Coffey receives 2019 Founders Day Medallion

^{Carson-Newman University President Charles A. Fowler presented Dr. Kitty Coffey with the 2019 Founders Day Medallion on Thursday during the institution’s annual Founders Day service in First Baptist Church Jefferson City.}

(Oct. 24, 2019) JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Dr. Kitty Coffey, who recently retired after years of service to Carson-Newman University, received Thursday the 2019 Founders Day Medallion, one of the most prestigious honors given by the University.

Coffey, a native of Morristown, spent 53 years in higher education, including 42 within C-N’s Family and Consumer Sciences Department.

Carson-Newman President Charles A. Fowler presented the medallion during the institution’s annual Founders Day service.

“Dr. Kitty Coffey dedicated more than four decades to Carson-Newman’s mission, striving for excellence every step along the way,” Fowler said. “She is an exemplary role model for our students and a fitting recipient of this top honor.”

During her 39 years as chair of the FCS Department, Coffey lead in the establishment of an advisory board, the fundraising to build Blye-Poteat Hall and the Child Development Laboratory, the earning of two national accreditations, and the inception and directing of the didactic program in nutrition and dietetics.

Dr. Heather Whaley, dean of the School of Business and Family and Consumer Sciences, introduced Coffey during the service. Whaley noted that Coffey was the longest serving FCS chair and also served as dean for 25 years.

“The current state of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences is in great part a tribute to the visionary leadership Dr. Coffey provided during her tenure at Carson-Newman,” Whaley said. “The University mission is a way of life for Dr. Coffey. She has dedicated her career to serving others; to developing students, faculty, colleagues; to helping people reach their full potential as servant-leaders.”

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.