College Town Talk

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by Dr. Chelsea Dowell, lecturer of economics in Tennessee Tech’s College of Business. Dr. Dowell discusses her commitment to experiential learning - including hands-on projects with her students for Tech Athletics and the Center for Rural Innovation - and her work designing a free financial literacy course for members of the community.

Plus, Dr. Dowell plays a game of rapid-fire questions and tells us her favorite off-campus hangout spot in Cookeville, what she’d be doing for a career if she wasn’t an economist, and name drops the colleague most likely to make her laugh during the middle of a faculty meeting.

College Town Talk kicks off 2026 with Jennifer Winningham, Tennessee Tech's director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer. Jennifer tells us about the significance of returning to work at Tech after graduating from the university more than 20 years ago and shares a deeply moving story about her decision to be a kidney donor for a longtime friend. Plus, she discusses the enduring legacy of her late father, former State Representative Les Winningham, and how his passion for public education inspired her family's decision to endow a scholarship at Tech in his memory. She also shares about Tech Athletics' historic season and what she's most looking forward to in 2026 with the teams' impending move to the Southern Conference.

This week on a special episode of College Town Talk, we’re joined by Tennessee Tech President Emeritus Bob Bell.

In this wide-ranging conversation, President Emeritus Bell reflects on the decision to first join Tech as a faculty member in the College of Business nearly 50 years ago, offers little-known details of former First Lady Gloria Bell’s “super-secret” project devising the Tech flag that is still in use today, and recounts personal memories from the dedication of Robert and Gloria Bell Hall, home to Tech’s Whitson-Hester School of Nursing.

Plus, he takes us behind the scenes of a historic day in 2012 when the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce brought him and former Tech presidents Volpe, Prescott and Roaden together on the same stage.

This week on College Town Talk, we’re joined by Ferran Kefauver, executive director of Cityscape, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing Cookeville’s historic downtown. Ferran tells us about the ways CityScape works with business owners, the City of Cookeville, and partners like Tennessee Tech to keep our community a vibrant and beautiful place to visit, live, and explore. Plus, she gives us the details on this year’s CityScape award winners, newly obtained grants that will bring further improvements to our downtown, and her takeaways from a recent visit to Tech’s Foundry.

This week on College Town Talk, we’re joined by Dr. Barbara Reynolds, the former dean of the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing at Tennessee Tech. Dr. Reynolds shares about the journey that first brought her to Tech in 1991, the decision to stay in Cookeville following her retirement, and why she’s supporting the next generation of nurses through a generous scholarship endowment and the Barbara Reynolds Fund for Health Care Policy and Advocacy. Plus, she tells us her secret to maintaining an active and purposeful life at the age of 95!

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan catch up with Chad McDonald, director of leisure services for the City of Cookeville. Chad reminisces about his more than 30 years of service to our community and tells us about the latest enhancements to Cookeville’s vibrant recreational scene - including new pickleball courts and the forthcoming expansion of Cane Creek Park. He also reflects on the more than 150 plays and musicals he oversaw during his years working at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center and recalls how his early years attending Tennessee Tech expanded his horizons and gave him a passion for Cookeville that continues today.

This week on College Town Talk, we’re joined by Jennifer Williams — proud two-time Tennessee Tech graduate, local actress, director and producer, former educator of 31 years, and owner of Father Tom’s Pub, a staple of Cookeville’s WestSide dining scene. Jennifer shares some of her favorite memories from her years as a high school science teacher, the behind-the-scenes work that went into opening her restaurant, and her perspective on the evolution of Cookeville’s WestSide. She also highlights a few of the local theatre productions she has acted in, produced, and directed. Plus, she offers a touching reflection on her late husband, Professor Emeritus Tom Furtsch, who served in Tech’s Department of Chemistry for 40 years.

This week on College Town Talk, we're joined by Kelly McCallister, dean of the Volpe Library at Tennessee Tech University. Dean McCallister tells us about making the transition to Tennessee last year from her previous home in North Carolina, her passion for animal rescue, her recent meeting with former Tech First Lady Jennette Volpe, and the quirky Tech history behind a famous cockroach that inspired a new campus event. Plus, she wades into the hotly debated question: does listening to an audiobook count as reading?

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan sit down with Whitney Robinson, a junior at Tennessee Tech pursuing a degree in special education and one of the newest appointees to the Tennessee Tech Foundation Board of Directors. Whitney shares about the inspiration that first drew her to Tech's campus, the fulfillment she finds from serving as a Student Orientation Assistant (SOA) and participating in the student-led United Voices of Praise choir, and discusses the importance of her involvement with the local NAACP.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan catch up with Joy McCaleb Poteet, a Tennessee Tech alumna, graduate student and adjunct instructor who is also a talented local actress and the former longtime theatre teacher at Upperman High School. Joy tells us about her best memories from her years in the classroom, her special friendship with the late Dr. Angelo Volpe and his wife, Jennette, the importance of Cookeville's vibrant performing arts scene, and her decision to pursue a fourth degree from Tennessee Tech at this stage in life.