Tech faculty seek proposals for 48th annual Appalachian Studies Conference, set to include free presentation on Memorial Gym concert history
Logo for the 48th annual Appalachian Studies Conference, designed by Tennessee Tech
student Otis Smyth.
Tennessee Tech University is set to host the 48th annual Appalachian Studies Conference on March 20-22, 2025, and event organizers – including several Tech faculty members
– are giving the community the chance to get involved.
The conference, billed as “Rural Reimagined: A Grand Challenge for Appalachia” will
explore the creative uses of technology, science and the arts with the greatest potential
to transform life in and around the Appalachian region’s rural communities.
Highlights of the event include a keynote address from Tennessee native John Gaventa,
now the director of research at the University of Sussex’s Institute of Development
Studies; a discussion about teaching Affrilachian poetry featuring Zanice Bond and
Kristine Yohe alongside Frank X. Walker; a conversation between popular literary authors
Neema Avashia and Ann Pancake; a guided hiking tour of Burgess Falls, focusing on
the geology and civic significance of its 130-foot cascade waterfall; laboratory demonstrations
from Tech’s Water Center and iMakerSpace; and a gallery visit and studio demonstration
at Tech’s Appalachian Center for Craft.
The conference is also set to include a presentation highlighting the rich musical
history of Tech’s Memorial Gym, which served as a popular stop for concerts and performing
arts events in the 1960s and 1970s, hosting everyone from the Charlie Daniels Band
and Ray Charles to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Linda Ronstadt.
To complement the programming lineup, organizers will begin accepting proposals on
Sept. 2 for panels, performances and presentations that support the conference theme
and enhance audiences’ understanding of the culture, beauty, opportunities and challenges
of the Appalachian experience.
“Tennessee Tech has been such a difference-maker when it comes to improving quality
of life and creating opportunity in our region’s rural communities. We’re thrilled
to continue that leadership by serving as the host site for this annual event,” said
Erin Hoover, assistant professor of English at Tech and program chair for this year’s
Appalachian Studies Conference. “We’re calling on poets, prose writers, musicians,
makers, artisans and anyone else with unique expertise and experience on the Appalachian
way of life to send in their proposals and be part of this event.”
While the full conference requires a registration fee, Monic Ductan, associate professor
of English at Tech and conference chair for the event, adds that portions of the event
– including the keynote and plenary sessions, a social event and musical performance
held at a local venue, and the session on the history of performances at Tech’s Memorial
Gym – will be free and open to the community.
“Anyone can purchase a conference ticket, but we wanted to make it as easy as possible
for alumni and community members to attend highlights of the event, even if they cannot
join us for the full three-day gathering,” added Ductan. “We invite community members
to send us their Memorial Gym concert photos and memories, too. We are eager to shine
a light on this beloved campus fixture through the lens of those who have experienced
its history firsthand.”
Left: Linda Ronstadt performs a 1975 concert at Tech's Memorial Gym. Right: A 1974
advertisement for a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at Memorial Gym.
Joining Hoover and Ductan in planning the conference is Colleen Mestayer, senior lecturer
of communication at Tech and campus arrangements chair for the event.
“The music business has changed dramatically since the Memorial Gym concerts,” added
James Akenson, a professor of curriculum and instruction at Tech helping to organize
the Memorial Gym event. “Our special presentation about this place and its many performers
will include comments by Tech alumnus Dan Ealey who worked backstage at many concerts
– and was thrown out a dressing room by Neil Diamond – Tech Archivist Megan Atkinson,
Dr. Randal D. Williams, who has lectured extensively on Appalachian culture, and myself.
We hope you’ll join us by contributing your photos and memories of these concerts
and by attending the event.”
Tech alumni and community members can send their Memorial Gym concert photos and memories
to JAkenson@tntech.edu. The deadline for photos and memories is Oct. 1.
Proposals for the 48th annual Appalachian Studies Conference will be accepted from
Sept. 2 – Oct. 7 and can be submitted at https://www.appalachianstudies.org/2025-conference. Conference tickets can be purchased using the same link.
Additional programming information and schedules will be made available over the coming
months.
