Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee Higher Education Commission awards Roane State a Tennessee Promise Forward Grant

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Tennessee Promise Logo

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has awarded a $91,940 Tennessee Promise Forward grant to Roane State Community College to develop and expand innovative student success and retention programs.

Through the grant, Roane State will work to enable more Tennessee Promise students to earn a post-secondary credential, a press release said.

“Across our state’s community colleges, great work is being done to ensure that the students who begin college with the Tennessee Promise go on to earn a credential,” said Mike Krause, executive director of Tennessee Higher Education Commission, or THEC. “Tennessee Promise Forward grants provide community colleges with the opportunity to expand successful programs and develop innovative student supports. From parent engagement pilots to service learning, THEC is excited to see the impact that this year’s Tennessee Promise Forward grants have on student success.” [Read more…]

Roane State receives $2 million federal grant

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Roane State Community College Logo

Roane State Community College has received a $2 million federal grant to support student success initiatives.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions grant will fund various projects to help students plan their academic goals and achieve them. The $2,013,554 grant will be distributed over five years, with the first installment of $446,493 this fall.

“My role on the House Appropriations Committee allows me to take an active role in securing funding for vital grants such as this,” said Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. “I’m proud to help support Roane State Community College in their work to prepare students for successful careers.”

Grant-funded initiatives will include the purchase of class scheduling software and the addition of more Success Coaches to work one-on-one with students. [Read more…]

Candidate visit: Cruz vows to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ calls for abolishing IRS

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Ted-Cruz-Sign-Farragut-High-Dec-23-2015

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m.

FARRAGUT—Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday.

Cruz spoke for about 30 minutes in the Farragut High gym before a standing-room-only crowd of roughly 2,000 people, who helped him celebrate his 45th birthday with a birthday song and cake. The East Tennessee rally was held a little more than two months before the March 1 “SEC primary.”

A first-term Texas senator, Cruz said he plans to rescind every unconstitutional executive order, ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood, end the persecution of religious liberties, and “rip to shreds” the Iranian nuclear deal, which he called “catastrophic.”

Cruz also said the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, and welfare benefits should end for people who are in the country illegally. He pledged to protect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, called for killing the Environmental Protection Agency, and jokingly compared regulators to locusts, with a difference being that pesticides can be used to control locusts. [Read more…]

Roane State receives $27K grant for outreach, support for adult students

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

The main Roane State Community College campus in Harriman. The college also has a branch campus in Oak Ridge.

Roane State Community College has received a $27,310 Tennessee Higher Education Commission Ready to Reconnect grant to support adult students.

The grant will fund communication tools (email newsletter, texting services, and mailings) that will help adult students better understand their degree options and how to navigate the enrollment process. The grant will also pay for training that will teach faculty how to assess whether adults’ work experience could count toward college credit.

“Increasing outreach to adult students and improving the process for awarding adults college credit for their work experience are two key areas that can lead to more adults completing degrees,” said Diane Ward, Roane State vice president for student learning. “With the Ready to Reconnect grant, we can take major steps forward in these areas and better serve adult learners in our communities.” [Read more…]

DOE-ORO employees teach Woodland students the fun of math, science

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DOE Environmental Management at Woodland STEM Night

Employees from the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management took part in Woodland Elementary’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) night on Thursday. (Photos by DOE/Lynn Freeny)

Employees from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management participated in Woodland Elementary’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM, night on Thursday. Employees volunteered to help students from kindergarten through fourth grade forge a love for math and science and realize the possibilities these disciplines offer.

“It’s rewarding any time you can participate in the education process,” said Jay Mullis, director of the Engineering, Safety, and Quality Division with DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. “These kids are in the stage when learning is new and fun, and it’s the perfect opportunity to lay a great foundation and appreciation of the sciences.”

The event involved numerous local sponsors and community groups that helped design and share fun, educational activities for students at Woodland Elementary in Oak Ridge. Kids had the opportunity to learn through robots, Legos, gummy bear catapults, astronomy, spaghetti and marshmallow tower-building competitions, and math code busters. Specifically, Environmental Management employees taught participants how to create their own lava lamps. [Read more…]

Pellissippi State receives $4.6 million federal grant

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez on Wednesday announced $474.5 million in grants to community colleges and universities around the country, including Pellissippi State Community College, for the development and expansion of innovative training programs in partnership with local employers, a press release said.

The 57 grants will support 190 projects in at least 183 schools in every state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Pellissippi State’s grant is valued at about $4.6 million. Located near Oak Ridge in west Knox County, the community college is the leader of a consortium that received a total of roughly $12.7 million. [Read more…]