Nash, Tessmer Named to All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team

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All-FS Team 2018

MACON – The Southern Conference named its All-SoCon Faculty and Staff Team on Wednesday, with Dr. R. Scott Nash and Jim Tessmer serving as Mercer’s selected representatives.

In addition to Dr. Nash and Tessmer, the faculty and staff recipients include: The Citadel’s Dr. Matthew Zommer and Lori Hedstrom; ETSU’s Dr. Amy Greene and Ronda Gross; Furman’s Dr. William Pierce and Vince Moore; UNCG’s Dr. Gabriela Stein and Melanie Carter; Samford’s Dr. Mark S. Gignilliat and Ginger Robertson; Chattanooga’s Dr. Jamie Harvey and Melanie Ribaric; VMI’s Col. Tom Baur, who is being honored posthumously, and Col. Vern Beitzel; Western Carolina’s Dr. Yue Cai Hillon and Mark Haskett; and Wofford’s Dr. William Eddie Richardson and Elizabeth Dashiell Wallace.

Each member of the All-SoCon Faculty and Staff Team will be presented a plaque and honored at a home basketball game at his or her institution.

Dr. Nash is Columbus Roberts Professor of New Testament in Mercer’s Roberts Department of Religion and director of the Mercer On Mission program in Greece. After earning his undergraduate degree in religion and political science from Centre College, he earned master’s and doctoral degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Nash, who has done additional study at the University of Kentucky, Brown University, Harvard Divinity School and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece, received the Spencer B. King Jr. Distinguished Professor Award in 2002.

Since 1991, he has participated in The Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia, Greece, and is responsible for the publication of the pottery from the Roman Bath.

A member of the Australian Institute of Archaeology, Dr. Nash has been senior editor of Perspectives in Religious Studies, a publication of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, for 20 years. He is also project editor for the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series and chairman of the board of directors for Heritage Investment Group.

Tessmer joined the University’s athletics staff in 2006 and currently serves as the department’s event coordinator. His work contributes to developing a positive experience for Mercer student-athletes in their athletics competitions.

Tessmer has served as a front office staffer for minor league baseball team affiliates of the Reds, Red Sox, Pirates, Yankees and Braves.

Outside of athletics, he works as a radio station on-air personality and overnight engineer for WPEZ in Macon. He is also a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club, taking on several leadership roles.

An ardent supporter of Mercer student-athletes, Tessmer, who along with his wife, Melissa, has adopted five children, was selected by the school’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee as Mercer’s staff representative on the All-SoCon Faculty and Staff Team.