Merl R. Eppse, a member of the teaching staff at the institution which included pioneering the opening of several history-related departments since 1928. It has been estimated that during his thirty-three years, Eppse taught about 25,000 students. He was a recognized authority on the history of the American Negro. He served as head of the Department of History and Geography from 1928 to his retirement in 1960. Additionally he was Founder and Advisor of the History Study Club; Founder and Director of Tennessee Negro Historical Commission and Executive Committee Member of Tennessee Negro Education Association and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In 1957, the Tennessean was lovingly dedicated to Dr. Eppse, historian, teacher, friend, because he "exemplifies the epitome of unaffected intelligence and because his is a life rich with the activities that are a living proof of noteworthy and zealous ideals."