Latest news with #EastTennesseeStateUniversity
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
ETSU preps for start of hurricane season while reflecting on Helene
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — With the start of hurricane season only days away, East Tennessee State University is warning the Tri-Cities region to be prepared in case of another storm's arrival. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene caused widespread devastation to the area despite the distance from the coast. ETSU to play Louisville in first round of NCAA tournament Tennessee State Climatologist Andrew Joyner, a faculty member of the ETSU Department of Geosciences, urged the people of the Tri-Cities to stay on top of hurricane forecasts this season. 'We may not get direct hits from hurricanes like coastal areas do,' Joyner said in a news release. 'But the remnants of those storms can still bring serious impacts, especially when the season is active.' The 2025 hurricane season is expected to be active, the release states. Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. According to the forecasters at Colorado State University, a higher-than-average number of storms have been predicted for the 2025 hurricane season. Joyner said the main threat to the Appalachian region is not the winds of the hurricanes, but the water. 'Flash flooding is our biggest concern,' Joyner said. 'With these systems, it's not uncommon to see significant rainfall spread hundreds of miles inland, and the narrow valleys and steep terrain of our region make us especially vulnerable.' During Helene, streamflow at Embreeville reached more than 80,000 cubic feet. ETSU noted that streamflow is more than 130 times the average. Helene triggered flooding that left numerous dead and historic destruction that several communities are still recovering from. 'It's a generational event, and one we'll be studying for years,' Joyner said of Helene. 'These types of storms have impacted Appalachia before, but may become more frequent and more intense, and we need to plan accordingly.' The Tennessee Climate Office, which is housed at ETSU, is working to develop emergency mitigation strategies and public policy in preparation for future storms. Joyner urged people in the area to pay close attention to forecasts and create their own plan in the event of another disaster like Helene. 'Remember that even if we're not in a coastal zone, hurricanes can still hit home in ways that matter,' Joyner said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ETSU trustees to consider 5% tuition/fee hike
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — East Tennessee State University trustees will consider a 4.98% tuition/fees increase at their meeting Friday, which would push a year of undergraduate education to $10,994. JC moratorium on Bitcoin mines likely to allow development of stricter rules The item is on the trustees' consent agenda and was already approved unanimously by the board's finance and administration committee on April 11. If approved by the board of trustees, it would mark the second straight 5% increase at ETSU. The annual cost will have risen by more than $1,000 during those two years, from $9,950 during the 2023-24 school year to $10,472 in the just-concluded year, to nearly $11,000 starting next fall. ETSU's rates align with other Tennessee public universities, and enrollment is projected to be strong for the fourth straight year. Last year, new freshman enrollment was more than 2,100 for the second consecutive year, which was unprecedented, and projections for the upcoming year show another freshman class of more than 2,100. Enrollment growth remains in line with projections, and on-campus housing demand continues to grow and nearly outstrip supply. Minutes from the most recent meeting of the Academic, Research and Student Success Committee show that after a record on-campus population of 3,300 last fall, new applications for the coming fall semester are running ahead of those numbers. A $40 million residence hall is among the 'capital disclosures' submitted to the state last year as a funding priority. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Johnson City Commission votes to donate police car to N.C., approves ETSU Ashe Street lease
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Johnson City Commission hosted a meeting on Thursday to approve a police car donation and an East Tennessee State University (ETSU) lease agreement. The commission voted to declare a 2015 Ford Explorer surplus and donate it to the Spruce Pine Police Department in North Carolina. Hurricane Helene destroyed Spruce Pine's entire sewer system and other infrastructure. The Johnson City Commission partnered with East Tennessee State University (ETSU) to approve a five-year lease agreement for the old courthouse at 401 Ashe Street. The annual lease payment will be $64,800. Assistant City Manager Alicia Summers said the new lease agreement would benefit the college community. Johnson City Commission approves initial plan for data center rezoning Also at the meeting, residents voiced concerns about an initial plan for data center rezoning that was approved on May 1. The building will be utilized by the Department of Art and Design, the Reece Museum, Appalachian Studies and the College of Business and Technology's Entrepreneurship Center. The commission approved an Economic Impact Plan for the Brush Creek (Burlington Mill) Development Project. The commission proclaimed June 1-7 as Garden Week in Johnson City. Five bids were discussed at the meeting, including the addition of portable and mobile radios for the Johnson City Public Works Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
