ETSU wins two national awards for documentary, philanthropy

East Tennessee State University won two national awards from a global nonprofit education association for its documentary about Hurricane Helene and a 2025 fundraising campaign. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education recognized ETSU for its documentary about the region's recovery from Hurricane Helene one year later, including the university's involvement in recovery and research efforts. Judges said it was "a great video with fantastic storytelling that relays a sense of community and shows how people can come together to turn a disaster into an opportunity for positive growth," that "helps generate a strong sense of pride in the institution," according to a Monday press release about the awards. The video connects climate science, public health readiness and regional resilience with insight from Andrew Joyner, Tennessee's state climatologist and ETSU associate professor of geosciences, and Dr. Randy Wykoff, who recently retired as dean of the College of Public Health. "It was incredibly inspiring to see the many ways the people of our region and our ETSU campus pulled together to help each other in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene," Jess Vodden, vice president for Marketing and Communications said in the press release. "I am very proud of our team for the work they did in documenting the role ETSU played in the recovery over time and sharing the valuable expertise and perspective of our campus experts who were deeply involved." The university also won an award for the weeklong fundraising campaign "Forever ETSU" that grew in April 2025 from the university's annual spring Day of Giving, celebrating gratitude, connection and impact across generations.