Carson-Newman honors students with Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

(May 1, 2020) JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.– Carson-Newman University announced that Rose Denor and Tanner Shivley are recipients of the 2020 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The recognition is the highest honor the University presents to students.

A resident of Chattanooga, Denor has pursued a major in history. A Bonner Scholar, Denor has also served as a student development intern this past year for the University’s Center for Community Engagement. The opportunity allowed her to lead the Bonner Scholars Program. An immigrant from Haiti, Denor has had a heart for also helping immigrants and refugees in the community.

“[Rose] is a servant-leader,” said Bonner Scholars Coordinator Gabby Valentine. “She cares about making sure that all the people she knows feel seen, loved and valued. She goes the extra mile, not because it makes her look good, but because it needs to be done.”

Shivley, a youth athletics and recreation management major, hails from Fall Branch.

“Tanner is one of our hardest working students in our Faith & Justice Scholars Program,” said Dave McNeely, coordinator of the program. “Over the four years he’s been here, he’s always exemplified what it means to just jump in when something needs to be done.”

Shivley has also helped with tutoring and after school recreation for elementary school children through the WOW Ministry at First Baptist Church of Jefferson City. A Niswonger Scholar, he’s been credited with always being quick to help those in need.

Both Denor and Shivley have also been active in Jefferson County’s Journey Program, which helps to offer extra support and intervention for high school students.

“We are grateful for Rose and Tanner and all the ways they have represented our university,” said University President Charles A. Fowler. “In their time at Carson-Newman, they both have truly demonstrated what it means to be servant-leaders.”

The New York Southern Society established the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 1890 to honor an Indiana native and Manhattan attorney who was considered a living example of genteel spirit and Christian compassion. The awards, which are donated by the foundation that bears his name, are granted at 68 colleges and universities to graduating seniors, one female and one male, who “excel in high ideals of living, in fine spiritual qualities, and in generous and unselfish service to others.”

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts-based university affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The University is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and has over 2,700 students. Carson-Newman offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.