual Folk Festival held 

September 1967

  • Student body president Jerry S. Jones announces that freshmen will be welcomed on campus during School Spirit Week rather than being harassed as in previous years during Rat Week 
  • First master of science degree awarded 
  • McCord and Cooper halls (men’s residences), Lucille Clement Hall (women’s residence) and Hutcheson Hall (geography and geology) constructed 
  • Sherrod Library addition constructed 

February 1968

  • Dr. D. P. Culp inaugurated as the fourth president of East Tennessee State University.
  • New construction begins on $3.5 million science building 
  • ETSU moves to top position among Johnson City’s industries and institutions on the basis of annual payroll 

1969

  • Dossett Hall (administration) constructed 
  • Journalism department added 
  • Dental hygiene department begins 
  • Clinchfield Railroad decides to run “high line” through south side of campus on a right-of-way held by the railroad since the turn of the century; construction of the line begins 

December 13, 1969

  • ETSU Buccaneers defeat Louisiana Tech, led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in the Grantland Rice Bowl

October 20, 1970

  • President Richard M. Nixon visits campus and makes address 

1970

  • Addition constructed on Lamb Hall (health) 

1971

  • Kingsport University Center constructed 

January 1972

  • Neil Cusack sets world record in marathon for 19-year-olds 

July 1972

  • ETSU placed under control of central Board of Regents 

1973

  • The university placed under censure by the American Association of University Professors 
  • Memorial Center (Mini-Dome) groundbreaking 
  • Mack P. Davis Apartments constructed 
  • Brown Hall (science) expanded 

January 1974

  • WETS-FM begins broadcasting 

March 1974

  • The Tennessee legislature creates a free standing College of Medicine to be developed utilizing the Teague-Cranston Act 

April 1974

  • Cross-country All-American Neil Cusack of ETSU’s “Irish Brigade” wins the Boston Marathon with third-fastest time ever 
  • Women athletes join intercollegiate athletic program 
  • Luntsford Hall (apartments) constructed 
  • First Mockingbird student arts magazine published 

January 27, 1975

  • First meeting of Faculty Senate held 
  • Cooperative Education Program added 
  • Bond Building (physical plant offices) constructed 
  • Shelbridge acquired as the presidential residence 
  • Gilbreath Hall renovated 

October 1975

  • Family practice residency programs in Johnson City and Kingsport accredited 

1976

  • Construction completed on the Clack Building (chilling plant) and the D.P. Culp University Center 

March 22, 1976

  • Kingsport Family Practice Center opens under auspices of the department of family practice in the Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine 

July 1976

  • Family practice residency programs in Bristol, Veterans Administration Medical Center and Watauga Area Mental Health Center receive accreditation 

October 1976

  • Bristol Family Practice Center opens 

Summer 1977

  • Dr. Arthur H. DeRosier, Jr., inaugurated as fifth president of East Tennessee State University 
  • ETSU organized into seven colleges and schools; Colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Health and Medicine.  Schools: Graduate Studies, Continuing Education.

July 1977

  • Residency program in internal medicine receives accreditation 

Fall 1977

  • Mini-Dome opens

1978

  • ETSU joins the Southern Conference after 21 years in the OVC 
  • Student union building renovated to become part of the College of Medicine 

August 1978

  • Medical school enrolls its first class of 24 students 
  • Schools of Public and Allied Health, Nursing, and Applied Science and Technology established 

1979

  • First student representative serves on alumni board 
  • Sherrod Library designated state document depository 

1980

  • Dr. Ronald E. Beller becomes the sixth president of East Tennessee State University.

