President Emeritus Angelo Volpe receives honorary degree from Tusculum College

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (June 3, 2008) – Dr. Angelo Volpe, president emeritus of Tennessee Technological University, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Tusculum College on May 10.

Volpe is a Tusculum trustee who served last summer as acting president of the college. The decision to grant the honor to Volpe was made by unanimous vote of the trustees in their February meeting.

Volpe, a New York native, had a distinguished academic career prior to his presidency at Tennessee Tech. In the 1960’s, he received his doctorate from the University of Maryland and was a research chemist in the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory.

In the 1980’s, Volpe was vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of chemistry at East Carolina University. He has also been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a teacher of chemistry at East Carolina and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

During his 13 years at the helm of Tennessee Tech, Volpe taught chemistry in addition to serving as president. After his retirement in 2000, he joined the Tusculum College Board of Trustees in 2005.

Today, he and his wife Jennette live in Cookeville, and he is active in professional organizations and is extensively published in scholarly journals. He also holds the title of president emeritus of Tennessee Tech and still maintains an office on campus.

At the commencement, Volpe did not address the crowd directly during the ceremony, but afterward privately expressed his appreciation for the honor.

Reprinted with permission from Tusculum College. For more information, contact Cameron Judd at cjudd@tusculum.edu

--Monica Greppin
This information posted 5 June 2008.