Deborah J. Donaldson

 

Mrs. Deborah J. Donaldson

Mrs. Deborah Donaldson is the daughter of the late Harold and Ruby Jenkins and is a lifelong resident of Johnson City, Tennessee and has been on the East Tennessee State University Campus in some way for 37 years. Mrs. Donaldson’s first experience with ETSU’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps was in 1971-72 when she began babysitting for CPT and Mrs. Terry Bell, who was a ROTC instructor.

Twelve years later, Mrs. Donaldson and her small family returned to East Tennessee after a short detour in Georgia.  At her father’s encouragement, she took the civil service test which resulted in her being interviewed and subsequently hired by CPT Anderson as a Department of the Army Civilian in ETSU ROTC.

In October 2001, Mrs. Donaldson was selected by Brigade as one of the six Human Resource Assistants to work in conjunction with U.S. Army Cadet Command in the creation of the School of Cadet Command Human Resource Assistant Course at Fort Bragg, NC. 

During her 32 years, Mrs. Donaldson has worn multiple hats and adjusted to many changes, including buildings, offices, cadre and the ever changing name of Advanced Camp. She has seen 438 Cadets receive their Commission as Second Lieutenants, is working for her 12th Professor of Military Science and 5th ETSU President.

Mrs. Donaldson has been an enthusiastic ETSU sports fan since 1989, when she began attending basketball, volleyball, and football games. Mrs. Donaldson and her husband, Jim, reside in Jonesborough, TN.  Her sons, Trey and Rick, daughter-in-law, Natalie, and four granddaughters all live in the tri-cities area.