New Changes Ahead for Fall 2021 Semester
As the spring semester draws to a close for Toccoa Falls College, change is on the horizon for students and faculty alike. The upcoming fall semester will be significantly different from previous years.
Several professors are either retiring or leaving at the end of this semester. Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Gary Elkins, will be retiring. Elkins said he came to TFC shortly after the Columbine High School mass shooting, 22 years ago. While at TFC, Elkins enjoyed the time he spent with students. "I feel deep sadness at the thought of departing TFC...Still, I sense it’s the right time to move on to whatever the Lord has planned for our future," Elkins said.
Dr. Dale Garside will also retire, after teaching French and Spanish for 20 years at TFC. For Garside, one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at TFC is "seeing many of our language students using their French or Spanish on the mission field, notably in Africa and Europe." Elaborating further, Garside mentioned that "for 14 years, countless TFC students spent their Sunday afternoons traveling in my car to the "Encuentro con Dios" church meetings in the Mt. Airy Alliance Church and later in a Hispanic trailer park laundromat (Misión San Pablo) in Cornelia." After this semester, Garside said he plans to briefly continue as an adjunct professor to help a few TFC students finish their Spanish minor.
Dr. Marcus Kilian will be leaving his position in the Counseling Psychology department. Kilian said he plans to move to Kentucky, where he hopes to teach at Asbury Theological Seminary. Kilian has had "a great experience" at TFC, especially during his Psychology of Religion class. "I have tremendously enjoyed our class discussions on how [the] psychology of religion can inform our faith journey towards spiritual and emotional wholeness," he added. When asked for any parting words of advice for students in his department, Kilian said: "Keep focusing on developing close relationships with God and others." Filling Kilian's shoes is Dr. Piljoo Kang, who currently teaches as a professor in the Ministry and Leadership department.
Due to these faculty moves, the degrees and courses offered by TFC will also change. Since TFC will no longer have a residential philosophy professor, the Philosophy major will be decommissioned. French and Spanish minors will be removed. However, Dr. Garside said that "Elementary and Intermediate Spanish will continue within TFC's online program." The Family and Children’s Ministry major is also being decommissioned. TFC faculty are discussing modifying the History major to allow students to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree. History students who choose to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree will then not have to complete four semesters of a language.
Three new biology concentrations have been added: Public Health, Ecology & Environmental Science, and Pre-Professional. Dr. Brian M. Peek said these were created after the faculty "listened to students" and "thought about the resources we have and could use better, for instance, our beautiful 1100+ acre campus." According to information Peek provided, the Public Health concentration will equip TFC students to work in fields like Epidemiology. The Pre-Professional concentration will help students interested in attending graduate school after TFC. Finally, the Ecology & Environmental Science concentration will help students who want to pursue careers such as a Natural Resource Manager or a Zookeeper.