Oak Ridge Today

Ribbon cut on TCAT facility in Andersonville

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Information from WYSH Radio

Wednesday morning, officials gathered at the new Tennessee College of Applied Technology–or TCAT—facility on Andersonville Highway for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new but temporary TCAT facility is expected to be a boon to local industries and prospective employees alike by offering courses geared toward the industries operating in this area.

The owners of the former Hensley’s grocery store donated the vacant 20,000-square foot building to the state to renovate and use as a temporary training facility for a period of about two years. The temporary facility will be needed while the state builds a new, premanent TCAT on land donated by SL Tennessee in the I-75 Industrial Park. [Read more…]

Tennessee higher education leaders met to help transfer students succeed

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Public and private university officials, whose work serves as a key to the success of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiative, met in February to collect more tools for growing the number of college-educated Tennesseans.

More than 130 transfer counselors, registrars, and advising directors from Tennessee’s public and private colleges and universities met in Murfreesboro on February 22-23 for the 2017 Tennessee Transfer Summit.

Attendees heard from transfer expert Janet Marling. Marling is vice president for student affairs at the University of North Georgia and executive director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. She gave the keynote address on resolving obstacles to transfer student success.

India Lane, University of Tennessee associate vice president for academic affairs and student success, said collaboration is key for successful college transfers. [Read more…]

Regional symposium for community college leaders, educators

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The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, and the Appalachian Regional Commission will co-sponsor a regional symposium for community college leaders and educators in Appalachia who are interested in enhancing economic growth in their areas.

The summit, “Leveraging Assets in Your Local Community to Promote Economic Development,” will be held March 30-31 at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

The keynote speaker for the event is Randy Boyd, former Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College, and Anthony Wise, president of Pellissippi State Community College, are among those scheduled to present at the symposium. [Read more…]

Roane State to celebrate its LEAP grant on Leap Day

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Roane-State-Mechantronics

The mechatronics program at Roane State Community College prepares students for technology-driven manufacturing careers. (Photo by RSCC)

 

Roane State Community College received a workforce development grant last year, and the school will celebrate the LEAP grant on February 29, Leap Day, with mechatronics demonstrations, robotics teams from area high schools, and refreshments.

“Because Monday, February 29, is Leap Day, it’s the perfect time for Roane State Community College to celebrate its LEAP grant,” a press release said.

The $970,000 Labor Education Alignment Program, or LEAP, grant helped Roane State expand its one-year mechatronics program into a two-year degree and to offer dual credit mechatronics course for students at area high schools.

The Leap Day celebration is scheduled from 9-11 a.m. on Monday, February 29, at the college’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton at 214 Nave Street. The public is invited. [Read more…]

Education: A path out of poverty

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Chris Whaley

Chris Whaley

“Education: A Path out of Poverty,” will be the theme of an interfaith luncheon at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge at noon on June 5. Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College, will be the guest speaker.

The cost of the noon luncheon is $5, payable at the door. The luncheon is open to the public.

Admission to the talk is free. To make a reservation, call the church office at (865) 482-1318 or send an email to [email protected].

In the international development community, it is well-known that education is one of the most effective ways to improve the economic growth and potential of a country, a press release said. UNESCO reports that an additional year of schooling will raise income by 10 percent. [Read more…]

Haslam announces winners of LEAP competition, including Roane State

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam in December announced the recipients of the Labor Education Alignment Program, or LEAP, competition, a state effort focused on increasing opportunities for Tennesseans to obtain a certificate or degree beyond high school that is aligned with the needs of the workforce in their communities.

“These types of intentional partnerships between local agencies and their colleges or TCATS are what we want to see across the state as a significant piece of the Drive to 55 initiative,” Haslam said. “Tying the training and skills that our colleges are teaching directly to current workforce needs will help more Tennesseans qualify for good paying, high quality jobs.”

The communities and colleges selected as LEAP recipients exemplify the collaboration and alignment between workforce needs and higher education that are at the core of the Drive to 55,” Haslam said. [Read more…]

Randy Boyd named state commissioner of economic, community development

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Photo courtesy UT Torchbearer

Photo courtesy UT Torchbearer

East Tennessee businessman Randy Body has been named commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Governor Bill Haslam announced Thursday.

Boyd, 55, is chairman of Radio Systems Corporation, which he started in 1991. Radio Systems is headquartered in Knoxville and has more than 650 associates worldwide with offices in seven countries, a press release said.

Radio Systems is the company that donated $100,000 donation to the PetSafe Dog Park at Big Turtle Park in Oak Ridge.

The press release said Boyd is a successful entrepreneur who served as a full-time, unpaid special adviser to the governor for higher education in 2013, focusing on the “Drive to 55” initiative to bring the percentage of Tennesseans with college degrees or certificates from 32 percent up to 55 percent by the year 2025. Boyd’s work resulted in the Tennessee Promise, a program that provides two years of community college or a college of applied technology free of tuition and fees to graduating Tennessee high school seniors. [Read more…]

AC Chamber Council starts discussions on educational resources, workforce needs

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Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd

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CLINTON—Leaders from business, local, and post-secondary education across Anderson County gathered at the Hollingsworth Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership on Tuesday for an Anderson County Workforce Development Training Resources Luncheon hosted by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Development Council. The council plans for this to be the first of a series of in-depth county-wide discussions about how to ensure that our educational resources are focused at meeting the businesses workforce needs in Anderson County.

Randy Boyd, Governor Bill Haslam’s special adviser on higher education, spoke about Tennessee’s “Drive to 55” initiative and the five main aspects to this statewide initiative: get students ready, get them into school, get them out of school, finish what we started with adult students, and tie education directly to workforce needs.

“There are nearly a million Tennesseans that have some college credit but no degree—that’s an untapped pool of people that we can get to complete a certificate or degree,” Boyd said. [Read more…]

High school seniors can sign up for TN Promise at Roane State today

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Tennessee Promise LogoHigh school seniors can sign up for the Tennessee Promise and fill out their college application on Monday, October 20, at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in Room 107 in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building.

The event is designed to encourage students to enroll in Tennessee Promise, the state’s new program that provides two years of community college or technical school tuition-free for any student graduating from a Tennessee high school. [Read more…]

High school seniors can sign up for Tennessee Promise at RSCC on Saturday

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Tennessee Promise Logo

High school seniors can sign up for the Tennessee Promise and fill out their college application as part of Scholarship Saturday on September 20 at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus.

Computer labs in the new Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building will be open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and enrollment counselors will be available to help seniors complete their Tennessee Promise applications and college applications.

Pizza will be provided. The campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

The event is designed to encourage students to enroll in Tennessee Promise, the state’s new program that provides two years of community college or technical school tuition-free for any student graduating from a Tennessee high school.

The deadline to apply for the Tennessee Promise is Nov. 1. [Read more…]

Boyd to discuss Gov. Haslam’s ‘Drive to 55’ campaign at Altrusa

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Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd, Knoxville CEO of Radio Systems and special education adviser to Gov. Bill Haslam, will discuss the statewide initiative “Drive to 55” during a Wednesday luncheon in Oak Ridge.

Boyd will also discuss the Tennessee Promise, which aims to raise the percentage of Tennesseans with degrees or certificates from 32 percent to 55 percent by 2025, during a Wednesday meeting of the Altrusa Club at the Doubletree Hotel.

“The Tennessee Promise will provide all Tennessee high school graduates with the opportunity to attend a community college or Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) free of tuition and fees and provide them with a mentor to ensure their success,” Boyd said. [Read more…]