Cumberland Today-Summer 02 - University of the Cumberlands

academically challenging pre-engineering program in a private, Christianatmosphere. Three years later, I was a Cumberland graduate and enteringthe University of Kentucky as a Ph.D. candidate in physics.While completing my graduate studies, I also participated in an atmosphericscience project at NASA. My work was a mixture of science, mathematics,and engineering. My goal was still alive! However, throughout myeducation I had many exciting and rewarding opportunities to teach. As Ibegan seeking a job and a career, I was unsure of my direction until Dr. Earlyinvited me to consider teaching physics at Cumberland.When my wife, Tammy, and I visited the campus, I was astonished at thepositive physical, academic, and spiritual changes in the college. After myvisit, I never submitted my application for a permanent position at NASA.Now, it’s fifteen years later and I have had the good fortune to see forty-sevenstudents graduate with a physics major or minor. Numerous mathematicians,medical doctors, teachers, pharmacists, engineers, and others havebeen through my courses. I hope my love of physics and mathematics has insome small way been passed to this younger generation. I hope my Christianfaith has been an example to these students as they meet the challenges ofthe world. I hope that I have been the mentor that Dr. Early has been for somany students such as myself.I know that I could never accomplish as much with my life as could thehundreds of students that I have taught. What other career or place wouldmultiply one’s impact on society to a greater degree than being a professorat Cumberland College? I don’t believe there is one, and that’s why I teachat Cumberland.(Dr. Jim Manning, ‘81, Professor of Physics, has served on the faculty since1987. He holds the B.S. degree from Cumberland College; and both the M.S. andPh.D. from the University of Kentucky. He is the 1997 recipient of theCumberland College Award for Excellence in Teaching.)In 1985, I accepted a job as professor inthe health, movement and leisure studiesdepartment at Cumberland College. At thetime my intention was to teach a couple ofyears at Cumberland and perhaps find a jobcloser to my family in Tennessee. Seventeenyears later I am still here, and Cumberland ishome to me.I remain at Cumberland College becauseI feel a sense of family among students, colleaguesand the entire college community. Itis difficult to describe the magnetism thatDr. Cindi Norton drew me to Cumberland and has continuedto keep me here for a number of years.Students have been a major factor in this decision.The gratification and fulfillment I receive from working with students in acaring, Christian environment is an important reason I teach at Cumberland.Over the years I have had the opportunity to establish and foster many closerelationships with my students. I continue to stay in contact with many ofthem after they graduate, and I treasure these close relationships.I enjoy working with Cumberland College students because they aregenuine and have a strong desire to help others. Their commitment to communityservice is an inspiration to me, and I feel privileged to be able towork with such a fine group of young people.(Dr. Cindi Norton, associate professor and chair of the department ofhealth, movement and leisure studies, has served on the faculty since 1985. Sheholds a B.S., a M.A., and an Ed.D. from the University of Tennessee. Nortonwas selected as an Honored Professor in 1990, received the Excellence inTeaching Award in 1993, and was selected by alumni a the recipient of theFuqua Excellence in Teaching Award in 1998 and 2002.)My philosophy of education has beenshaped by parents, professors, personal experiences,and professional encounters. Theevaluation of my relationship to and comprehensionof Cumberland College and its missions,therefore, has been a life-long process.Since I grew up in Williamsburg,Kentucky, Cumberland College has alwayshad an impact on my life. As a young child,I knew about the importance of CumberlandCollege in my parents’ lives. My father, JoshSharp, and my mother, Emma (Patrick)Sharp, both attended Cumberland before it Ms. Jolly Kay Sharpbecame a four-year institution. Professor Valand Miss Bess were names I associated not only with heights of education butalso with high moral standards. Throughout my elementary, high school, andcollege days, I realized that Cumberland College meant an opportunity forAppalachian students, a broad-based higher education, a Christian atmosphere,caring people, and, ultimately, stood for success.After completing my Master’s degree at Wright State University, I knewthat education could be just the pursuit of knowledge in the form of booklearning or could lead to true wisdom, which demands thought, opinions,creativity, and finesse. Jesse Stuart wrote about his teaching experiences inThe Thread That Runs So True. For me, teaching becomes the thread thatsews lives together and enables students to become their own seamstresses.My mother taught school for over 30 years. So many people speak of mymother’s influence on their lives, her interest and concern for her students,and her love of teaching. She has taught me the necessity of caring for mystudents, of preparing myself for the classroom, and the desire to continuemy own education daily. Teaching is a major part of my continual learning.Teaching English means teaching basic skills needed for almost everyvocation. Writing and speaking clearly and effectively are useful skills on theroad to success. My goals as a teacher are listening, instructing, correcting,encouraging, and inspiring students. Teaching at Cumberland College is acareer, a challenge, and a calling.(Ms. Jolly Sharp, ‘74, associate professor of English, has served on the facultysince 1991. She holds the B.A. degree from Cumberland College; and the M.A.from Wright State University. She was named honored professor in 1996, selectedthe Ms. Janie Hall Honored Professor award recipient in 2000, and recognizedby alumni as a Fuqua Excellence in Teaching award recipient in 2001.)13