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2026 January 8 - Academic Council Agenda and Minutes
No full textThe Academic Council met on January 8, 2026, under the leadership of Provost Dr. Kimberly McCorkle to conduct routine business and receive several informational updates. The meeting featured presentations on two major topics: a proposal to rename the Department of Exercise Science to Exercise and Sport Science to more accurately reflect its academic programs in sport performance and strength and conditioning, and an overview of the newly established Center for Community Engagement, which formalizes the university’s long-standing commitment to outreach, collaborative partnerships, and Carnegie Community Engagement classification efforts. Additional updates included spring 2026 enrollment monitoring, with attention to payment deadlines and expanded student outreach, ongoing discussions regarding financial aid limits for professional programs, upcoming digital accessibility requirements and training opportunities, and reminders about curriculum revision deadlines tied to the April 1 catalog publication. The council also received updates on academic program reviews underway at THEC. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.*
*This abstract was generated with AI assistance using Microsoft 365 Copilot and has been checked and deemed reliable
The Development and Evaluation of a Group Therapy Program for Perinatal Loss in Rural Appalachia
No full textPerinatal loss can have vast adverse psychological consequences and has limited psychotherapeutic options to assist with those outcomes. Currently, there is no gold standard psychotherapy for the treatment of perinatal grief. Group therapy has proven to be an effective modality for various populations and has been shown to be beneficial for perinatal loss and the subsequent psychological outcomes. This study utilized a previously conducted systematic review to develop and evaluate a group psychotherapy for perinatal loss. The ten sessions of the group were completed by two participants and several constructs were explored pre- and post-intervention: grief, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, self-efficacy, social support, couple’s satisfaction, and self-compassion. Results yielded non-significant changes pre- and post-intervention across all constructs. Additionally, qualitative feedback for each session was collected and is discussed. While the small sample size limits interpretation from this study as to the effectiveness of the intervention, this study does contribute to the growing literature which investigates the impact of group therapy on individuals who have experienced perinatal loss
Empowering Futures: An Examination of Educator Perceptions in Supporting Students with Disabilities in Post-Secondary Transition
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine educators\u27 perceptions of their roles in students\u27 post-secondary transition. Federal mandates require special education teachers to be key components in supporting students during this process. The literature examines the multifaceted components of the transition process, including Kohler’s Taxonomy 2.0 and Schlossberg’s Transition Framework.
Data were collected using a one-on-one, semi-structured interview protocol to examine educators\u27 perceptions of their roles in students\u27 post-secondary transition. This strategy allowed the researcher to understand the participants\u27 backgrounds and experiences while analyzing perceptions of their role in the post-secondary transition. A pre-designed set of interview questions was designed to ensure consistency while examining special education teacher perceptions.
Thematic analysis was used to interpret educators’ perceptions of their roles in post-secondary transition by identifying patterns across shared phenomena and organizing them into key themes. Trustworthiness was ensured through triangulation, member checking, and thick contextual description.
The results revealed special educator perceptions about post-secondary transition focusing on content, planning, support, structure, and strategies. The results indicated that addressing challenges to support special education teachers in implementing transition practices, such as time, resources, and student apathy may allow for improved outcomes for students with disabilities. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data: shifting advocacy and collaboration; individualized, student-centered approach to planning; collaboration with agencies and families; career and college readiness; and challenges in implementation
2026 January 12 - University Council Agenda and Minutes
No full textThe University Council met on January 12, 2026, where Provost Kimberly McCorkle opened the session and members approved the previous meeting’s minutes before hearing updates from governance groups and campus units. A mission moment highlighted the Nurse Narratives initiative, a collaborative storytelling project shaping empathy-centered nursing education. Governance reports noted progress on faculty surveys, staff recognition planning, academic chair training, Appalachian Folk Festival preparations, and athletics achievements. Enrollment management updates emphasized reduced drop-risk student counts, improved outreach coordination, increased fall 2026 applications, and opportunities and challenges related to the TN Direct Admissions pilot program. Additional updates addressed FAFSA improvements, the launch of Buc Central, housing software changes, and dining contract planning. A detailed Voyager system report outlined progress in payroll stabilization, improved recruiting configurations, leave balance remediation, and new workflow and reporting enhancements, alongside declining help desk tickets and increased system stability. President Brian Noland reflected on major institutional accomplishments—including the Voyager rollout, new budget model, record freshman enrollment, and campus improvements—while also outlining upcoming budget planning, legislative engagement, and efforts to clarify institutional mission and priorities. Announcements included continued policy accessibility updates and a campus landscaping initiative adding elm trees to create a more defined, shaded plaza. The meeting adjourned at 10:05 a.m.*
*This abstract was generated with AI assistance using Microsoft 365 Copilot and has been checked and deemed reliable
The Role of Hypocretin in the Bidirectional Relationship Between Methamphetamine Use and Sleep Dysfunction
No full textMethamphetamine (MA) is a highly addictive, synthetic psychostimulant that, when used, leads to significant health consequences such as pronounced withdrawal symptoms and disruptions to sleep health. Despite these harms, MA continues to be heavily used in the U.S. with nearly 1% of the population reporting use in 2024. Individuals who use MA also exhibit high rates of relapse, driven in part by negative withdrawal effects including sleep dysfunction. No pharmacological treatment is currently approved for MA use or long-term withdrawal sequelae. The neuropeptide hypocretin (HCRT) is upregulated in both sleep deprivation and stimulant use and is thus a target of interest for treatment of stimulant use disorders (StUDs) and withdrawal. The overarching goal of this preclinical research was to examine the bidirectional relationship between sleep dysfunction and MA exposure and vulnerability to sleep disruption-induced drug-seeking behavior, with particular focus on the HCRT system as a therapeutic target across three integrated studies.
In Study 1, male and female rats were exposed to chronic MA vapor, and sleep architecture was assessed using electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) telemetry, with behavioral (novel object recognition; NOR) and physiological (body temperature) measures of withdrawal. MA abstinence elicited withdrawal-associated NOR deficits and increased body temperatures, as well as decreased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time in males and females and non-REM (NREM) sleep quality in males. Dual HCRT-receptor antagonist lemborexant (LEM) restored healthy REM sleep in males and females. In Study 2, a psychological stressor, dirty cage change (DCC), was used to introduce sleep disruption in male rats, and the impact on sleep and stress was assessed through EEG/EMG and plasma corticosterone levels. DCC exposure decreased REM sleep time and increased corticosterone. LEM pre-treatment effectively restored REM sleep loss. In Study 3, MA self-administration abstinent male rats were exposed to repeated clean or DCC; reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior and corticosterone levels were measured to assess relapse-like behavior and stress responses. Both clean and DCC during withdrawal led to increased reinstatement of MA-seeking that was blocked by LEM pre-treatment. Thus, HCRT antagonism shows promise as a treatment for stimulant abuse and associated sleep dysfunction
