Roane State Community College is having two virtual information sessions this week that are focused on addressing questions from students and their parents during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first session, for current and prospective students, was from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26.
The second session, for parents and caregivers, is from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 28.
[Read more…]
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
It’s a vexing, persistent problem nationally: food insecurity issues experienced by many college students. Roane State Community College is again doing something about it.
That’s the message delivered by Chris Whaley, president of the community college, during the formal opening of the Brain Food Pantry on the college’s Oak Ridge campus.
Some 40 percent of college students nationwide “struggle with hunger,†Whaley told the crowd attending the ribbon-cutting in the former Anderson Grille in the campus’s Coffey/McNally Building.
Making sure students—and their families—have proper and adequate nutrition “is as much a part of student success as what happens in the classroom,†said Karen Brunner, the college’s vice president of institutional effectiveness and research.
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From left, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thomas Zacharia is joined by Roane State Middle College students Layla Malenovsky of Kingston and Anthony Ciccarelli of Kingston, along with Roane State President Chris Whaley, for the presentation of the $34,000 UT-Battelle Scholarship for Roane State Middle College students. (Photo courtesy Roane State)
Twelve Roane County students participating in Roane State Community College’s Middle College have received $34,000 in annual scholarships thanks to UT-Battelle, a press release said. The scholarships were made possible through a gift to the Roane State Foundation.
Roane State’s Middle College program allows high school students to take college classes in their junior and senior years and then graduate with their associate degrees and their diplomas. Middle College graduates are then able to complete their bachelor’s degrees just two years after finishing high school.
Middle College students pay for tuition through a combination of out-of-pocket funds, use of state grants, and other private scholarships, the press release said. The UT-Battelle Scholarship was established in fall 2015, and it is awarded to Middle College students from Roane County. The scholarship is administered by the Roane State Foundation. [Read more…]
Retired Roane State dean of students Brenda Rector cuts the ribbon for the new Raider Pantry at the college’s main campus in Harriman. From left are Roane State president Chris Whaley; Mid-East Community Action Agency Executive Director Jerry Johnson; Brenda Rector; Kristie Hopwood, agency relations and school pantry program coordinator with Second Harvest Food Bank; Kroger assistant store manager Fred Kleimola; and Kroger corporate affairs manager Melissa Eads. (Photo by Roane State)
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By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
The new Raider Pantry is fully stocked and open for business, ready to provide everything from snacks to the makings of nutritious meals for Roane State Community College students and their families.
A ribbon-cutting in August formally opened the newest effort by the community college to address the vexing problem of food insecurity, which affects a staggering number of college students nationwide.
“At least 40 percent of students in higher education suffer from some form of food insecurity,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said during the grand opening at the main campus in Harriman. “That’s appalling.”
The launch of the Raider Pantry in a small space just inside the Roane State gymnasium on the Roane County campus continues the college’s efforts to address food insecurity. Snacks are offered at campus locations, and three campuses (Roane, Oak Ridge, and Cumberland) offer dedicated rooms for food pantries. [Read more…]
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)
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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…]
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…]
Students at Roane State’s Scott County campus take a class using Zoom technology. A nearly half-million-dollar federal grant will allow Roane State to expand its use of Zoom technology to give students more access to classes.
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
Roane State Community College has received a $496,888 federal grant to improve distance learning opportunities at three of the community college’s most rural campuses.
For the 2018-19 academic year, Roane State invested in Zoom video conferencing technology to replace legacy interactive video systems at each of its campuses. The Zoom technology allows the college to broadcast a class from one campus to students at other locations. Rather than travel to a campus for a course, students can stay close to home and participate through live interactive video.
The Zoom technology, with its 360-degree cameras, created a more natural classroom experience than the college’s previous distance learning system. Classes taught via Zoom can be easily viewed live on any device, and content can be seamlessly uploaded online for students to access on demand. [Read more…]
David Bunch
Roane State Community College will hold commencement ceremonies on May 3-4.
The ceremonies, to be held in the gym on the Roane County campus in Harriman, will be equal in presentation.
Friday, May 3, 2019—2 p.m. [Read more…]
The opening session for Safety Fest TN this year will feature a panel on regional workforce development.
The kick-off event is from 8:30-11 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the New Hope Center at Y-12 National Security Complex.
That opening session will include a discussion by influential educators and employers on regional workforce development challenges, a press release said. The panel will be called, “Facing Future Workforce Development Needs Today.â€
“Panelists will discuss the challenges associated with attracting, hiring, and retaining the brightest and best of all skill levels to our region while exploring approaches they are implementing to meet those challenges,” the press release said.
[Read more…]
Pat Postma, left, presents the Postma Young Professional Medal to Wade Creswell, chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, during an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (DOE photo courtesy Lynn Freeny)
Note: This story was updated at 2:25 p.m.
Wade Creswell, president and chief executive officer of Roane Alliance, is leaving his position to begin work with an area business. His last day at the Alliance will be September 21.
The departure was announced Wednesday by Chris Whaley, chair of the Roane Alliance Board of Directors.
Pam May, Roane Alliance vice president, will serve as interim president and CEO until the board decides on the long-term future of the position, a press release said.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation of the great work that Wade has done in his four and a half years leading the Roane Alliance,” Whaley said in a statement sent to the Board of Directors for the Roane Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, and Industrial Development Board. “His passion, vision, and love for Roane County have fueled his tireless work for this county and region, and I sincerely appreciate all he has done.” [Read more…]
Small businesses have many opportunities to support NASA’s space flight mission—such as the Space Launch System that will be used for deep space exploration and new missions to the moon—and additional NASA projects. Learn more at the June 19 NASA networking conference “Think Big: Learn How To Do Business with NASA†at Roane State’s W.H. Swain Scott County Center in Huntsville, Tenn. (Artist’s concept courtesy of NASA).
Small businesses are invited to a conference in June that will offer information on how to do business with NASA.
It’s an all-day networking conference titled “Think Big: Learn How To Do Business with NASA.” It’s scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, at Roane State’s W.H. Swain Scott County Center, which is at 410 W.H. Swain Boulevard in Huntsville. It was organized by U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, and Congressman Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican.
At the conference, small businesses can meet with NASA officials and representatives from NASA prime contractors, a press release said. Conference participants will learn about various small business opportunities provided by NASA.
“NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is just four hours from Huntsville, Tennessee,†Roane State President Chris Whaley said in the press release. “Opportunities with NASA are abundant for businesses of all shapes and sizes in this region. We want to raise awareness that big agencies such as NASA want and need services from small businesses. A business from a small community in a rural county can think big because NASA may be interested in your products.†[Read more…]
Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus is a great place for adult students to reconnect with their education, a press release said.
And the timing has never been better. Beginning this fall, the Tennessee Reconnect grant will provide eligible adults with the opportunity to attend Roane State tuition-free.
To learn more about Reconnect, come to Roane State’s free Reconnect Ready event at the Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Avenue, on Thursday, March 1, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. [Read more…]
