Dr. Donald W. Good, an associate professor in the department of education leadership and policy analysis, loves ETSU. His love for the university gave him the inspiration to write about it.”I’ve always been interested in institutional biographies,” said Good. “That and ETSU’s extremely rich history allowed me to write this book.”
“The Campus Series: East Tennessee State University” was released in July. It tells the story of ETSU’s history chronologically from 1911 (founded as East Tennessee State Normal School) to today.
The school originally offered two programs: a four-year high school program and a two-year normal school curriculum. There were 29 students enrolled.
Today, with over 15,000 students and over 100 undergraduate programs, ETSU has a long and colorful history that Good couldn’t wait to document. The book contains information and pictures that Good found from the archives in Sherrod Library and the ETSU photo lab.
“The process of writing the book was really interesting,” said Good. “I was basically camped out in the archives for a semester.”
Anyone interested in discovering ETSU’s history will not be disappointed by this book.
Good gives information about every president, the history of most of the buildings on campus, famous students and interesting stories about professors.
There is even a section about reported hauntings on campus.
As ETSU celebrates its centennial, Good’s book seems even more relevant.
“I think that the book was released at the perfect time,” said Good. “People are really interested to know more about ETSU, especially as we celebrate 100 years.”
Good says that attending ETSU changed him forever. “Being an undergrad here really transformed my life,” said Good. “I loved college so much that I just stayed.”
Good will have a booth in homecoming this year for anyone interested in purchasing the book, which is available from Arcadia Publishing. Good says that he is glad that he made the decision to write it.
“What I have learned from compiling the book has confirmed my reasons for wanting to stay at ETSU,” he said.
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