Dr. Nancy B. Moody, a leader in nursing education in the State of Tennessee and the Southeast, will be the commencement speaker in Lee University's graduation exercises on Saturday. Dr. Moody is the President of Tusculum College, Greeneville, Tn., the oldest private institution in Tennessee. She came to Tusculum College after a tenure as President of Lincoln Memorial University, located in Harrogate, Tn.
Dr. Moody received her AA, BS, MS, and doctoral degrees in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University, Texas Woman's University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Most of her professional career has been in higher education. Dr. Moody has taught in private and public systems of higher education in Tennessee. She was co-author on a grant funded by The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation that established the Tennessee Center for Nursing which is now funded through the Tennessee Board of Nursing.
During her more than seven-year tenure as President of Lincoln Memorial University, the enrollment increased by 90 percent and the endowment increased by 58 percent. The University built five new residence halls, a 105,000 square-foot medical school, a 30,000 square-foot education building, and converted a motel into an apartment building for graduate students. The University added four off-campus locations and numerous academic programs including a college of osteopathic medicine, graduate program in nursing including a nurse anesthetist program, a physician's assistant program and programs in music and criminal justice.
LMU has been successfully reviewed by numerous specialized accreditation bodies and moved to a Level V institution and completed their decanal SACS Commission on College review in March 2009 with no recommendations.
Dr. Moody is the 27th president at Tusculum College and the first female to serve in that capacity. She currently serves on the Appalachian Colleges Association Board of Directors, the NCAA Division II President's Council, the Tennessee Center for Nursing Board and the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Board, which she chairs.
Graduation exercises will begin with a commissioning service Friday evening, followed by the commencement ceremony on Saturday morning. More information on graduation at Lee can be obtained by calling the commencement office at 614-8117.