Hess awarded Maryville College’s Medallion

Oct. 28, 2009
Contact: Karen B. Eldridge, Director of News and Public Information
865.981.8207; karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu

The theme of the evening was “Blessings,” and before the evening was over, Martha Hess, an alumna of Maryville College and its registrar for 35 years, was presented the Medallion, the College’s highest award.

MC President Dr. Gerald W. Gibson began the presentation at the Founder’s Day Banquet held Oct. 15 in the Margaret Ware Dining Room of Pearsons Hall. Approximately 250 people were in attendance.

“ … during an event where we’re lifting up founders and blessings, I can think of no one more appropriate to recognize. Martha Hess is both,” the president said. “When she was recognized here in 2005 with the Alumni Citation, I shared with the Alumni Banquet attendees – much to her embarrassment – that she was like a modern-day Thomas Jefferson Lamar. Lamar … worked tirelessly to reopen Maryville College after the Civil War.

“I’ve always believed that if the doors of Maryville College were to close for some reason, Martha Hess would be a Thomas Jefferson Lamar, working to ensure that this special place lives on,” he continued. “Not simply ‘continue to exist,’ but live on, fulfilling its mission as a liberal arts, church-related college that strives to be an instrument of liberation and growth for adults of all ages.”

Dr. Peggy Williams Hypes, a classmate and close friend of Hess, spoke of their time together as students and the influence former faculty members had in their lives.

Dr. Dean Boldon, professor emeritus of the College and former academic dean, spoke of Hess’ numerous contributions to the College and her impeccable service. He repeated an observation about Hess that he initially shared at a faculty meeting shortly before he left the dean’s office in 1998.

“The root of the word ‘administration’ is the same as ‘ministry,’” he said. “Both imply ‘service.’ Some administrators act as if they are aware of this etymology; some do not. Martha Hess is the only person in my experience who conducts herself every minute of every working day as if fully aware that administrators are called to be servants.”

Hess, who announced that she would retire at the end of 2009, received a standing ovation from the banquet crowd. In accepting the award, she said she was reminded of the words of former MC president Dr. Ralph Lloyd, who wrote in his book Maryville College: A History of 150 years, 1819-1969, “[Maryville College’s] history could be told in the biographies of its men and women.”

“My biography is on the shelf with them,” she said of the all of the students, faculty and staff who had come to the College since its founding. “No biography is more important than any other.”

Established in 1990, the Maryville College Medallion is the highest award presented by the College. Recipients are selected by the Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the president and an ad hoc committee. They are chosen on the basis of their exemplary service to Maryville College, their outstanding service to their community and church, and their prominence and leadership in their chosen profession or career.

She was a transfer from UT

Hess grew up in South Knoxville, the youngest of three children born to James P. and Helen Rosenblatt Hess. Graduating from Young High School in 1961, Hess enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where her father was the business manager and secretary for the university’s Board of Trustees. In 1964, she transferred to Maryville College, where she majored in English.

Hess graduated from Maryville College in 1967 and went to work at Farragut High School, teaching English and math and advising numerous student groups. Completing her second summer of graduate-school coursework in 1974, she was offered the position of registrar at MC.

She is a valued staff member

A valued member of the staff for 35 years, Hess has chaired and led numerous committees and councils and has served on many others, including Staff Council, the Academic Life Council, the Curriculum Task Force, the Admissions Committee and the Outstanding Senior Selection Committee. In 1999, she was asked to chair the “Traditions and Values Commission,” a group formed to carry out the first phase in developing the MC Window of Opportunity strategic plan.

Hess was presented the College’s Alumni Citation in 2005. The award is given annually to an alumna or alumnus of the College who has rendered service in professional, business, civic, social or religious endeavor as to benefit humankind and bring honor to the College, or who has rendered unusual service in any capacity on behalf of the College.

She is also a two-time winner of the Outstanding Administrator Award and a recipient of the Sharon Murphy Crane Award, which recognizes the staff member who goes the extra mile to get the job done. As its class gift to the College, members of the Class of 2001 made donations to name the Registrar’s Suite in the new Fayerweather Hall in Hess’ name.

And recognizing her more than 25 years in the registrar’s office inside Anderson Hall, the College named her a “Legend of Anderson Hall” in 2008.

Her devotion to the College and its students – evident by the endless hours she spends in her office, in the College’s archive and at recitals, plays, concerts and programs – is further demonstrated by her financial support; she is a member of the College’s Isaac Anderson Society and the Society of 1819.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.