News
Cookeville Mayor, Tech’s Chief Diversity Officer headline premiere episode of new podcast, “College Town Talk”
Guests on the premiere of College Town Talk include Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton
and Tech’s Chief Diversity Officer, Robert Owens.
Tennessee Tech University announced the launch of a new podcast titled “College Town
Talk.” The weekly program features in-depth conversations with Tech faculty, staff,
students and alumni, as well as local business owners and civic leaders.
The premiere episode is available now and features interviews with Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton and Tech Chief Diversity
Officer Robert Owens.
To co-host the podcast, Tech selected Shan Stout, Director of Tourism for the Cookeville-Putnam
County Visitors Bureau.
Stout is known for her role as a correspondent on WCTE-TV’s popular monthly series,
“Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland” and as the network’s
longtime host of the annual Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree. In addition to current
television projects, Stout was formerly a morning show host and television personality
for “Hometown Tennessee” and is the proud mother of a current Tech student. She co-hosts
the new podcast alongside Tech’s News and Public Relations Director, Jonathan Frank.
“College Town Talk is a celebration of the people and places that make Cookeville
Tennessee’s college town,” said Frank. “We are excited to share these engaging, thoughtful
conversations with leaders on and off Tech’s campus, and we could not have asked for
a better partner on this project than Shan Stout and the Visitors Bureau. I hope listeners
will enjoy hearing these conversations as much as Shan and I have enjoyed recording
them.”
“It has been a sincere privilege to participate in this wonderful project with Tennessee
Tech and hear the amazing stories from each of our guests about their time at Tech,”
said Stout. “I especially enjoy hearing about how Tech has influenced their current
career or life path in a positive way. My co-host, Jonathan Frank, has worked hard
behind-the-scenes to create engaging content and questions that we hope will resonate
with our audience. It has been an amazing experience so far and we are just getting
started.”
The logo for College Town Talk pays tribute to Tech’s Derryberry Hall and the Tennessee
tri-star symbol.
Additional season one guests on College Town Talk include: Putnam County Mayor Randy
Porter, Nashville Public Television President and CEO and Tech alumna Becky Magura,
State Representative Ryan Williams, Tech Provost Lori Mann Bruce, Soul Craft Coffee
owner and Tech alumna Anna Dunn, Tech Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Polk-Johnson,
Director of Tech’s Center for Rural Innovation and WCTE host Michael Aikens, Tech
Director of Athletics Mark Wilson, Tech alumnus and Medal of Valor recipient Sean
Ochsenbein, Tech Director of Student Engagement and Intercultural Affairs Charria
Campbell, KSLA anchor and Tech alumna Biskie Duncan, and others.
College Town Talk is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and Soundcloud.
Episodes can also be streamed at www.tntech.edu/collegetowntalk.
