Journey

19 By his senior year, Trentham needed to tell Chapman, his advisor, that he had lost his interest in dentistry. Afraid of disappointing "Joe" – a name he can use now but never face-to- face – it took Trentham an hour to mention a field trip they had taken to a fish hatchery. The professor's reaction is etched on Trentham's heart. "So you want to be a natural resources manager? Well, if I weren't a college professor, I'd want his job too." After graduating and earning a master's degree, Trentham opened a landscaping firm. However, news his wife would have their first child meant they needed some predictable income. He accepted a Carson- Newman adjunct faculty slot, though he was terrified by the prospect of teaching. Ultimately, he decided to go in his first class and "just model Joe," an exercise that turned into a 25-year tenure this semester. Chapman's example was likewise important to Dr. Frank Pinkerton in the time he oversaw advising for Health Pre-Professions. "My job was easy in the 20-something years I did it because the schools trusted Carson-Newman. They trusted our evaluation of students – the goods needed to be behind what we said, and Joe got that going." Pinkerton praised his colleague's authenticity and personality. "You could sit down with Joe and feel like you had known him all your life. He gained your confidence quickly, and that was key for medical schools, pharmacy schools and the PT (physical therapy) schools. He gained their trust." Having graduated in 1940 at 20 years old, Chapman taught public school until he entered the U.S. Navy in 1943. He served on the USS Rixey, a casualty evacuation transport ship that in 1943 lost only three patients while providing emergency and surgical care to more than 10,000. He returned home to his wife, Frances ' 41, earned a master's degree in biology and education from Peabody College and then joined his alma mater's faculty in 1947. As they raised three sons, John and older brothers Harold Joe and Jimmy, he delved into his work. He immersed himself in a wealth of professional, civic and church organizations. In 1968, he helped found what would become the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. He served on Jefferson County's Board of Education, including leading the body for a year, and he invested many years on Appalachian Electric Cooperative's board, which included being its chair for several terms. There is a sense of poetic justice in naming the Center's entrance for Dr. Joe Chapman. With his unique blend of persona and proficiency, Chapman was a living threshold. He was Carson- Newman's conduit for strong alumni relationships, donor participation and for untold numbers of students who would not have otherwise found their callings in the sciences. WATCH cn.edu/journey/chapman

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