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Tennessee Tech celebrates centennial anniversary of student newspaper, The Oracle
Brenda Wilson, Tech communication professor, former Oracle faculty advisor, and former
Oracle student writer emcees The Oracle's 100th anniversary event.
Nearly 100 Tennessee Tech University students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered
at a recent event to honor the centennial anniversary of Tech’s student newspaper,
The Oracle.
First published on April 25, 1924, the newspaper has remained an independent, student-led
media source on Tech’s campus operating continuously over the last century. The reunion
event, years in the making, drew Tech alumni from as far back as the 1950s and was
planned by the university’s Crawford Alumni Center with the help of current Oracle staff.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a couple of years,” said Bee Goodman, current
editor of The Oracle and a senior communication major at Tech. “The Oracle is a part of history. There’s
100 years of voices that we get to hear.”
Brenda Wilson, a longtime professor in the Department of Communication, former faculty
advisor for The Oracle and former student journalist at Tech, served as emcee and kicked off the event by
reflecting on her own experiences with the newspaper.
“Everyone here understands the important role that student media play and the milestone
it is to have our student newspaper turn 100,” said Wilson. “Before I became a journalism
professor here at Tech, I was on The Oracle staff. I’ve seen it from many vantage points … From my office, I still hear the buzz
of the newsroom and it’s a special thing.”
Alumni of The Oracle pore over previous issues of the newspaper and other memorabilia.
Kelly Chambers, assistant director of the Crawford Alumni Center and a Tech journalism
alumna who contributed stories for The Oracle as a student, said that helping to plan the gathering was both “personal and professional.”
“The Oracle is such an important part of Tennessee Tech’s history. Every edition since 1924 is
preserved in University Archives, and it’s hard to think of a better campus record
than that,” added Chambers. “By reading those newspapers, you see how the campus responded
to historic events like John F. Kennedy’s assassination, September 11, 2001 or COVID-19,
and suddenly you’re back in 1963, 2001 or 2020, remembering what those days were like.”
Chambers, who graduated from Tech in 2005, said that she still has print editions
of her articles from The Oracle as keepsakes.
“They are yellow and brittle now, but I can’t throw them away,” said Chambers. “They
are a reminder of a time in my life when I was figuring out what career to pursue
… For me, The Oracle confirmed that I was where I was supposed to be.”
Event attendees included journalists and community leaders who launched their careers
as student writers for The Oracle, such as Lindsay Pride, editor of The Herald-Citizen; Heather Mullinix, former editor of The Crossville Chronicle; Mandy Wilson, marketing director at HarperCollins Christian Publishing; Joy McCaleb
Poteet, local educator and former writer for The Nashville Banner and The Herald-Citizen; Penny Grace Judd, former White House aide and current chair of Habitat for Humanity
of Tennessee; and others.
From left: Oracle alumni Anne Grissom, Lindsay Pride, Amy Wilson, Mandy Wilson, Tracey
Hackett, Donna Baskin-Enis, Heather Mullinix and Amy Davis.
Monica Greppin Watts, former associate vice president for communications and marketing
at Tech and current associate vice president for communications at The University
of Alabama, reflected on her years writing for The Oracle beginning in 1984. Watts shared how relationships forged through her time as a student
journalist helped pave the way for her 22-year career at Tech.
“There’s something about The Oracle that creates a family,” said Watts. “My closest friends are people I studied journalism
with and worked with at The Oracle. It’s something that becomes a part of you. There’s a special family bond that gets
created. It’s a family like no other.”
Monica Greppin Watts (center), an Oracle alumna and the university's former associate
vice president for communications and marketing, speaks with Tech President Phil Oldham
(right) and other guests.
Throughout the event, attendees perused archived photos and past issues of the newspaper
on display, including the first color edition published in 1990. Speakers also paid
tribute to the late Hix Stubblefield and Earl Hutchison, longtime journalism professors
at Tech who passed away in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
“I’m here to talk about the two people who made a big difference in my life: Dr. Hutchison
and Dr. Stubblefield,” said McCaleb Poteet. “Dr. Hutchison I love, and Dr. Stubblefield
made me into the person I am today.”
Watts added that it was Hutchison who first convinced her to be a journalism major
and Stubblefield who helped her begin her career with the university. Eva Dingwall,
the Communication Department’s administrative associate of nearly 20 years, shared
that Hutchison had “adopted” her daughter as his granddaughter.
Tech President Phil Oldham delivers remarks at the Oracle anniversary event.
Teddy Burch, assistant professor of communication at Tech, now serves as The Oracle’s faculty advisor. In remarks to attendees, he called his involvement with the newspaper
“a blessing.”
“Anybody who’s gotten to know him knows that he is such an amazing person,” added
Goodman.
The Oracle publishes throughout the fall and spring semesters and is distributed on Fridays.
