Dr. Mary Morris, in photo at left, director of the Center for Character Development at Lipscomb University, discusses the importance of service during the Character Counts award program. Sullivan County General Sessions Judge Steven H. Jones, in photo at right, presents a Character Counts pin to Tusculum College President Dr. Dolphus E. Henry, at left, during a Character Counts award program held Tuesday evening at Tusculum College. (Tusculum College photos)

Development of good citizens focal point of regional program at Tusculum College

Tusculum College's continuing tradition of developing educated, moral citizens served as a backdrop Tuesday evening (Feb. 18) for a call for character-building among both youth and adults.

"You are role models to our young people," Sullivan County General Sessions Judge Steven H. Jones told the 200 people attending the Character Counts award program Tuesday evening at Tusculum College. "We need to understand that success is not about doing whatever it takes to beat a competitor. We all need to understand that it isn't ethics in business, it is just ethics."

"Character is not at the forefront of the American agenda," said Jones. "We still have a lot of moral problems. We have a crisis, and the cure for that crisis is a massive dose of character education."

Jones' remarks came during a program recognizing 37 people from seven Northeast Tennessee counties for their service to others. The program was hosted by the college and the First Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Youth Services Program, which works with the Character Counts educational program in several school systems in Northeast Tennessee.

One of the honors presented was the "Balch-Doak Award," named for the Rev. Hezekiah Balch, the founder of Greeneville College which later merged with Tusculum College, and the Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak, a founder of Tusculum College.

"These men recognized that it was not enough to have a good education, but to have good morals as well," said Jones, who was instrumental in bringing the Character Counts program to Tennessee as a way to prevent young people from appearing before him in Juvenile Court.

Noting Tusculum's ties to Andrew Johnson, Jones said the 17th president's strong commitment to his beliefs should be a role model for everyone. "Andrew Johnson was a man that was much criticized during his day, but he continued to stand up for what was right and what he believed in: the U.S. Constitution," he continued.

It is also fitting that the award program be held at Tusculum, Jones said, in part because of the exhibit featuring George Washington, "a man of character," now on display at the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library on campus. The college's Museum and Program Studies department coordinated the awards program with the First Tennessee Human Resources Agency.

Rev. Balch had written Washington seeking a donation to the fledgling Greeneville College, and received a $100 gift from the nation's first president. A portion of Balch's letter to Washington was read by Tusculum President Dr. Dolphus E. Henry, "If our children are to be brought up in ignorance, we cannot expect that they will understand the nature of true liberty."

"Tusculum College's ongoing challenge is to ensure that our students are provided with an education that not only prepares them for their chosen professions but also prepares them to be good citizens," Dr. Henry said.

The college's Civic Arts curriculum includes teaching the skills needed for students to be involved, contributing members of their communities and is based on Judeo-Christian and civic republican ideals, he continued. "Through these concepts and courses, professors work to ensure that our students display courage, self control, justice, and civic responsibility."

Dr. Mary Morris, director of the Center for Character Development at Lipscomb University, shared how she got involved with the Character Counts program through a trip to Russia to teach the "six pillars of character" central to the program.

Recalling that a student gave her $1.67 toward the trip to Siberia, Dr. Morris described teaching day-long sessions to Russian educators, whom she discovered did not have anything to eat for lunch.

"That $1.67 in my pocket was enough for eight lunches," she said. "I learned that you cannot meet people's needs unless you know what they are. I also learned that a small amount went a long way."