Search committee selects Laura Travis as finalist for President of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Dickson. Public forum set for Nov. 3

A search advisory committee has selected Laura Travis as the sole finalist for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Dickson. She will participate in a campus interview/public forum at TCAT Dickson Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.

Travis is currently the college’s executive vice president of academic affairs and compliance. She joined TCAT Dickson in 1998 as health affairs coordinator, and her responsibilities expanded to academic affairs coordinator in 2015. She was appointed the college’s vice president in 2020, and then to her current position in 2021.

She earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a master of science in nursing administration, both at Tennessee Technological University. Prior to joining the TCAT Dickson faculty, she worked as a registered nurse and team leader at Homecare Solutions in Dickson and previously as a registered nurse at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. Her complete resumé and other information about the search are posted on the Tennessee Board of Regents website at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/executivesearches/president-tcat-dickson.

The campus interview/public forum is scheduled for 10 a.m., Nov. 3, at TCAT Dickson’s main campus, 740 Highway 46 South, Dickson, TN 37055.

Following the forum, TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings will review feedback from the campus community and the public and make a final recommendation to the Board of Regents, which appoints presidents of all community and technical colleges in the system. The board will consider the appointment in a special called meeting, to be scheduled later.

The next president will succeed Dr. Arrita Summers, who is retiring effective Dec. 1, 2023, after serving as TCAT Dickson’s president since 2014 and 30 years of service in leadership and faculty roles at TCATs Dickson, Nashville and Crump. The Board of Regents approved the search criteria for the next president in a meeting Aug. 15.

Regent Emily J. Reynolds chaired the search advisory committee, which also included fellow Regents Nisha Powers and Vanessa Pilkinton and representatives of the college’s faculty, staff, alumni and the broader community. The committee reviewed 26 applicants from across the country before deciding on its recommendation.