Holly Ratcliff was appointed as Tusculum University’s Faculty Athletic Representative in July 2026 by TU president Dr. Scott Hummel.

The Tusculum faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty or administrative staff who is designated by the president to represent the institution and its faculty in the institution's relationships with the NCAA and the South Atlantic Conference. The FAR is active in maintaining the academic integrity within the athletics program, assisting with the overall student-athlete well-being as well as assists with the institutional control of the athletics program.

Ratcliff has been teaching at Tusculum since 2003 when she began as an adjunct for the English department at the Knoxville campus. Ratcliff joined the Greeneville campus full-time in August of 2018 and is currently an Assistant Professor of English and the university's General Education Curriculum Assessment Coordinator. 

Prior to starting work in Greeneville, Ratcliff spent over four years as an Assistant Professor, Director of the Knoxville Writing Center, and Co-facilitator of the Online Writing Lab at King University. In addition to these previous commitments at King, she has taught in the English departments at both The University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State Community College.

Ratcliff teaches Introduction to Rhetoric & Composition and Rhetoric & Research, Composition I Writing Lab, Folklore & the Fairy Tale, and Writing in Organizations, but she has also recently taught the following courses for various universities (both on campus and online): American Literature I and American Literature II, Appalachian Literature, Dual-Enrollment English Composition, Professional Writing for Information Technology, Writing for Healthcare Professions, Introduction to Higher Education, The Quest for Self-Knowledge, The Quest for Stewardship and Ethical Responsibility, and 20th & 21st Century Global Literature.

After completing her graduate degree at the University of Tennessee, Ratcliff began working full-time as a marketing coordinator for an international civil and environmental engineering firm. During her time there, she participated in efforts to prepare and write technical reports, as well as many proposals for state, local, and federally funded transportation infrastructure assignments, regional economic development studies, environmental impact statements, major design/build jobs, and bridge design and rehabilitation projects.

Additionally, Ratcliff serves as the university’s gen ed assessment coordinator and is a key leader in a Tusculum’s Cornerstone program, which assists students who have been accepted into the university but would benefit from further preparation. She is also the university’s Appalachian College Association liaison.