May 1980

  • Residency program in surgery receives accreditation 

June 27, 1980

  • Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine officially named by the State Board of Regents 

October 11, 1980

  • ETSU parrot “Pepper” comes in a big egg and hatches during the homecoming festivities 

Fall 1980

  • ETSU goes on the semester system 
  • First NCAA riflery championships held at ETSU

1981

  • State Board of Regents approves master of education degree at ETSU
  • Teresa Bowers selected as first distinguished alumna of the arts
  • Construction of WETS-FM transmitter tower and building on Holston Mountain begins

November 7, 1981

  • Entertainers Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph, and Helen Reddy join Gov. Lamar Alexander at Johnson City’s Freedom Hall to raise money for the Floyd Cramer Scholarship Fund in ETSU’s Department of Music

1982

  • Perrier Fitness Trail, 1.3 miles, with 18 fitness stations, completed
  • Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine receives full accreditation from Liaison Committee on Medical Education
  • First M.D. degrees awarded by Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine

1983

  • Medical school facility opens on Veterans Administration grounds
  • Student Services Center established in the Culp University Center to meet special needs of commuting and nontraditional students
  • Residency program in pathology receives accreditation

October 14, 1983

  • Congressman James H. Quillen dedicates medical school facility at Veterans Administration

July 1, 1984

  • Center for Appalachian Studies and Services (CASS) opens
  • Dr. Jack Higgs, Department of English, named one of the eight top university professors in the United States by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)

August 1984

  • Cooper Annex demolished
  • First dry (non-alcoholic) rush held by fraternities

September 6, 1984

  • Senators Albert Gore, Jr. (D.-TN), and Claude Pepper (D-FL) convene a senate subcommittee hearing on Alzheimer’s disease at the D. P. Culp University Center

September 1984

  • ETSU Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology approved by State Board of Regents

October 1984

  • CASE president James Fisher addresses the first university-wide convocation
  • Brown Hall (science) renovated

1985

  • First issue of Now and Then published by Center for Appalachian Studies and Services

May 18, 1985

  • Vice President George Bush visits ETSU to honor Congressman and Mrs. James H. Quillen at a reception to recognize the creation of the Cecile Cox Quillen Chair of Medicine
  • East Tennessee State University named a Homecoming ’86 community by the State of Tennessee

August 23, 1985

  • Medical library dedicated at Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine

October 10, 1985

  • A proclamation ceremony held to kick off ETSU’s 75th birthday celebration (ETSU President Dr. Ronald E. Beller presented a letter of congratulations from President Reagan on Oct. 23 – 1985 Homecoming proclamation ceremony)
  • Burleson Hall (English) renovated
  • Residency program in psychiatry receives accreditation

November 1985

  • Environmental health department’s baccalaureate and graduate programs reaccredited and declared “best in U.S.” by National Environmental Health Association

1986

  • ETSU celebrates its diamond anniversary – 75 years of tradition and vision in East Tennessee
  • Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series begins; addresses delivered by Felix C. Lowe, Alex Haley, Wally Schirra and F. Lee Bailey

September 3, 1986

  • Ribbon cutting ceremony for the addition of bus shuttle system for campus transport with university and city officials, partners with the Johnson City Transit System 

September 4, 1986

  • Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale, delivers the fifth talk in the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series in honor of former ETSU President Dr. Arthur H. DeRosier Jr.

October 1, 1986

  • Sixth lecture in the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series featuring John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, in honor of Dr. Ronald E. Beller, ETSU President since 1980.

October 4, 1986

  • Thirty-minute television documentary airs on WCYB: East Tennessee State University: 75 Years of Excellence

October 23, 1986

  • Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine receives three-year accreditation, the longest period in the medical school’s history 

April 14, 1987

  • College of Business achieves accreditation of its bachelor’s and master’s programs from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business 

August 3, 1987

  • Record year in research and sponsored programs support, with over $5 million received 

September 3, 1987

  • ETSU rings the Unity Bell as well as the historic hand bell at the Reece Museum for Bells Across America, a 200-minute bell-ringing ceremony celebrating the signing of the Constitution 

September 9, 1987

  • Record enrollment: 10,198 

December 2, 1987

  • ETSU’s Center for Adult Programs and Services opens 

April 5, 1988

  • ETSU adopts a new logo featuring a mountain range over the initials ETSU in Andover typeface, the work of 1973 art alumnus Richard D. Maxey 

August 26, 1988

  • Dedication ceremony for Carl A. Jones Hall at the Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine, named in honor of the President and Publisher of the Johnson City Press 

September 13, 1988

  • Record enrollment: 11,156, breaking the 11,000 mark for the first time 

October 4, 1988

  • Master’s program in Storytelling begins 

October 13, 1988

  • Former President Jimmy Carter visits ETSU to participate in the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

May 1989

  • The inaugural George L. Carter Award is bestowed to Mr. Allen Harris, Jr.