05-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Body identified as man who texted wife as Helene flood engulfed him, TN cops say
A crew clearing debris in East Tennessee has solved the heartbreaking mystery of one man's disappearance during floods linked to Hurricane Helene. Steven Cloyd and his dog, Orion, vanished Sept. 26 while trying to escape the rising Nolichucky River in Washington County, Tennessee, officials say. His Jeep and dog were found safe within days, but Cloyd remained missing. Then, on May 1, workers found a body tangled in debris along the river and a coroner confirmed what Cloyd's family long suspected. 'With heavy hearts, we the family of Steve Cloyd announce that our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend was found,' his wife, Keli McDaniel Cloyd, wrote in a Facebook post. 'We have the patriarch of our family again. ... He is in the light, he is at peace and he is free and he is perfect.' Details of how Steven Cloyd died have not been released, but 'evidence at the scene indicates this is a flood-related death,' the sheriff's office said. Steven Cloyd was found just under 5 miles from where he was last seen, near his home in the 200 block of Charlie Carson Road in Jonesborough. His last minutes were shared in a series of messages to his wife, including the arrival of floodwaters at the family's doorstep, his wife reported in a Sept. 27 Facebook post. Their home, south of the Nolichucky River, was ultimately 'submerged,' his wife says. 'The minute the basement filled completely up Steve knew next was main floor and took he and Orion to safety in the Jeep, the issue, the Jeep battery was dead and his phone was about to die,' Keli McDaniel Cloyd wrote. 'He kept me as updated as possible but last I knew he was in the Jeep and it kept moving with flow of the water, stopped briefly and kept going, he kept texting saying 'here we go again' meaning the Jeep was on the move again.' The messages stopped at 2:29 p.m., she wrote. An autopsy is scheduled to learn more about how Steven Cloyd died, officials said. He is one of two Helene victims who remained missing in Washington County. The other, Nancy Tucker, vanished from her home during the flood and has yet to be found, the sheriff's office says. The region got 6 to 9 inches of rain as the remnants of Hurricane Helene crossed the mountainous border along Tennessee and North Carolina, according to an East Tennessee State University study. 'Floodwaters raced downhill with such a force that rivers overflowed and homes were dislodged from their foundations,' FEMA reports. 'The Nolichucky River washed away bridges and submerged entire neighborhoods and farmlands. Floodwaters poured over the 111-year-old Nolichucky Dam near Greeneville at 1.3 million gallons per second – twice the water flow of Niagara Falls.' Jonesborough is a 270-mile drive east from Nashville.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
ETSU president speaks on recent DEI changes
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Recent changes in federal policy led schools like East Tennessee State University (ETSU) to make changes to DEI-related centers and resources on campus. ETSU's president, Brian Noland, said changes on campus were made to comply with the new policies. ETSU closes DEI office – no position cuts to occur 'Some of the structural changes we've made to the organizational components of staff, we've made to ensure that we remain in compliance with state law and with federal policy directives,' Noland said. Last week, the school announced its new approach to DEI programs. ETSU is sunsetting operations at its Office of Equity and Inclusion. The university also announced changes to the Pride Center, the Women and Gender Resource Center and the Multi-Cultural Center. Students previously told News Channel 11 that the school had not informed them of its decisions, but Noland said the university continued to keep communication channels open. 'I think we met with more than 35 groups over the course of the past couple of months,' Noland said. 'So I think the changes that we've made have been well vetted. They've been informed. Faculty, staff and students have had the opportunity to provide feedback, and that feedback shaped the ultimate direction of the initiatives that have been in place.' ETSU launches new center to support low-income and first-generation students While some centers are closing, another was created. The university announced it would soon open the Mary V. Jordan Center, focused on student success. Noland said the center was created to reach the students ETSU felt needed an extra level of support. 'We'll offer high-level advising, counseling services, mentoring services and scholarships to students,' Noland said. 'To position them so that four or so years after they begin as freshman, that they've got the ability to receive their degree and do so with limited to no debt.' Noland stressed that the university's commitment to its students has not and will not change. 'Our value statements indicate that people come first and are treated with dignity and respect,' he said. 'That does not change. I recognize that some students may have concerns about the things that have transpired across the campus over the course of the past few weeks. But we look forward to ensuring that we're an institution that remains committed to all students having the opportunity to realize their dreams here at East Tennessee State University.' Noland said the university would prepare to open the center as it looks toward the fall semester. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
