For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College will begin offering a Theater Education major in the Secondary Education bachelor’s degree in the fall of 2026, according to Provost Matthew McAffee. Welch has a history of offering extracurricular theater performances that have been well received by students, alumni, and community guests since former Speech and Drama faculty member Mrs. Laura Thigpen first arrived at the college in the 1940s.
In recent years, AnnaGee Harris, Theater Director and Coordinator for Enrollment Events and Student Reps, has produced and directed many popular plays and musicals at Welch, such as Fiddler on the Roof, The Hunchback of Notre Dame,and Sense and Sensibility, as well as Welch’s touring theater team The Evangel Players. These productions have coincided with her roles in Enrollment Services and as Adjunct Instructor of Theater for the Humanities and Arts degree since the fall of 2021.
The new program will be under the direction of Dr. Stephen Beck, Undergraduate Dean of the School of Education, and its primary instructor will be Harris, who has served as Welch’s director of theater for sixteen years. Harris is a 2005 Secondary Education and Theology graduate of Welch and holds two master’s degrees, one in Teaching from Trevecca Nazarene University and one in Theater from Regent University.
“Serving as the theater director at Welch College continues to be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience,” said Harris. “The students at Welch have a thirst for creating meaningful and edifying art, and I am excited for another opportunity for students not only to further their theater studies but also to be equipped to impart their passion for the arts to the next generation.”
Dr. Beck said about the new major, “I am really excited about the new opportunities this degree is going to bring for students who are passionate about theater! Our desire is that this program will prepare students to share their love of the arts with the next generation from the perspective of a Christian worldview.”
Students studying Secondary Education with a major in Theater will be prepared to pursue state licensure for teaching theater, continue their studies in theater on the graduate level, and engage in professional work as an actor, director, and dramatic writer.
Those interested in Theater or the bachelor’s degree in Theater Education should contact GoToWelch@welch.edu for questions and welch.edu/GoToWelch to apply. Visit welch.edu/theater for more information about the Welch College Theater Department.