Oak Ridge Today

Roane State hosts Tennessee Promise day in its Community Garden

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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 participating in prestigious Achieving the Dream National Reform Network

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chris Whaley

Chris Whaley

Roane State Community College is now a part of the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network, becoming one of the first community colleges in Tennessee selected for this nationwide network working to improve student success.

The Achieving the Dream National Reform Network includes more than 200 community colleges. The network is led by Achieving the Dream Inc., a national nonprofit considered one of the most comprehensive, non-governmental education reform organizations in the country.

“We are honored to participate in the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “Through our participation in the network, we will learn evidence-based best practices from other colleges and from the network’s team of experts. Participation in Achieving the Dream gives us an opportunity to learn from the best, and to bring those ideas to Roane State to help our students succeed.” [Read more…]

From cotton picker to college president

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines

Shirley Raines of Oak Ridge has an amazing and inspiring story to tell.

Now president emeritus of the University of Memphis, she will describe her career and provide advice on leadership at the third in a series of Roane State Community College–Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Education Intergenerational Lectures.

Her talk begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the large lecture hall (Room 107) in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Raines will speak on “How a Kindergarten Teacher Became a University President.”

Born in Jackson in West Tennessee, she grew up on a cotton farm outside Bells, where she picked cotton by hand for the family business. She recalled that her mother was very smart and could have been a teacher or lawyer but lacked the opportunity to get a higher education. [Read more…]

Roane State has open house in Oak Ridge on Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge will have an open house on Thursday, April 16. All are invited, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

Check-in will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the Open House will be held from 6-8 p.m. Prospective students will have opportunities to talk one-on-one with faculty and staff; to hear presentations on admissions, majors, dual enrollment and financial aid; and to tour the campus. [Read more…]

TN Promise students can earn community service hours in Roane State garden

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Promise Garden

Roane State student Georgette Boozer works in the college’s Community Garden near the main campus in Harriman. Tennessee Promise students are invited to work in the garden April 25 from 8 a.m.-noon to earn some of their required community service hours. (Submitted photo)

 

Tennessee Promise students can complete up to four hours of their required community service by working in Roane State’s Community Garden on April 25.

The college is hosting a special Tennessee Promise Day in the Community Garden from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturday, April 25. The garden is located near the college’s main campus in Harriman.

Half of the bounty from Roane State’s Community Garden is donated to local charities to help feed the needy. During the spring, help is needed to clear the garden for this year’s crop. [Read more…]

Roane State library in Oak Ridge hosts book sale March 31, April 1

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Coffey Library at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus will host its annual “Love Your Library” book sale March 31 and April 1 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. each day.

The sale will include paperbacks, textbooks, cookbooks, computer software books, children’s books, craft books, and more. Only cash and checks will be accepted. Checks need to be payable to the Roane State Foundation. Prices range from $1-3.

The campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Ave. For more information, contact Christi Moss at (865) 354-3000, ext. 4739, or mosscl@roanestate.edu.

Roane State has ACT Prep Workshop on April 11

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Students can sign up now through April 4 for an ACT Prep Workshop at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus on April 11.

Students will learn hidden rules of the ACT during the workshop, which is presented by Roane State Community College and SailAway Learning at the college’s Oak Ridge campus, a press release said.

Seating is limited, and the registration deadline is April 4. [Read more…]

Genetically modified food the topic of RSCC-ORICL lecture on March 26

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Tessa Burch-Smith

Tessa Burch-Smith

Golden rice is a genetically modified food that could save the eyesight and the lives of many young children in countries where plain rice is the dominant food.

Yet, in many nations it has been called a Frankenfood. Even so, Pope Francis has blessed golden rice. Why?

This question and other issues regarding genetically modified foods will be addressed in the second in a series of lectures sponsored by Roane State Community College, Oak Ridge Branch Campus, and the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning.

The lecture, which is open to the public, will be delivered at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Large Lecture Room (Room 107) of the Goff Health Science and Technology Building at Roane State in Oak Ridge. Refreshments will be available after the lecture. [Read more…]

Healthcare employers invited to participate in Roane State job fair

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Employers are invited to participate in a March 4 job fair for Roane State Community College students who are pursuing careers in health care and plan to graduate this year.

The fair is planned for Wednesday, March 4, from noon-3 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Avenue. The event will be held in the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building. Setup begins at 11 a.m. [Read more…]

Letter: Thanks ORPD for armed intruder training at Roane State

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

I would like to thank the Oak Ridge Police Department for the outstanding training they recently provided to Roane State Community College faculty and staff. The topic was encountering an armed intruder. Working with the college’s police department, the Oak Ridge Police Department organized a full day of intense, hands-on, practical training for approximately 100 faculty and staff members.

The department was a wonderful partner, committed to making sure the training ran smoothly. The officers who led the activities were excellent teachers—professional, enthusiastic, and caring. Our faculty and staff learned a great deal.

Safety is Roane State’s top concern. Thanks to the Oak Ridge Police Department, we are safer. On behalf of Roane State faculty and staff, thank you Oak Ridge Police Department for sharing your expertise with us.

Melinda Hillman

Vice President, Development and Community Relations

Roane State Community College

Grant will allow Roane State to expand mechatronics program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chris Whaley

Chris Whaley

Roane State Community College will use a nearly $1 million state grant to expand its mechatronics program and to pilot offering the program’s first year as dual credit courses for high school students. The college will partner with schools in Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

The mechatronics program trains students to become technicians who operate, maintain, and repair high-tech automated manufacturing systems. Roane State offers a one-year certificate in mechatronics. Through a $970,000 Labor Education Alignment Program, or LEAP, grant, Roane State will create a two-year associate degree in mechatronics. The program will be launched in fall 2015.

“We are honored to receive a LEAP grant, and we appreciate the hard work of our partners and our legislative delegation on the grant,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “The grant is built on great partnerships between Roane State, industries, local school systems and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology. Working together, we will help students learn the skills they need for high-tech manufacturing careers.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge elementary schools’ Hour of Code blends learning, mentorship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Hour of Code

Roane State webmaster Jeremy Pulcifer mentors second-graders during Hour of Code at Glenwood Elementary School. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Learning to code teaches students more than they realize, and they have fun at the same time.

That is why the week-long Hour of Code campaign last month was a valuable experience for elementary school students in Oak Ridge.

“Kids learn best with games,” said Aleshia Wensell, K-4 technology teacher at Glenwood Elementary School. “When they can have fun with learning, they learn faster and have a deeper understanding. That’s what code does. Students are doing a process of elimination. They are doing higher thinking skills. All of this is important for their math or reading comprehension. Code helps in all aspects of their education.”

Glenwood, Linden Elementary School, Willow Brook Elementary School and Woodland Elementary School hosted activities for Hour of Code, a nationwide initiative to excite children about computer science. Code.org, a nonprofit organization that promotes computer science education, provided Hour of Code resources for educators. [Read more…]