Roane State Community College

June 24, 2021

Dr. Myra K. Peavyhouse, longtime dean of Roane State’s Humanities Division, is retiring after a career that grew in importance and responsibilities as the community college expanded and became an integral part of the region.

Her duties ranged from being an adjunct instructor in the college’s Academic Development Division to a full-time faculty member rising to the rank of professor, then dean of that former division. She was appointed dean of the Humanities Division in 2003.

When she was a child, Peavyhouse recalls watching the construction of Roane State’s flagship campus during a family vacation to visit grandparents. After Peavyhouse’s father retired from active military service and she graduated from high school, her family relocated to East Tennessee and she enrolled at Roane State, earning a two-year degree in 1983.

While a student at Roane State, Peavyhouse took classes taught by several of Roane State’s longtime professors, including Dr. Nancy Fisher, Dr. Ben Howard, Dr. Bruce Fisher and Professor James Kring. While preparing to graduate from Tennessee Wesleyan, Peavyhouse said Kring asked her sister, also a Roane State grad, “if I’d like to come back to Roane State due to the state-wide expansion of developmental studies programming.”

“That piqued my interest. I had been Professor Kring's student and then became his colleague when we team-taught an academic prep class during my first few months as a RSCC employee.” Dr. Cuyler Dunbar, Roane State’s first president, signed her first contract.

When Peavyhouse became an adjunct instructor in the college’s now-former Academic Development Division, she worked at the main campus in Roane County as well as at West Mall, a small leased building in Oak Ridge that is now a fond memory.

As she progressed up the academic and administrative ranks, Roane State grew from holding classes in various leased commercial buildings to today’s state-of-the-art campuses and locations in Roane, Campbell, Cumberland, Loudon, Scott, Fentress, Knox, and Morgan counties as well as Oak Ridge and Clinton.

In addition to her associate degree from Roane State, Peavyhouse holds two bachelor’s degrees from Tennessee Wesleyan College, her master’s degree from East Tennessee State University and her doctor of education degree from the University of Tennessee. She also earned the Developmental Education Specialist certification from Appalachian State University’s Kellogg Institute for Developmental Education.

During her career, she taught courses ranging from basic math and elementary algebra to writing and college-level composition.

Peavyhouse has been published several times in academic newsletters and has won awards for leadership. She has also been recognized as Tennessee Wesleyan’s Distinguished Alumnus.

As she completed her master’s degree, Peavyhouse began working with Academic Development Dean Dr. Rusty Kirkpatrick. And when Kirkpatrick decided to return to the classroom, she had the chance to apply for the vacancy.

Kirkpatrick told her “if I pass up this this opportunity, [the position] won’t come open again for a long time.” At the recommendation of Vice President Dr. Harold Underwood, Peavyhouse was named Dean of the Academic Development Division in 1992. She was 30 years old.

Developmental studies was the college’s largest division at the time. “The division supported academically deficient students by providing a number of support mechanisms which allowed them to improve their skills and ultimately thrive in college-level courses,” Peavyhouse said. These included a division counseling component, testing center, and course-embedded laboratory teachers. Former Roane State President Dr. Sherry Hoppe later decentralized the division.

Peavyhouse returned to teaching in 1996, but other duties were on her mind. “I always wanted to return to administration,” she said, recalling that Hoppe believed division heads supervising transfer programs should have a “terminal degree.”

By fall of 2002, Peavyhouse had earned her Ed.D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies and the dean’s position soon became vacant in Humanities. Peavyhouse said she was excited about the possibility of returning to academic administration. With the support of President Wade McCamey, Peavyhouse was selected to lead the Humanities Division in February 2003. She was promoted to Professor of English a few months later.

The Humanities Dean oversees 27 full-time faculty members, many adjunct faculty members, three support staff and a number of temporary employees. Core curriculums include theater, languages, mass communications, speech, art, music, philosophy and learning support reading and writing.

The dean also supervises the historic Princess Theatre in downtown Harriman, the O’Brien Theatre on the Roane County campus and the college’s educational TV station, also based on the main campus.

Dr. Diane Ward, vice president for student learning, has appointed Dr. Geol Greenlee, coordinator of the college’s music program, as the interim dean.

Peavyhouse’s retirement plans include traveling, spending time with family and friends, “and seeing what else life has to offer.”

“I have been fortunate to hold positions that allowed me to teach and also serve in a leadership role as Dean of two academic divisions,” Peavyhouse said. "I have seen students make great strides as they have worked to achieve their academic goals. I have taught students from the same family and also children of former students. It has also been rewarding to watch faculty and staff reach their full potential. This has been a very fulfilling career."