A supplement to farragutpress, May 28, 2015
40
years years
Wise, Edwards, Goins reflect on growth, success of Pellissippi State Community College
Dr. Allen Edwards said he observed “a pretty limited vision of what a community college could and should be” at Lexington (Kentucky) Community College, where he was president for seven years into the early 1990s. So he headed south. Dr. L. Anthony Wise Jr. said he “never intended to stay in the community college sector” when starting “on a one-semester contract teaching history in January 1998” at Pellissippi State Community College. “But I fell in love with the mission of community colleges,” Wise, PSCC president since 2011, added. J.L. Goins brought his extensive experience as a vocational/technical school educator/administrator to PSCC from 1981 to 1993, helping the school transition into a comprehensive community college — allowing its students to transfer to fouryear colleges and universities — while overseeing Goins expansion to a new main campus at Hardin Valley and new satellite campus in Blount County. All three educators found a home worthy of putting down long-term See FORTY YEARS on Pg 3
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roots along Hardin Valley Road as the three most recent presidents of PSCC, which is celebrating 40 years of growth and success. With more than 10,000 students currently enrolled, PSCC has created a stellar reputation worthy of a visit from President Barack Obama in January. Redefining its image while opening four satellite campuses, PSCC also has partnered with several fouryear universities and colleges making for a more seamless student transition toward bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees. PSCC has stood tall as compared to other Tennessee community colleges, and even nationally, with awards and special accomplishments. During the 2010-11 school year, PSCC was No. 1 nationwide among two-year colleges in the number of its student studying abroad. “The college awarded 1,258 associate’s degrees in 2013, more than any other two-year college in the state, according to the Tennessee Wise Higher Education Commission,” a PSCC press release stated. “What the founding faculty and staff of the college believed in was a commitment to our students, helping them be successful and find a way into the work force and successfully transfer to four-year colleges and universities, “Wise said. “… That’s something certainly that we’ve worked very hard on with our proximity to UT, for a long period of time. Building those relationships. … With Tennessee Transfer Pathways we have great relationships that really spread throughout the state. Our public four-year partners and our private four-year partners have adopted a lot of those pathways. It’s really a great thing for our students.” Emphasizing a “special relationship with UT,” Wise added, “We’ve got the Volunteer Bridge Program, which allows students to spend their first year here at Pellissippi State and then transfer to The University of Tennessee. They get to live that first year on campus. Really a unique partnership and relationship.” Among PSCC associate degree graduates, “About a third of them will go directly into
the workforce. We’ve got a great job placement record that we’re very proud of,” Wise said. “The others will make transfers to our [four-year] partners. We know our students perform as well or better” versus the general campus enrollment. While PSCC “has grown a lot over the last few years; certainly over the course of the 40-year history of the institution,” Wise added that Tennessee Promise, where high school students can sign up for two years of free community college education paid by the state, has become “a great thing for Pellissippi State.” Because of TP, “We now have students making decisions about attending a community college a year ahead of time just like they would any other college or university,” Wise said. “And that’s a great thing because they take the time to prepare, they d the financial aid form, they get a chance do t work with a mentor, they get advised in to a timely fashion. They register, they go to o orientation. They do all the things that help Photos submitted s students be successful. Allen Edwards, Pellissippi State Community College’s president from 1993 to 2011, leads a “We’re doing away with final registration i August because the reality is 95 percent convocation ceremony in 2008. in o students are registered ahead of time of a they’re ready to go and they’ve thought and a about what they want to do when they get here,” added Wise, also a former PSCC Academic vice president and former head of Students conduct an the school’s Liberal experiment in one of Arts Department. Pellissippi State ComDespite the munity College’s growth, “We still science labs. have small classes and we still know who our students are,” Wise said. Mauer Wise said PSCC is ideal for students “who have incredible stories of difficulties they face in term of their personal circumstances. “Having access to a community college Pellissippi State and having a place where they get the kind Community College of support they need in order to be successful really can change their lives,” Wise students can choose added. to attend class at one Employing more than 500 full-time facof the college’s five ulty and staff and more than 400 part-time campuses in Knox and on its five campuses, PSCC’s “economic Blount counties. impact on East Tennessee —measured by See FORTY YEARS on Pg 6
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Playing in the
dirt Partnership between Pellissippi State, town of Farragut grows
Photo submitted Top: Students in Lauren George Smith’s class at Farragut High School plant food crops at Farragut’s Outdoor Classroom off North Campbell Station Road.
