Oak Ridge Today

Obama’s visit: Education, manufacturing, a chance to see the president

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President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College

President Barack Obama announces a proposal to offer two years of free community college to responsible students during a half-hour speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15.

HARDIN VALLEY—It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for some, a chance to shake hands with the president of the United States of America or wave at his heavily guarded motorcade as it passed by on a local roadway.

For others, it was a chance to hear about a presidential proposal modeled after a Tennessee program that would make the first two years of community college free to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. That proposal, officially announced at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday, expands on the 20th century idea that all children in the United States are entitled to a public education. In the 21st century economy, the White House said, 12 years of school is no longer enough.

For a much-smaller group, Friday’s visit by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden offered an opportunity to hear an in-person announcement of a new advanced manufacturing hub, the country’s fifth, that will be led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a founding partner. That announcement at Techmer PM in Clinton was highlighted by a 3-D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra that the president joked about receiving for his birthday. [Read more…]

Pellissippi State transcript: Obama proposes free community college for two years

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON AMERICA’S COLLEGE PROMISE

This is a transcript of remarks made by President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley in west Knox County on Friday, January 9. The president was at Pellissippi State to announce a proposal that would make community college free for two years to responsible students across the country. The proposal is modeled on the relatively new Tennessee Promise.

Friday’s visit was the first by a president to Pellissippi State.

Pellissippi State Community College

Knoxville, Tennessee

2:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hey!  Thank you!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Everybody, please have a seat.  Please have a seat.  Well, it is good to be back in Tennessee.  I hope you guys aren’t getting tired of me.  I’ve been coming around a lot lately, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening here.

I want to begin by thanking Joe and Jill Biden.  They’re not just good friends and good partners, but they really believe in the power of education and they really believe in creating those kinds of ladders of opportunity that gave all three of us and Michelle the chances, the incredible opportunities that we’ve had today.  And they understand the promise of America’s community colleges.  Well, Jill really understands it, and Joe — (laughter) — he doesn’t really have a choice.

Before I get into the reason that I’m here today, I want to begin by saying just a few words about the tragic events that we’ve watched unfold in France over the last several hours and days.  And because events have been fast-moving this morning, I wanted to make sure to comment on them. [Read more…]

President Obama’s trip to East Tennessee explained

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President Barack Obama, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Rep. John Duncan at Air Force One

President Barack Obama, front; U.S. senators Lamar Alexander, second, and Bob Corker, third; and Representative John J. Duncan Jr. arrive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa on Air Force One at about noon Friday. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Before President Obama landed in East Tennessee on Friday, a spokesman explained the purpose of the trip to reporters. The 5.5-hour visit included stops at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. were guests, and so was Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Eric Schultz, principal deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill would unveil the president’s plan to make two years of community college free for all responsible students no matter their age during the East Tennessee trip. It was a preview of a “cornerstone” of the president’s State of the Union to Congress on January 20.

Separately, during a stop in Clinton, the president announced a manufacturing innovation hub that involves the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Inspired by Tennessee, Obama proposes free community college for two years

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Bill Haslam at White House with Barack Obama

This is a screen shot from a White House video filmed during a September 23, 2011, event on No Child Left Behind. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, introduces President Barack Obama, right.

 

Inspired by programs in Tennessee and Chicago, President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal to make two years of community college free for anyone who’s willing to work for it, the White House said Thursday.

The White House said 57,000 students representing almost 90 percent of the state’s high school graduating class applied for the Tennessee scholarship program, which is called Tennessee Promise, in the first year. It provides two years of community or technical college to graduating high school seniors free of tuition and fees.

The federal program is called America’s College Promise, and it could benefit roughly nine million students each year, officials said. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year.

The president is expected to announce the proposal in Knoxville on Friday, when he visits Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will join Obama on the East Tennessee trip. [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

Submitted

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…]

Today: Mutt Strutt, Treasure Hunt, Taste of Oak Ridge, Mark O’Connor concert

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There is a lot happening in Oak Ridge Today.

The events include a treasure hunt at the Oak Ridge outdoor pool on Providence Road from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., a Mutt Strutt at PetSafe Dog Park (at Big Turtle Park) from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Taste of Oak Ridge from 4-10 p.m. at the new Oak Ridge Universalist Church on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a concert featuring Mark O’Connor and the Oak Ridge Symphony at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge High School.

There’s also a pancake breakfast from 8-10 a.m. at Applebee’s for ORHS Cross Country Boosters, a Community Mediation Services garage sale from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Eagle building on Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Tennessee Promise signup event for high school seniors from 10 a.m-2 p.m. at the Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge.

Please see the events calendar on Oak Ridge Today for more information.

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…]

Lunch with League: tnAchieves paves path to higher education

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Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas

Graham Thomas, tnAchieves director of community partnerships, will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, September 16, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

tnAchieves, a partnering organization to Governor Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Promise, serves primarily first-generation, low-income students in an effort to increase this population’s likelihood of earning a college credential. While the funding provided by Tennessee Promise is critical to increased post-secondary access, tnAchieves data confirms that working with a mentor further enhances a student’s likelihood of entering the post-secondary pipeline, a press release said. In fact, the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research found that students participating with tnAchieves are nearly 21 percent more likely to enter college. [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…]