Tennessee Tech College of Education name change reflects broader course offerings, career paths
Students in Tech's College of Education & Human Sciences are pictured in the college's
Jeffers Learning Resource Center (JLRC), located in Bartoo Hall. JLRC Coordinator
Genny Patterson stands at right.
Tennessee Tech University’s College of Education is now the College of Education &
Human Sciences. Leaders in the college explain that the change, which took effect
Jan. 1, reflects its broader array of course offerings and career paths.
“Our college encompasses a number of different units and has for a long time,” explained
Lisa Zagumny, dean of the College of Education & Human Sciences. “We have this really
big footprint, and our programs were not fully represented by the College of Education
name.”
Among the college’s academic units are the Department of Curriculum & Instruction,
which focuses on teacher education, the Department of Counseling and Psychology, which
includes a large undergraduate psychology program and counseling-driven graduate programs,
and the Department of Exercise Science, which offers 10 undergraduate concentrations
ranging from pre-occupational and physical therapies and pre-physician assistant to
exercise physiology and sports administration.
The College of Education & Human Sciences is also home to the university’s Millard
Oakley STEM Center, which offers interactive science, technology, engineering and
math programming to educators and students from pre-kindergarten to college.
Students in the College of Education & Human Sciences give a "Wings Up" in front of
T.J. Farr Building, one of several campus buildings used by the college.
The college additionally oversees Tech’s Child Development Lab, which offers childcare
services to faculty, staff and community members while providing hands-on learning
to Tech students in early childhood education and similar majors.
As the second-largest college by enrollment on Tech’s campus, the College of Education
& Human Sciences is further augmented by its own student success center and testing
center, as well as its dedicated Office of Teacher Education and its Jeffers Learning
Resource Center – a newly-remodeled space where students can do everything from use
laser engravers, sewing machines and 3D printers to create materials for their classes,
to even immersing themselves in classroom settings through virtual reality technology.
Zagumny said that the need for a name change first became apparent earlier this year
when she was planning remarks to the June 20, 2024 meeting of Tech’s Board of Trustees.
“Preparing for that presentation and rolling out all that we are – it made it even
more obvious that ‘College of Ed’ just isn’t capturing who we are and who we’ve been
for a while,” said Zagumny. “In looking at our programs and our areas of expertise,
it makes sense for us to shift from College of Education to College of Education &
Human Sciences.”
“It helps to provide a better understanding of the academic composition of the college,”
Zagumny added.
Zagumny is quick to note that the name change does not diminish the college’s commitment
to training classroom teachers – something that has become central to Tech’s identity
and reputation over the years.
“We’re very proud that we graduate the most teachers in the state and that more districts
hire our graduates than any others,” said Zagumny. “There’s also this very dynamic
human sciences piece that can better reflect counseling and psychology and exercise
science. It’s just a more inclusive name.”
Zagumny adds that counseling and psychology and exercise science are now the college’s
fastest growing programs at the undergraduate level – something she calls a reflection
of “current contexts.”
Lisa Zagumny, dean of Tech's College of Education & Human Sciences. Zagumny's service
to Tech spans 30 years.
“People are really interested in those pre-professional programs so that they can
go on and become an occupational therapist or physical therapist or physician assistant,”
said Zagumny. “But we're also seeing these huge demands in the mental health care
space. We’ve had those programs, but they were sort of overshadowed by our name.”
Zagumny hopes that, with the new name, students can see themselves at home in the
College of Education & Human Sciences, no matter where they may fall in the college’s
vast suite of majors and concentrations.
“This better demonstrates who we already are,” concluded Zagumny. “We should have
done it sooner!”
Learn more about Tech’s College of Education & Human Sciences at https://www.tntech.edu/education/.