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Jewelry Television (JTV) donates $5,000 for Roane State Foundation program

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Jewelry Television (JTV) donated $5,000 to support the Roane State Foundation’s Pay-It-Forward awards program. From left are Kirk Harris, Roane State director of Continuing Healthcare and Safety Education and director of the college’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences; R. Steve Walsh, senior vice president of global operations and logistics for JTV; Scott Niermann, executive director of the Roane State Foundation; Charles Wagner, vice chairman of JTV; and Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Jewelry Television (JTV) donated $5,000 to support the Roane State Foundation’s Pay-It-Forward awards program.

Roane State Pay-It-Forward awards provide emergency aid to students to help them stay in school, including assistance with tuition or books for students near completion of their degrees, assistance for licensure/certification exam fees, and assistance to adult students who do not qualify for any state-funded tuition assistance programs, or whose aid has otherwise been exhausted.

Students who receive Pay-It-Forward scholarships agree to help future students in need at Roane State complete their education, once they are employed and able to give back, a press release said.

JTV is located next door to Roane State’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences, and leaders from both organizations consistently collaborate on ways to help Roane State students succeed. [Read more…]


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UCOR, Pellissippi State present East Tennessee Small Business Diversity Summit on Tuesday

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Small businesses in East Tennessee are invited to attend a half-day summit on Tuesday to gather tools and tips on building a more diverse, inclusive work force, a press release said.

“Because of their mutual commitment to workforce development, UCOR and Pellissippi State Community College are offering a free program featuring speakers from global companies providing insights on diversity,” the press release said.

Pellissippi State President Anthony Wise and UCOR President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Rueter will open the event, the East Tennessee Small Business Diversity Summit. The morning’s key speaker is Pat Harris, former global chief diversity officer and vice president of community engagement for McDonald’s Corporation. Harris led the evolution of McDonald’s diversity and inclusion function and has documented that experience in her book “None of Us is As Good As All of Us: How McDonald’s Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity.” 

[Read more…]
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Roane State students win bronze medals at SkillsUSA national competition

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Roane State Skills_usa Competition

Roane State Community College’s Cory Watson and Dylan Tipton (cybersecurity) and Kevin Spakes (programming) won bronze medals in the SkillsUSA national competition this summer. From left are Spakes, Watson, professor George Meghabghab, and Tipton. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Competing for the first time on a national stage, three Roane State Community College students won two bronze medals at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

Kevin Spakes, who graduated in May and had a full-time internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, won his honor for programming, while Cory Watson and Dylan Tipton took home the bronze for cybersecurity.

Watson also interned full-time at ORNL after his graduation in May, while Tipton is a rising sophomore at Roane State.

The 2019 National SkillsUSA conference was held in June in Louisville, Kentucky, and some 6,500 students from across the country competed. [Read more…]

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Roane State’s Technology Building renamed for Sen. Ken Yager

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Roane State Community College Technology Building

The Technology Building at Roane State Community College’s main campus in Harriman has been renamed in honor of Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

One of the first buildings constructed on Roane State Community College’s Roane County campus has been renamed in honor of a lifelong public servant who is now a state senator.

The Tennessee Board of Regents has approved the community college’s request to rename the 41-year-old Technology Building the Ken Yager Building.

“Senator Yager has been an advocate for Roane State students for many years, as Roane County Executive, as a Roane State faculty member and dean, and now as a member of the Tennessee General Assembly,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. [Read more…]

Enrich your life through ORICL

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Submitted

What is ORICL? It is the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, and it is sponsored by Roane State Community College. It is open to people of all backgrounds and educational levels who reside in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, Rocky Top, Knoxville, and the surrounding areas. ORICL offers programs to appeal to many different interests. Membership is $100 for a full year, consisting of three terms beginning in September; $80 for two terms beginning in February; and $45 for the summer term only.

Learn more about ORICL at https://www.roanestate.edu/?8465-ORICL-Oak-Ridge-Institute-for-Continued-Learning. Call the ORICL office at (865) 481-8222 to ask questions or to request a catalog. Online registration began on August 6, and paper registrations are being accepted starting August 7. [Read more…]

Tamke-Allan Observatory has public stargazing Saturday

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Linda Fippin
Linda Fippin

Tamke-Allan Observatory at Roane State Community College continues its Summer Public Stargazing with an examination of light and light pollution on Saturday, August 3.

The gates open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and a public lecture will be presented at 8 p.m. by guest lecturer and retired clinical researcher Linda Fippin.

