• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Roane State wins $1 million grant to help mechatronics, cyber security programs

Posted at 8:44 am November 14, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State Community College has won a $999,950 state grant that will be used to expand dual enrollment studies in mechatronics and computer technologies at 11 high schools in four rural East Tennessee counties. Dual enrollment courses enable high school students to obtain college credits.

The community college’s grant proposal, titled “Fast Forward for Success,” was one of 28 grants selected for funding out of 61 requests filed under the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education program.

That effort prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide, according to an announcement from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s office.

“These funds directly support our workforce development efforts in distressed and at-risk counties and are a key component of our strategy to prioritize rural Tennessee,” Lee said in the announcement.

Advertisement

The grant to Roane State will allow high school students in Morgan, Campbell, Roane, and Loudon counties to take college-level courses in cutting-edge programs developed by the community college.

Mechatronics is the engineering of electrical and mechanical systems. Cyber defense involves systems to thwart hacking and other electronic intrusions.

“The grant is a game-changer for cyber security and computer information technology in general for us at Roane State,” said George Meghabghab, professor of computer science.

Meghabghab and Gordon Williams, the program director for mechatronics, will serve as project directors for “Fast Forward for Success.” The contract for that grant runs through June 2, 2022.

“Roane State is thankful for the opportunity to develop the skills of students in our service area,” said Teresa Duncan, the college’s vice president of workforce and community development. “We are in the business of talent development in order to build a strong workforce pipeline.”

The dual enrollment courses will be taught either at the high schools or at Roane State campuses. Students in Roane County’s five high schools, for instance, will come to the community college’s campus in Roane County, where a new mechatronics lab is to be installed.

Advertisement

One goal of the grant is to enable students who earn technical certificates in Early College programs to obtain employment in either mechatronics or cyber defense within a year of graduation.

Area industries and manufacturers seeking employees will be brought into the program. Employers that have already committed to providing work-based learning experiences include ORAU/ORISE, Covenant Health, Centriworks, Proton Power, and SL Tennessee.

Ultimately, the grants are intended to boost the state’s “Drive to 55” program. That’s an ambitious effort to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025.

Roane State is a two-year college providing transfer programs, career-preparation programs and continuing education. Founded in 1971, the college has campuses in Crossville, Harriman, Huntsville, Jamestown, Knoxville, LaFollette, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Wartburg, and Clinton.

For more information, visit roanestate.edu or call (865) 882-4554.

Remember, eligible adults can now attend Roane State tuition-free with the new Reconnect grant. Learn more at http://www.roanestate.edu/reconnect.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bill Lee, cyber defense, cyber security, Early College, George Meghabghab, Gordon Williams, mechatronics, Roane State Community College, state grant, Teresa Duncan, workforce development

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Education News

Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats

A Secret City Academy student was charged with terrorism and other crimes after allegedly threatening to shoot people and use a bomb at the school on Friday, Anderson County's district attorney general said. This is the … [Read More...]

ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, is presenting "Into the Woods," the Stephen Sondheim musical based on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in four performances this … [Read More...]

Roane State employees receive excellence awards

Four Roane State Community College employees have been recognized as winners of the prestigious Excellence Award bestowed by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. NISOD has been named the … [Read More...]

Tennessee Holocaust Commission accepting student entries for 2022 contest

“The Holocaust is a lesson in human (and inhuman) history that took place because of hate, bigotry, indifference—all characteristics that know no bounds. These traits spread like wildfire. If we remain indifferent to … [Read More...]

Former AC school employees charged with theft

Two former Anderson County Schools employees have been charged with stealing more than $10,000 in a two-year period between January 2018 and January 2020. Heather Dawn Heatherly, 44, of Jacksboro, and Stephanie Leann … [Read More...]

More Education

Recent Posts

  • REAC/TS welcomes new team members: John Crapo, Josh Hayes and David Quillen
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program seeks early career and senior scientists for prestigious fellowships at its locations across the U.S.
  • ORAU names Brandon Criswell associate general counsel
  • Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday
  • TVA has virtual open house for Clinch River Nuclear Site
  • Science and supercomputers at ORNL topic of Mar. 8 talk
  • First Presbyterian offers free meals & groceries on Mar. 10
  • Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats
  • ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’
  • Oak Ridge’s first girl Eagle Scout named a “Scout of the Year”

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today