Finalists for next president of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville selected. Campus forums set for Dec. 13.

Three finalists for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Nashville have been selected. All three will participate in campus public forums on the Nashville campus Dec. 13, the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are: 

• Robin Cole Jr., Dean of Business and Technologies, Southwest Tennessee Community College
• Nathan Garrett, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Workforce Alignment, Tennessee Board of Regents
• Patrick Wade, Vice President, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville

The campus forums are scheduled consecutively on Dec. 13 at the main campus at 100 White Bridge Road in Nashville, starting with Garrett at 9 a.m. CT, Cole at 10 a.m., and Wade at 11 a.m. Anyone wishing to participate in the forums via Microsoft Teams video conferencing should contact Sandra Glavin at TCAT Nashville at sandra.glavin@tcatnashville.edu or 615-425-5540 by 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10.

The finalists’ resumes, the forum schedule, and other information about the TCAT Nashville search are available for review on the Tennessee Board of Regents website at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/executivesearches/president-tcat-nashville.

The next president will succeed the late Mark Lenz, who passed away Sept. 8 after serving as TCAT Nashville’s president for 12 years.

After the campus forums and visits, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings will gather input from the campus community and public and then make a recommendation to the Board for a single candidate. The board will call a special meeting, probably later in December, to consider the recommendation and appointment of the next president.

The board approved criteria for the next president at its Sept. 24 meeting.

In addition to its main campus at 100 White Bridge Road, Nashville, the college has campuses in Cockrill Bend, Portland and Springfield and also provides career and technical education programs at the Tennessee Department of Correction’s Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center and Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

TCAT Nashville is among the largest of the 27 public Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, which, along with the state’s 13 community colleges, are governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents. TCAT Nashville provides hands-on, college accredited, highly skilled, low-cost career, technical and occupational programs for Tennesseans, including dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, and workforce training and apprenticeships for business and industry. The college offers day and evening classes in 22 different programs in various automotive, aviation, construction, transportation, manufacturing, computer information technology, human services, education, and allied health fields.

More information about the college is available at the college's website: https://tcatnashville.edu/