Fentress County leaders gathered with State Officials Monday to celebrate the opening of the county’s new $25 million Higher Education Campus.
Roane State Community College President Chris Whaley said the 26,000-square-foot facility represents a shared commitment to student success between the college and TCAT.
“It is hard to imagine, in fact, I think it’s more than hard, I think it’s impossible to imagine a community that is more deserving of a facility like this,” Whaley said. “You all have worked so hard, for so long.”
Whaley said the campus was made possible through a historic state budget appropriation that allows both institutions to operate under one roof for the first time in the county’s history.
Tennessee State Senator Ken Yager said the project, in connection with TCAT Huntsville, moved forward after a $25 million request to Governor Bill Lee in 2021. The want, a replacement for the temporary, leased spaces the schools had used for two decades.
Yager said the lack of a permanent home previously prevented the institutions from offering a full continuum of programs to local students.
“The statistics were telling us that many of our students were not getting, taking the opportunities for a post-secondary education because many of them did not have the means or the or the expense to drive out of county to go to a school an hour’s drive from here,” Yager said. “By making the investment in this facility in this building to give students an opportunity to get an education whether it is a degree or certificate or diploma is life changing.”
Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Dr. Flora Tydings said the facility is part of a broader $1.5 billion investment in the state’s technical and community college system over the last three years. Tydings said the co-location of the two schools ensures that students can transition between technical training and academic degrees without repeating coursework.
“The economic development of every single community depends upon the work that we do in these buildings,” Tydings said. “Our students should be able to take the courses they need and not have to repeat any classes when they go from the technical college to the community college or from the community college to the technical college.”
Outgoing Fentress County Executive Jimmy Johnson said the project was the result of years of advocacy and local collaboration, including meetings with school superintendents and state officials. Johnson said the central location of the campus removes the barrier of long commutes for residents in rural areas like Pall Mall and Clarkrange.
“There shouldn’t be a reason for adults also that wants to have education or to further their education right here because you have it in high schools and and now you have a college here and you have a vocational school here and so educational wise, you know don’t tell what I could have been,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be in new hands and I’m sure he’ll do a great job but but thank you and God bless Fentress County God bless this school system our school system United States and let’s bless everybody.”
Whaley said the college is now shifting its focus toward establishing a $1 million scholarship endowment specifically for Fentress County students. Whaley said the goal is to ensure that unexpected costs, such as textbooks or car repairs, do not prevent students from completing their education at the new center.
The Ken Yager & Jimmy Johnson Building sits on land provided by Fentress County to help move the facility forward.