“For the vast majority of human history, nighttime lighting was limited to the hearth fire,” a press release said. “As villages, towns, and eventually cities developed, lighting was still limited to oil lamps and candles. Gas lighting was not invented until the late 18th century, and electric street lights have only been in use for about 140 years. Nighttime lighting has many benefits, but excessive and inappropriate use has led to light pollution, which not only has negative effects on people, quality of life, and the natural environment, but also wastes energy resources. This talk will cover a brief history of nighttime lighting, the effects of light pollution, and what can be done to lessen them.”

[Read more…]

Roane State to offer extended business hours

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Roane State Community College will offer extended business hours to help students get ready for the fall semester. [Read more…]

Geothermal well system leaking under ORHS soccer field

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The geothermal well system is leaking under the soccer field at Oak Ridge High School, requiring emergency repairs to prevent classroom heat pumps from shutting down, school officials said.

“Recently, we lost a section of the geothermal wellfield to leaks in the well system that would require extensive exploratory excavation to locate and repair the leaks,” said Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor. “This option is not possible due to the location of the wellfield under the soccer field and the extensive cost of excavation and replacement of field damage. The wellfield is now operating at below 80 percent capacity, and the need for the cooling tower to be the primary source of water cooling is imperative to prevent shutdown of the classroom heat pumps.”

Thacker said the heat pumps serve all of the Learning Center, most of Comprehensive Studies, part of the Wellness Center, Visual Arts, and administration areas.

[Read more…]

Bat infestation cleaned from high school during summer

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A bat infestation was cleaned from a third floor ceiling of Oak Ridge High School this summer, school officials said.

Five live bats and more than 20 dead bats were removed, according to Allen Thacker, maintenance and operations supervisor for Oak Ridge Schools.

Maintenance workers had learned of the possible infestation on June 5, Thacker said. A pest control contractor said the infestation was contained in a third floor level of a 1994 addition.

The contractor said the bats were a common brown bat that migrates though the area, and the bats were most likely part of a larger colony that moved through the area, leaving a small group of sick or weakened bats behind.

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Forensic anthropologist Bill Bass, founder of ‘Body Farm,’ to speak at Children’s Museum

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Bill Bass

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will host a benefit presentation this fall by William “Bill” Bass, author, renowned forensic anthropologist, and founder of the “Body Farm,” the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee.

Bass will speak at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 28, at the Museum, discussing the science behind the novel “Bones of Betrayal,” set in Oak Ridge, and answering questions from the audience. Frank Murphy, host of the afternoon show on Classic Hits 93.1 WNOX, will serve as emcee at the event.

The novel by Jefferson Bass, a collaboration between Bass and co-author Jon Jefferson, is a murder mystery set in Oak Ridge featuring a forensic anthropologist searching for clues to the death of a prominent scientist, a press release said. [Read more…]

UT Board approves Oak Ridge Institute

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University of Tennessee Board of Trustees Chair John Compton and Interim President Randy Boyd (Photo by UT/Wade Payne)

An Oak Ridge Institute approved in June is expected to foster a stronger, more coordinated relationship between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In June, the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees approved a resolution creating the Institute, which will be at the University of Tennessee. It will move five joint UT and ORNL programs under a single administrative “umbrella,” the university reported.

It will allow the coordinated expansion of graduate education programs to prepare scientists and engineers for a global economy that demands interdisciplinary problem-solving, teamwork, and innovation, according to a resolution proposing the Institute.

“Coordination of joint efforts through ORI (Oak Ridge Institute) will promote greater focus, efficiency, and accountability; ensure innovative education, training, and workforce development; and provide flexibility to respond to emerging research challenges and the potential of disruptive technologies,” the resolution said.

The Oak Ridge Institute will build on the “track record of success” established by ORNL and UT, the resolution said. It will be led by an executive director who will pursue interdisciplinary research and workforce development in emerging fields.

[Read more…]

ORHS student part of Team USA at International Biology Olympiad

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Photo of Henry Shen courtesy of Oak Ridge High School teacher Sharon Thomas.

Henry Shen of Oak Ridge High School is one of four students who will represent Team USA at the International Biology Olympiad in Hungary next week.

Shen was one of four gold medalists at the USA Biology Olympiad, or USABO, at the University of California in San Diego on July 3. That’s the premier biology competition for high school students in the United States.

“After two rounds of challenging exams, 20 finalists are invited to a residential training program where they learn advanced biological concepts and exacting lab skills at the USABO National Finals,” the organization said on its website. “Ultimately, four students earn the right as Team USA to represent the USA at the International Biology Olympiad, a worldwide competition involving student teams from over 70 countries.”

[Read more…]

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