June 30, 1989

  • The ETSU medical school is renamed the James H. Quillen College of Medicine 

July 3, 1989

  • WETS-FM goes to 24-hour programming 

October 26, 1989

  • Professor Andrei Anikin, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s chief advisor on economic restructuring, is featured speaker in the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

January 23, 1990

  • President Gerald R. Ford speaks as part of the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

March 14, 1990

  • U. S. Senator Albert Gore, Jr., is the keynote speaker for Earth Day 

May 1990

  • College of Nursing opens Johnson City Downtown Clinic

September 1990

  • Mountain City Extended Hours Health Center, which is managed by the ETSU College of Nursing, opens

November 9, 1990

  • ETSU Bluegrass Band participates in the Soviet Union’s International Folk Festival in Moscow 

April 8, 1991

  • Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks as part of the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

June 1991

  • ETSU announces $6.1 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to initiate the Community Partnerships for Health Professions Education Program 

July 1, 1991

  • Dr. Bert C. Bach named Interim President 

September 13, 1991

  • Enrollment tops 12,000 

March 20, 1992

  • Men’s basketball defeats No. 3 seed Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 

May 1992

  • Dr. Roy S. Nicks named Interim President and obtains the post on a permanent basis one year later 

June 6, 1992

  • James H. Quillen College of Medicine dedicates the Palma L. Robinson Clinical Education Center 

October 24, 1992

  • Hostage negotiator Terry Waite speaks as part of the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

August 1993

September 9, 1993

  • Harry Smith from CBS News delivers talk in Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

June 10, 1994

  • News conference announcing Alias|Silicon Graphics partnership with ETSU

October 13, 1994

  • Ribbon-cutting held for computer lab in Culp Center 

March 12, 1995

  • University School announces it will go to year-round schedule 

March 28, 1995

  • Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series hosts Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller 

February 6, 1996

  • ETSU Homepage named “3-Star” Internet site by the McKinley Group 

April 2, 1996

  • ETSU Computer Science program ranked as national leader by Computerworld 

October 22, 1996

  • Groundbreaking for new library 

December 31, 1996

  • Dr. Roy S. Nicks retires 

January 1, 1997

  • Dr. Paul E. Stanton, Jr. becomes the eighth president of ETSU  

August 1, 1997

  • Smoking ban enforced in ETSU buildings 

August 6, 1997

  • Record year for research and sponsored programs: $14 million 

October 2, 1997

  • Novelist William Styron speaks as part of the Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series 

May 14, 1998

  • ETSU Foundation records first $10 million year in private giving 

August 19, 1998

  • ETSU tops $20 million for research funding 

January 11, 1999

  • The new Charles C. Sherrod Library opens 

February 24, 1999

  • The Presidential Distinguished Lecture Series hosts Linda Wertheimer from National Public Radio 

February 27, 2000

  • Charles C. Sherrod Library recognized nationally as “Outstanding Building” in the 1999 Architectural Portfolio of American School & University magazine 

August 23, 2000

  • ETSU receives $26.7 million in research funding 

August 2000

  • ETSU admits first class of students in the Roan Scholars Leadership Program 

October 25, 2000

  • ETSU publishes Home and Away: A University Brings Food to the Table, a book of stories and recipes  

March 27, 2001

  • ETSU dedicates the Scott M. Niswonger Digital Media Center

April 25, 2001

  • ETSU Division of Theatre presents Hear That Whistle Blow…Erwin Train A Coming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

September 11, 2001

  • ETSU classes cancelled due to terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City 