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Pellissippi State Community College has partnered with town of Farragut’s Outdoor Classroom. As part of that partnership, the college’s geology students studied soil porosity and hydrologic cycle while building a rain garden in the Outdoor Classroom, located at the entrance of Farragut High School off North Campbell Station Road. “It was great to see the students working together and working hard,” Dr. Kathleen Affholter, an associate professor in geology who traveled with her class from Pellissippi State’s Blount County Campus to the Outdoor Classroom, said. “The college supports partnerships. “They understand the need for the students to get out into the community to see our accomplished students,” Affholter added. “Our students gained some real experience. There was a need, and we tried to meet that need. This is a situation that they will encounter again and again.” The partnership between Pellissippi State and the Town began in fall 2014 when Affholter asked Caroline Erickson, a geology adjunct instructor, to find a service learning project. “I was looking for a project that would tie in what students were studying in the classroom with hands-on learning in a setting that would benefit both the students and the community,” Erickson said, adding students carried out various projects in the demonstration space, studying the soil’s porosity and permeability before they installed the plants. Affholter said Erickson connected with Jason Scott, Farragut Stormwater coordinator, who had a project to build a See DIRT on Pg 7
File Photo President Barack Obama, at podium, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden visited Pellissippi State Community College Jan. 9, 2015, to announce America’s College Promise, which would make college tuition free across the nation.
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the value of business volume, jobs and individual income — is estimated at about $1.3 billion over the five-year period from 2008 to 2013,” a PSCC press release stated. State Technical Institute of Knoxville was founded in 1974 at 3435 Division St. in downtown Knoxville with an enrollment of “45 students” and 12 faculty and staff, Wise said. John C. Mauer was named director. Dr. Wayne Jones Jones was its first president (1975-1981). During that time, with an enrollment up to roughly 1,000 by 1979, the future PSCC expanded to a site at the former Lakeshore Mental Health facility in West Knoxville. “It was interesting situation trying to recruit students to attend college in the middle of a mental institution,” Goins said. However, Goins “made the transition from it being strictly a technical college, it started out as State Technical Institute of Knoxville, to a comprehensive community college,” Wise said. Within school history, 1988 is especially memorable — perhaps a turning point year: PSCC moved to its main campus, a 44-acre site in Hardin Valley, where it shared space with Roane State Community College for two years. “It was sorely needed,” Goins said. “When I went to work there we didn’t have adequate facilities. … We didn’t have the proper image and there was a lot of confusion about the role of the college.” To fix that problem, Goins said the task was to “get the mission changed to make it more comprehensive, to add the community college part of the mission. That allowed the college to meet the technical training needs for students in business and industry as well as enabling college students to earn a two-year transfer degree and go to The University of Tennessee” or any other four-year college or university. “Pellissippi is the largest transfer institution to The University of Tennessee as far as number of students,” Goins said. “I was proud I was able to establish a transfer agreement while I was at Pellissippi. We got all the faculty department heads at UT
and faculty at Pellissippi and they worked out the articulation agreement. That was probably in 1990 or 1991. … And we worked out articulation agreements with places like Maryville College and some other private schools.” In keeping with the community college mission, Tennessee General Assembly renamed the school Pellissippi State Technical Community College in 1988, and PSCC expanded to a permanent Blount County campus. Goins said a PSCC education can be superior to a student’s freshman and sophomore education at a four-year university because of “two major factors; one, community colleges have small classes, and average of 15 or 20” student per class versus “200” in a major university class. “As a result of those small classes, you have a lot of faculty support. … Students who transfer from Pellissippi to places like The University of Tennessee do as well or better than students who started at UT. “Pellissippi has learning labs for math and English and writing skills and computer skills,” Goins added. “If a student needs additional help to succeed they’ve got it.” Goins recalled the incentives of why PSCC located its main campus in Hardin Valley. “One, the growth in the region was going west. And number two, we decided to build there because that college would serve as a nucleus for economic and business development in West Knoxville,” he said. “… There was infrastructure developed to serve the college. … That was a missing piece for businesses to go there because they needed the infrastructure. “You can go out there now and see what’s happened.” The main campus has expanded to 75 acres with facilities including Lamar Alexander Arts and Science Building (1993), Ned R. McWherter Technology Building (1993), J.L. Goins Administrative Building (1995), 500-seat Clayton Performing Arts Center (1995), Education Resources Center (1995) and Bagwell Center for Media and Art (2007). “Allen Edwards picked up from J.L. and grew it,” Wise said. Edwards, PSCC president from August 1993 (roughly 7,000 enrollment) to June 2011 who remains president emeritus, said his job was to expand the transformation to a comprehensive community college, includ-
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Constance Cook, center, chats with other Pellissippi State Community College students in the Educational Resources Center on the Hardin Valley Campus. Photos submitted
ing “the way it was organized, its culture.” In 1993, PSCC became Tennessee’s first community college to give computer accounts to all of its students (access to Internet and e-mail). A Magnolia Avenue campus, a business development college, was opened in 2000. Around 2005, “Finally we were able to get permission to teach some nursing courses and other things,” Edwards said, adding that while “the technical area” growth had flattened out for a number of years while
expanding as a school, “It started to grow again.” For example, “We got a boost in engineering, we made some changes there. Put in some scholarships. Engineering experienced a huge rebound … right toward the end of my tenure,” Edwards said. “Special programs operated at nights and on the weekends … we were able to do it full scale.” In 2014, PSCC opened its Career Magnet Academy for high school students wishing to experience a college environment.
