Dr. Jerry Gehre, at left, is presented a plaque in recognition of his service to Tusculum College by Dr. Jonathan Franz, provost and academic vice president. (Tusculum College photo)

Dr. Jerry Gehre honored by college

Dr. Jerry Gehre, who has led a distinguished career in higher education in Northeast Tennessee, was recently recognized by Tusculum College for his contributions and service to the state's oldest college.

Dr. Gehre, professor of business administration, is retiring in the 2003-04 academic year from Tusculum, where he has served in a variety of capacities, including interim Vice President for the Residential College and faculty advisor for the college's award-winning Students in Free Enterprise team. He is a Johnson City resident.

"The phrase 'a gentleman and a scholar' may have been coined to describe Dr. Jerry Gehre. Since the 1980s he has been involved in the life of Tusculum College in a variety of capacities, and in each he has worked with a style and grace that has endeared him to those around him," said Dr. Jonathan Franz, provost and academic vice president, as he presented a plaque to Dr. Gehre on Aug. 12. The presentation was made during a faculty and staff picnic marking the beginning of the fall semester.

Faculty members from the School of Business also presented Tusculum-monogrammed items to Dr. Gehre in recognition of his service.

Dr. Gehre, whose last name is pronounced "gary," came to Tusculum in the latter part of the 1980s as an adjunct faculty member, teaching economics in the Graduate and Professional Studies program. He became a full-time faculty member in the 1990s, and from 1997 through 2001 served in an interim capacity as Vice President for the Residential College.

After that work concluded, he returned full-time to the faculty, teaching business, and advising Tusculum's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization, which has advanced to national competition for the past two years. Dr. Gehre has also been honored for his work with Tusculum students in the SIFE organization, which emphasizes development of leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.

Dr. Gehre's career in higher education has illustrated his professional versatility, particularly at East Tennessee State University where he served in a number of capacities for several years. At ETSU, he worked in cooperative education, institutional research, continuing education, computer services, human resources, and development. Dr. Gehre also taught economics and finance and became associate vice president for administration. His responsibilities in that position included university planning, capital outlay/maintenance budgeting, renovation projects, space management, health and safety, contract review, land acquisition, leases, and other business activities.

Dr. Gehre earned his doctorate in economics at the University of Arkansas. He earned a master's in economic history from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor of arts degree in business from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

His professional career began while he was still a student. He worked at a credit company in the early 1960s, and in 1965 began teaching economics at Kansas State College. While a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas in the mid-1960s, he worked part time as an economics instructor. He taught Quantitative Management Science and was a research assistant in Agricultural Economics in the early 1970s while in graduate school.