Advisers explain what The Pacer means to them

This year marks the student newspaper’s 95^th anniversary, and in honor of it, the faculty and staff are reminiscing on their fond memories from the years that they have been involved with The Pacer.

While The Pacer is a student-run organization, it is not only the students who have a major influence; the current and previous faculty advisers also have had a vital part in shaping The Pacer into what it is today.  

Dr. Jerald Ogg is one of the previous advisers for The Pacer, and he was also on the staff as a student editor beforehand. During his time as adviser, the publication tried to implement “beats,” which is where certain staff members would be responsible over covering specific areas of campus news and activities, such as Greek Life. It was also at this time that The Pacer played a bigger role in the Society of Professional Journalists, which is an organization that holds a regional conference.

His favorite part about being adviser was the close relationships that he developed and maintained with the students who were on the staff.

“I remember with great fondness the trips the Pacer staff and I took together and all of the late nights laying out the paper — experiences that allowed all of us to get to know each other much better,” Ogg says.

The Pacer holds a lot of meaning for Ogg, and the organization has played a major role in shaping him into the person he is today.

“I learned so much about teamwork, motivation and the importance of accurate information while serving as editor — not to mention growing as a writer — and it was beyond cool to be able to come back and serve as the adviser for five years when I joined the faculty. The bonds you are able to forge when you share a common mission are incredible, and I am still in contact with many of those staff members 30-plus years later,” Ogg says.

In regard to the future of The Pacer, Ogg shares that he hopes the publication will be the go-to source for news that matters to all of the UT Martin community and that anyone who works for The Pacer will gain the same hands-on experience and knowledge that he did to help them with their future careers and life.     

Dr. Robert Nanney was adviser for The Pacer directly after Ogg, and one of the primary decisions that was made during his time as adviser was to keep the name “The Pacer” instead of changing to “The Skyhawk” to match the new mascot.

Nanney says the reason why is: “We didn’t think it would be appropriate to change its name again and keeping in mind those who had served as staff members, those who had read the newspapers and those who had advised it, we thought the brand was good and strong and the name well-regarded and remembered to the point that we were not changing the name.”

For the future, he hopes that The Pacer will remain what it has always been, “a voice of truth, honesty and integrity for the UT Martin community. One that should be trusted, protected and be given its full freedom to be that kind of voice in a responsible way.”

Nanney expressed that one of his favorite parts of being adviser was being able to stay in the newspaper industry after being in it for 15 years and being able to work with students was a major part as well.

“I got to keep doing what I had done in an enterprise that I loved very much and then tried to coach students who had a similar passion to do their best and make a difference,” Nanney says.

This same passion was exhibited by one of his editors during his time as adviser. They had been working on a print edition together, and once finished, the student was tasked with taking the newspaper to the printing company to be copied. It had been the editor’s last paper he would be doing before graduating. However, Nanney says the student loved being a part of The Pacer so much that he was not ready for his time as editor to end, and, because of this, he could not bring himself to turn in the paper; instead, he held onto it and ended up falling asleep on top of it.

Tomi McCutchen is the current adviser for The Pacer, and she was also on the staff as a student editor previously.  From her time as adviser, she as well has had many memorable experiences that has increased her fondness for the organization. One of her many favorite parts about the position is all of the students that she has been able to work with and the impact that she hopes she has on them during their time on staff.

“Just getting to work with people who are younger and more energetic and have so much more talent and so many better ideas than I will ever have, that’s cool for me because if I can help shape that in any way or make a difference, even if it is a small one, then that is what helps soothe my soul. … We work together to create something that we hope matters and that I hope makes a difference for you guys going forward in your lives,” McCutchen says.

Through her years with The Pacer, she has played a critical role in molding it into what it is today: the independent voice of UT Martin. During her time, she has helped implement The Pacer website, which she has plans in place to update and improve to better suit an era that is transitioning away from print and into a mostly online and social platform. McCutchen also says that she has plans for before she retires from the position to establish an app for The Pacer to help effectively achieve this transition into the digital world.

The primary goal for The Pacer that the faculty and staff are working together to reach is for every student on the campus to know what The Pacer is, what it does and to be the main source that the UT Martin community goes to for the latest news that pertains to them.

In all, The Pacer means a lot to any of its staff members, but, especially for the advisers who have overseen and contributed to the organization being developed into what it is today, it means everything.

“The Pacer is the past, present, and future. It is not only the past, present, and future for UT Martin, but it also has been, and still is, for me,” McCutchen says.