September 27, 2001

  • ETSU celebrates $90 million fundraising campaign total on 90th birthday 

January 18, 2002

  • James H. Quillen College of Medicine dedicates Stanton-Gerber Hall, basic sciences building, in honor of ETSU President Dr. Paul E. Stanton, Jr., and Dr. Carl J. Gerber, director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center 

May 9, 2002

  • Annual giving pushes Campaign for ETSU Tomorrow total to $105 million 

September 26, 2002

  • Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist announces $8 million Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for development of visitor center at Gray Fossil Site 

October 21, 2002

  • ETSU becomes the first institution in the Tennessee Board of Regents and University of Tennessee systems to create its own research foundation 

July 1, 2003

  • College of Business and College of Applied Science and Technology merge to form College of Business and Technology 

November 22, 2003

  • ETSU football team plays final game, winning 16-13 over The Citadel 

January 28, 2004

  • Congressman James H. Quillen leaves ETSU over $14.6 million for two scholarship endowments   

February 13, 2004

  • Rare red panda found at ETSU’s Gray Fossil Site 

February 27, 2004

  • ETSU unveils Center for Experiential Learning at the College of Medicine 

April 2, 2004

  • ETSU names College of Education for Claudius G. Clemmer, a former teacher in a one-room school

October 30, 2004

  • The ETSU Alumni Gallery, which includes the George L. Carter and the Outstanding Alumni Walls, is dedicated in the D.P. Culp University Center. 

March 17, 2005

  • Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen issues a challenge that ETSU raise $5 million in 90 days for a proposed College of Pharmacy before going to the Tennessee Board of Regents and Tennessee Higher Education Commission for approval, and an additional $2.5 million before the arrival of the first class 

July 1, 2005

  • ETSU Honors College is established 

July 14, 2005

  • The Tennessee Higher Education Commission gives the final authorization for the ETSU College of Pharmacy 

August 2005

  • ETSU joins Atlantic Sun Conference

August 31, 2005

  • Dedication held for the ETSU Foundation Carillon and Alumni Plaza, which was the first gift to the university to celebrate ETSU’s upcoming centennial

January 5, 2006

  • East Tennessee State University is among nation’s first to receive accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP) 

March 21, 2006

  • Dr. Maya Angelou gives lecture at ETSU 

September 15, 2006

  • ETSU dedicates Roy S. Nicks Hall in the renovated building that formerly housed the Charles C. Sherrod Library 

December 16, 2006

  • ETSU begins holding two commencement ceremonies 

January 8, 2007

  • Inaugural white coat ceremony for the College of Pharmacy is held in D. P. Culp University Center 

March 3, 2007

  • U.S.News & World Report ranks Quillen College of Medicine third in nation for excellence in rural medicine 

August 31, 2007

  • ETSU and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site opens to the general public 

October 26, 2007

  • Governors Hall, new ETSU residence facility, dedicated 

October 30, 2007

  • The ETSU PRIDE Walk is dedicated.

November 8, 2007

  • George L. Carter Railroad Museum opens 

December 17, 2007

  • College of Public and Allied Health splits to become two colleges: College of Public Health and the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences 

February 16, 2008

  • ETSU celebrates “Program of the Year” award from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), presented to the Community Partnerships for Health Professions Education Program 

February 19, 2008

  • Nearly complete skeleton of fossil red panda discovered at ETSU Gray Fossil Site is only one in the world and the “find of a lifetime”

May 22, 2008

  • Pharmacy school named in honor of benefactor Bill Gatton 

June 16, 2008

  • The William L. Jenkins Forensic Center is dedicated 

June 24, 2008

  • The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) awards Candidate Status to the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy 

August 11, 2008

  • ETSU becomes a Tobacco-Free Campus 

February 6, 2009

  • Mary B. Martin School of the Arts established 

September 16, 2009

  • ETSU enrollment tops 14,000 

October 2009

  • ETSU’s College of Public Health receives accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health, becoming the first school in Tennessee, and the only one in South-Central Appalachia, to earn that designation 

