Oak Ridge Today

Roane State selected as Center for Academic Excellence in Geospatial Sciences

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Roane State Community College, working in partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, was recently selected as a designated Center for Academic Excellence in Geospatial Sciences.

Roane State, which offers one-year and two-year programs in geographic information systems, or GIS, was the only community college chosen for the program and joins 17 CAE GS academic institutions nationwide. Organized by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, the CAE GS program is a new endeavor designed to cultivate centers of academic excellence in geospatial sciences such as GIS.

“We are honored that our GIS program is recognized among several outstanding universities,” said Diane Ward, Roane State’s vice president of student learning. “The college’s selection for the program is a great example of the key role community colleges play in science, technology, engineering, and math education.” [Read more…]

Mapping a Difference: Roane State student charts Remote Area Medical services

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Chris Zerr

Chris Zerr

Roane State Community College Geographic Information Systems (GIS) student Chris Zerr said she has “loved maps since I was a little kid.”

“They’re like putting together a puzzle that has lots of pieces. Maps allow you to discover what’s there and what’s not there,” she said.

Maps that Zerr recently designed are helping people discover where they can find affordable and often much-needed medical care.

As an honors project for Roane State, Zerr focused on an organization that benefits thousands of people. Remote Area Medical, or RAM as most people know it, was established in 1985 by Stan Brock to provide basic medical care through mobile clinic events in underserved, isolated or impoverished communities. [Read more…]

Free workshop on accounting for small businesses

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A free workshop on accounting for small businesses is being offered Friday, June 26.

The workshop is for small businesses, and it’s being offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College, in partnership with Pugh CPAs.

It’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday, June 26, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Roane State Community College to host free Summer Bridge Program

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Roane State Community College will host a free Summer Bridge program for Tennessee Promise students July 13-31 at the college’s main campus in Harriman.

The free three-week program prepares students to potentially test out of learning support (remedial) courses and start their freshman years college-ready.

Roane State has 60 openings for its Summer Bridge program. The deadline to apply is June 15. Spots can fill up quickly. [Read more…]

Roane State-ORHS dual credit ceramics class gives students new perspectives

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Bryan Wilkerson and Katie Stewart in Ceramics Class

Roane State art professor Bryan Wilkerson works with student Katie Stewart during the college’s dual credit ceramics class at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

 

For now, Oak Ridge High School ceramics students create sculptures, bowls, and figures.

Maybe later, they’ll create new businesses, innovative products, and groundbreaking technology.

Either way, the process is the same. Start with mush—clay for the moment. Use creativity, problem-solving, and analysis to turn the mush into something special. That’s the lesson Roane State Community College art professor Bryan Wilkerson wants the Oak Ridge students to learn in his dual credit ceramics classes.

“I treat this no differently than all of my classes,” Wilkerson said. “I want them to come away with an understanding of techniques. I’m also trying to help them develop their own artistic direction, creative problem-solving, how to start with an idea and see it through to a finished piece.” [Read more…]

Roane State’s Roane County campus to be closed Wednesday, May 27

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Roane State Community College’s main campus in Harriman will be closed Wednesday, May 27, while the water line that supplies the campus is under repair.

During the repairs, water to the campus will be shut off. All other Roane State locations will be open and on schedule.

Two classes in session on May 27 have been relocated to the Princess Theatre and to Channel 15 television station in downtown Harriman.

The main campus will reopen Thursday, May 28.

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 fpcadmin@comcast.net.

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…]

Tennessee Para Cycling Open comes to Oak Ridge this weekend

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Jason Kimball

Pictured above is racer Jason Kimball, an Iraq war veteran who will compete at the Tennessee Para Cycling Open in Oak Ridge this weekend (May 16-17). Kimball will also coach the Learn to Race Class on Friday morning in Oak Ridge. Jason was wounded multiple times in combat and was severely injured during Special Forces training, and races in the C3 disability class. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge is fast becoming known as a “human-powered sports” Mecca, and a new event scheduled for May 16 and 17 is serving to underscore that reputation.

The city will play host to the Tennessee Para Cycling Open, a racing event featuring competitors who are paraplegics, amputees, or otherwise physically challenged. There will be different categories of racers who will compete on conventional or adapted race bikes or hand cycles.

More than half of the competitors will be wounded warriors who were injured while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, some of whom race for the Paralyzed Veterans Racing, which is affiliated with Paralyzed Veterans of America, a major sponsor of the event. Two racers—one from Cuba and one from Colombia—will lend an international flavor, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Police Department Junior Police Academy registration opens

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The Fourth Annual Junior Police Academy is being offered again by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

This year, the ORPD will offer one academy for the Junior Class, designed specifically for middle and high school students from June 22-26. Registration is also open to rising fifth-graders to middle school. The ORPD is also offering a Senior Class for former JPA graduates only. The Senior Class offers advanced training and activities. The Senior Class is scheduled from July 6-10.

JPA cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops, and much more, a press release said. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Oak Ridge Police Department, and they will be given a presentation by the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, in reference to substance abuse through awareness, and education. [Read more…]

Roane State students awarded NASA scholarships; more available for summer, fall

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Jeffrey Burks

Jeffrey Burks

Roane State Community College student Jeffrey Burks earned his GED six months before he started college. He’s on his way to a mechanical engineering degree.

A typical workday for Blake Stewart lasts 15 hours—job in the morning, classes at night.

Corey Stafford works to pay for school. Any help with costs, he said, is a relief.

Burks, Stewart, and Stafford are all receiving extra financial assistance with their college education. They are the first recipients of $1,250 NASA scholarships awarded to Roane State students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. More NASA scholarships are available for summer semester and for fall semester. Students in STEM majors are encouraged to apply. [Read more…]

Roane State hosts Tennessee Promise day in its Community Garden

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Promise Garden

Front from left, students Shelley Edwards, Angelo Ferrante, and Jeremiah Johnson work to get Roane State’s Community Garden ready for its next crop. Food grown in the garden is donated to local charities. In back from left, Roane State President Chris Whaley and alumni relations director Tamsin Miller also pitch in. (Submitted photo)

 

Service is becoming an important part of Jeremiah Johnson’s education.

“You do not really think about all the needs in the community until you serve in the community,” said Johnson, a Roane State Community College freshman. “It has opened me up to things. It has helped me as a person.”

Johnson receives the tnAchieves scholarship, which offers two years of community college tuition-free. The statewide Tennessee Promise program was based on tnAchieves. [Read more…]

Roane State, TCAT hosting job fairs to seek instructors

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Roane State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Harriman are hosting job fairs to seek instructors for courses.

Instructor positions are available on an as-needed basis and are not full-time positions.

A job fair will be held on Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. A second fair will be held on Thursday, May 21, from 4-7 p.m. at the college’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences at 132 Hayfield Road.

Instructors are sought for courses in the following areas: computer skills, leadership, communication skills, supervisory training, team-building and motivation, customer service, lean manufacturing, quality control, management, practical nursing, nursing aide, IV-push certification, phlebotomy, welding, industrial electricity, industrial automation, and other subjects.

For more information, contact Sonya Parker at (865) 481-2031 or parkers@roanestate.edu.