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rain garden or pocket wetland at the Outdoor Classroom. Erickson applied for a grant from Service Learning to create the rain garden, and Scott offered grant money to support the project, Affholter said. “Participation in the Outdoor Classroom benefits the Town, as it leads to higher levels of civic engagement and community awareness, which leads to healthier enduring communities,” Scott said. “The Town is incredibly interested in increasing civic engagement, and the Outdoor Classroom is an excellent example of a very flexible and hands-on way that people of all ages can learn and grow in our community.” Affholter and Sarah Drummond, a geology adjunct faculty member at Pellissippi State, were teaching environmental classes in spring 2015 on the Hardin Valley and Blount County campuses and committed to the rain garden project. “We’re happy to share this unique partnership with [the Town] now,” Heather Beck, PSCC marketing and communications writer, said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn in a hands-on environment.” “The projects at the outdoor classroom are led by the groups that come here,” Scott said. “Pellissippi State has been great to work with. “They’re coming in to test the soil, come up with concept plans and follow the whole process of building a garden,” he added. Blount County students made their first trip to the Outdoor Classroom Jan. 29 in 30-degree weather. “Students made a ‘shadow puppet’ to show how we began,” Affholter said. In early February, Drummond’s students took soil samples in the Outdoor Classroom garden. The students were studying how quickly water drains from East Tennessee’s clay soil, Scott said. The classes found a U.S. Geological Survey article on rain gardens and pocket wetlands listing the plants that can be used, and Dr. Paul Ramp, professor of biology, interpreted the Latin names into layman plant names and into plants students might find in Tennessee garden stores, Affholter said.
“Dr. Kathleen Affholter and Sarah Drummond’s classes have worked on the rain garden project since the last fall semester and just completed the installation of the rain garden over two work days this week with the support of David Montgomery, a landscaping professional and educator at [The University of Tennessee], who provided additional guidance and materials,” Scott said April 24. On the trips, water was poured in the holes dug by students in the proposed rain garden area, and the rate of water drainage was observed,” Afflholter said. “Soil was collected to determine if its composition is of sand, silt and clay since knowing the type of soil is helpful to know what to plant and where. “Experiments were conducted in the lab on the collected soil,” she said. “Mr. David Montgomery, horticulturist, has offered to help with the project. He had shovels, a truck to haul soil amendment and best of all, knowledge of plants.” Afflholter said the students dug out the space, planted and amended the soil. “Water tolerant plants were placed in the lowest part of the rain garden depression and other plants next to those,” she said. “A big Cyprus tree was planted. “Jason Scott was there the first day of the project to introduce the students to the Outdoor Classroom and the ideas behind a rain garden and was there on planting day,” Affholter said. “Jason also attended the Service Learning Expo.” Scott said the classes did a presentation of one-minute “elevator speeches” and a video Thursday, April 23, at the college. People can see a video at facebook.com/stormwatermatters/videos/vb. 1822966342/10202605851307145/?type= 3&theater. The students won a Project with the Most Significant Community Impact” award, Affholter said. “I’ve loved the hands-on experience that the outdoor classroom has given us,” Rachael Reeves, one of Drummond’s students said. “Sometimes it’s hard to relate what you learn in the classroom to real life, and this class has definitely broken that mold.” “We’re taking soil samples and testing porosity and permeability, and those tests are more meaningful when the students have collected the soil themselves,” Af-
fholter said. “It’s a great learning experience to have hands-on knowledge of what can be an abstract experiment.” “I think the rain garden is great,” she said. “I probably learned the most and know I could attack the same problem again in a more efficient and maybe more effective way.” “The adjuncts, the horiculturist and I worked with them ‘on the same level,’ doing what they were doing — digging, shoveling, planting admiring — working toward the same goal,” Affholter said. “The first time for anything is a learning experience,” she said. “At this point, I don’t know if the rain garden plants will survive through the summer. I don’t feel entirely bad about it, though, because it is an outdoor classroom and, to me, classroom means learning from what works and what does not work.” Affholter used technology, such as a storytelling app called Shadow Puppet, to help her students document their experiments. From that, for example, students Landon Lowe and Catherine Metler created a short video to demonstrate their
experiment, Scott said. Affholter said future classes can benefit from the experience by visiting the rain garden, maintaining it and learning what a rain garden is by seeing one in action. Besides the Pellissippi State students, Scott said Farragut High School students in Lauren George Smith’s classes planted food crops April 24 in one of the Outdoor Classrooms’ raised bed planters and created a demonstration area for warm-season grasses, Scott said. Pellissippi State Community College is a member of Tennessee’s Community Colleges, which is a system of 13 colleges offering education preparing students to achieve educational and career goals in two years or less. Pellissippi State’s geology department, located at its Hardin Valley Road campus, is part of the college’s Natural and Behavioral Sciences Department, which offers courses in anthropology, biology, botany, chemistry, geography, nutrition, physical education, physics, psychology and early childhood and teacher education as well.
CCongratulatio Congratulations ongratulations! Pellissippi State Community College on 40 successful years! Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce 11826 Kingston Pike, Suite 110 • 865.675.7057 • www.farragutchamber.com
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