November 3, 2009

  • ETSU announces the nation’s first doctoral program in sport science and physiology 

November 20, 2009

  • ETSU announces the world’s first major in Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music, offered through the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Appalachian Studies 

July 1, 2010

July 2010

  • Eastman Chemical Co. donates 144 acres of its Valleybrook property near Eastern Star Road off I-26 to the ETSU Foundation; the property, which includes 72,000-square-foot research and office complex and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse and storage facility, will be leased to ETSU for research and educational purposes

September 2010

  • ETSU's enrollment surpasses 15,000 for the first time, with 15,234 students enrolled for the fall 2010 semester

October 1, 2010

  • ETSU officially begins its 100th anniversary observance - "Partnerships, Promise, and Hope for 100 Years" - with a Centennial Opening Celebration in the ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center (Minidome)

October 11, 2010

  • The ETSU College of Nursing and College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences announce a $6.8 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to build a comprehensive health care facility that will house the Johnson City Downtown Clinic and other allied health services

October 15, 2010

  • ETSU is dedicated as an All-Steinway School in a ceremony with university and Steinway & Sons Pianos officials prior to a Steinway Celebration Concert featuring The 5 Browns, capping a "Week of Musical Celebrations" commemorating ETSU's centennial

April 2011

  • The Department of Communication unveils its new, state-of-the-art radio, television and film studio, which has been converted to high definition and includes such amenities as a digital editing lab, studio cameras, graphics software, field equipment and other high-end technologies

May 2011

  • A $75,000 renovation of the Hutcheson Hall planetarium is completed, featuring a state-of-the-art, full-dome digital projection system, as well as new seating, floor tiling, and more

May 26, 2011

  • The Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy receives the Outstanding Adaptive Reuse Award from The Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in honor of the excellence ETSU demonstrated in preserving, restoring and adapting the 100-year-old building on the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus at Mountain Home that now houses the college

August 26, 2011

  • President Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr. proclaims the first Besse Brown Cooper Day, honoring the world's oldest living person on her 115th birthday. Mrs. Cooper graduated in 1916 from East Tennessee State Normal School.

October 10, 2011

  • ETSU closes its Centennial Celebration with a ceremony in the ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center with the musical number "Mountain Memories," the presentation of the Student Choice Awards, and a special tribute to George L. Carter, who donated the land on which the university now stands, and Besse Brown Cooper, a 1916 East Tennessee State Normal School graduate and the oldest living person in the world at the age of 115

October 10, 2011

  • A bronze portrait bust of George L. Carter, the entrepreneur and philanthropist who donated the land on which ETSU now stands, is unveiled in front of Carter Hall, the women's residence hall named in memory of Carter's wife, Mayetta. The sculpture was created by Virginia artist Richard Pumphrey, whose portrait sculptures of the World War II Allied Leaders are on display at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.

October 2011

  • WETS-FM, ETSU's public radio station, becomes the first station in the Tri-Cities region to offer high definition radio, with three HD signals in addition to its regular analog signal at 89.5 MHz

January 2012

  • ETSU's eighth president, Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr., retires, and is succeeded by Dr. Brian Noland, former chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

April 2012

  • ETSU is officially designated as a U.S. Olympic Training Site for weightlifting by the United States Olympic Committee

April 27, 2012

  • The James H. Quillen College of Medicine dedicates its new Student Study Center, a $1.4 million, state-of-the-art facility funded entirely by medical students and private donors, with study rooms of various sizes, a kitchen and café area, an outdoor porch and a 1,000-square-foot terrace

June 4, 2012

  • The center part of campus is permanently closed to traffic to allow the creation of more green space and walkway areas

June 27, 2012

  • Ground is broken for a 20,000-square-foot expansion of the Wayne G. Basler Center for Physical Activity, just 10 years after the facility's opening

August 9, 2012

  • Ground is broken for a Student Parking Garage, which will provide 1,224 parking spaces on four levels, as well as food services and office space for the Department of Public Safety and Office of Parking Services







ETSU Entrance sign