News

The Tennessee Board of Regents today appointed Willie Huffman as the next president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie, and approved criteria for the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville.

The College System of Tennessee honored the outstanding students, faculty and staff members, two colleges of the year and the philanthropists, volunteers and partners who support them in the system’s third annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Awards ceremony today.

The six individual SOAR Award winners are from Chattanooga State, Southwest Tennessee and Walters State Community Colleges and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Oneida, Pulaski and Shelbyville.

The third annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Awards for the system’s outstanding students, faculty and staff members, will stream live at 8:25 a.m. CT, Thursday, March 25.

Visit the SOAR Page for More Information and to View the Stream

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its next quarterly meeting March 25. The agenda includes consideration of appointment of the next president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie, proposed criteria for the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville, new program proposals and other items.

Today the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Dr. Tachaka Hollins as a Fellow for the 2021 Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE – sponsored by ECMC Foundation (PLSP-ECMCF). The program’s review committee selected 20 participants for the 2020-2021 cohort.  The PLSP-ECMCF will support current and aspiring leaders in career and technical education (CTE). The goal is to provide professional and career growth opportunities to the next generation of leaders at nonprofits and postsecondary institutions offering CTE programs. 

Cleveland State Community College is celebrating the opening of the first new building on its main campus in more than 40 years – the new Health & Science Center.

Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings and other state and local leaders joined President Bill Seymour, students and other college representatives for a grand opening ceremony March 5. Classes will start in the new 54,000-square-feet facility March 15.

A Search Advisory Committee has selected two finalists for the next president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie. The candidates will participate in online campus interviews and public forums on Thursday, March 11 for members of the public and the campus communities to learn more about them – the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are:

The Tennessee Board of Regents’ committee chairs and its Audit Committee will meet Tuesday, March 9, 2021, to receive updates and review a number of items in advance of the full board’s next quarterly meeting March 25.

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges are celebrating national Open Education Week this week (March 1-5), as part of a statewide collaboration among colleges and universities in lowering textbook costs by expanding the use of freely available, openly-licensed Open Educational Resources (OER).

Dr. Allana Hamilton headed to college more than 35 years ago intending to become a medical doctor. Later, as a graduate teaching assistant in biology, and in summers as a state park naturalist helping visitors learn about the park’s plant and animal life, she discovered a love for teaching and changed her career path to education.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has entered into a collaborative partnership with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville and Knoxville College that reinforces UT’s commitment to connect the university’s knowledge and resources with the community in mutually beneficial ways, UT announced Thursday.

Roane State Community College is one of just four colleges across the country to earn Leader College of Distinction status, the highest designation offered to institutions in the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Network.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold a second Strategic Plan Workshop with TBR staff on Feb. 12, 2021, in which board members will continue discussing the current mid-cycle review of the 2015-25 Strategic Plan for the College System of Tennessee.

Great news for adults who want to start or finish college and high school students who want to take for-credit college classes!

Southwest Tennessee Community College has won the prestigious national 2021 Bellwether Award in the category of Planning, Governance and Finance. The highly competitive award recognizes community colleges for their cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that are worthy of replication.

The presidents of two Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have been re-elected to the governing board of the Council on Occupational Education, and two others are members of key COE committees.

Dr. Carol Puryear, president of TCAT Murfreesboro, and Dr. Jeff Sisk, president of TCAT Jackson, were re-elected to new three-year terms on the 19-member Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) during COE’s recent Annual Business Session.

Austin Peay State University and Nashville State Community College recently signed an agreement to help students complete their degree or pursue additional degrees. The agreement formalizes the ability of a student who completes an associate degree at Nashville State to be granted admission to select undergraduate programs at APSU.  

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold a Strategic Plan Workshop with TBR staff on Jan. 22, 2021, in which board members can discuss the current mid-cycle review of the 2015-25 Strategic Plan for the College System of Tennessee.

The virtual workshop will convene online at 9 a.m. CT, Friday, Jan. 22, and is expected to end by 10:30 a.m. The session is public, and anyone interested in observing may contact Board Secretary Sonja Mason at sonja.mason@tbr.edu or 615-366-3927 for log-in information.

High school seniors and college students applying for the Tennessee Promise scholarship and Tennessee Student Assistance Award programs, take heart: you have an extra month – to March 1, 2021 – to file your FAFSA application this year.

Due to conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission/Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation extended the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline and the priority FAFSA deadline for the Tennessee Student Assistance Award from Feb. 1 to March 1 of this year.

Students, faculty and staff at Tennessee’s community and technical colleges collected nearly 76,000 food items, including almost $28,000 in cash donations, for food pantries on their campuses and food banks and other organizations in their communities during the College System of Tennessee’s 22nd Annual Food Drive Challenge.