Despite economic woes, Pellissippi State graduation numbers are up.

The spring graduation class numbered 776 students, with 266 more students fulfilling graduation obligations this summer. Many of these walked across the stage at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Friday night (May 10).This brings Pellissippi’s yearly graduation numbers to more than 1,400 students.

This spring’s class marks the third straight year that the spring graduates have increased. Rebecca Ashford, vice president of student affairs, said, “Community colleges usually do the opposite of the economy. People lose their jobs, then decide it’s time to get an education.”

Pellissippi State is hosting an art exhibit with a twist.

Exhibitors are not fine-arts students at all, said Erin Simpson, coordinator of Web authoring. ”These students are, in fact, graphic designers putting together an exhibit to celebrate the world artistry behind communication graphics,” she said.

The exhibit will be on display at the Bagwell Arts Center on Pellissippi’s Hardin Valley campus from 10 a.m.  to 6:30 p.m. through Friday, May 10.

Similar to Andy Warhol, who got his degree in graphic design, these students are pursuing an associate of applied science in media technology, with a concentration in communication graphic technology, she said.

The exhibit is open to the public free of charge. Complimentary refreshments will be served to all attending.

The ninth annual Swing Big for Students golf tournament will be teeing off  Tuesday, May 7, at Egwani Farms in Rockford.

Two start times will be offered, with the first tee-off at 8 a.m. and the second at 1 p.m.

“The tournament has been a great success throughout the years, bringing in $11,000 last year for sports-related majors and the greatest-needs funds,” said Peggy Wilson, vice president of college advancement.

The tournament has been slowly growing over the past eight years, she said. “With 16 teams already registered for the tournament, we are expecting about the same turn-out as last year,” said Wilson.

A portion of the earnings comes from participants, but the school relies on sponsors for the majority of the funds. Over the past eight years, participants and sponsors have helped raise more than $114,000 for scholarships, new equipment and technology and  the new building at Strawberry Plains.

“The tournament has been a great success for us in the past, and this year we expect nothing less this year,” said Wilson.

Outstanding student  achievement will be recognized Friday at 3 p.m. in the Goins Cafeteria.

The Student Leadership and Service Recognition Awards will recognize organizations such as new-student orientation leaders, ambassadors and the Student Activities Board.

“Since we have so many new organizations this year, it will be interesting to see who will get the awards,” said student success mentor Christine Venak.

The ceremony will also include a new service component not seen in previous years. Seven additional awards to students, campus and community groups, faculty and staff will be handed out courtesy of Dr. Annie Gray.

Knowledge is power, and it is at its most powerful when put to real-world use.

Eleven brief presentations by Pellissippi’s Service-Learning Program will prove this point at the 2013 Service Expo on May 3. Beginning at 2 p.m. in the Goins College Center, each presentation will honor the accomplishments of a class or individual in the program.

The purpose of the program is to directly apply what is learned in the classroom to real events in a way that benefits the community. “This semester, we are well on our way to $100, 000 of economic impact, which, of course, would only be possible with the faculty and students who donate their time,” said Catherine Carr with AmeriCorps VISTA for the Service-Learning Program.

Accomplishments to be featured at the event include a catering class that volunteered at Breakthrough Autism and a project management class that hosted a Halloween event.

Students who attend the Service Expo may register for one of two Mini iPads and a Kindle Fire.

Music will be in the air Thursday night as Pellissippi’s choral program presents its final concert of the semester.

The choir will present a visual adventure of the group’s visit to Spain this year, said Bill Brewer, director of Pellissippi’s choral program. The group will sing as videos and photographs flash above them, he said.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the Hardin Valley campus. Brewer said  the event will be free, but donations will be accepted for scholarships.

Students graduating in May are invited to eat breakfast with Pellissippi President Anthony Wise.

He will be dining with graduates at three additional Pellissippi campuses. He attended a breakfast on the Magnolia campus last week.

The breakfasts are to celebrate the accomplishments of those set to graduate, said Brooke Pannell, alumni relations coordinator.

Below are the dates for the breakfasts on each additional campus.

• Tuesday, April 30, Hardin Valley Campus, Goins Building College Center
• Wednesday, May 1, Blount County Campus, Dining Room
• Friday, May 3, Division Street Campus, Dining Room.

To R.S.V.P., e-mail Pannell at alumni@pstcc.edu or call (865) 539-7275

This event is sponsored by the Pellissippi State Alumni Association.

by Justin Baranski

Lawmakers in Nashville shot down a bill earlier this month that would have allowed students to  vote using their college ID cards as a valid form of identification.

The bill also prohibits using library cards as identification, which received national attention last year.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, said it’s just an attempt to make voting harder.  ”There’s more validity to a college ID than a person getting a driver’s license.  You have to provide more information to register for college than to vote.”

Opponents’ biggest concern was students’ duplicating college IDs, but Kyle said that there is no requirement for a photo ID to register to vote.

Sen. Stacey Campfield, R- Knoxville, did not support this bill, citing that college IDs are easily copied.  He also was concerned about the residency. The students’ residences might be in a different district than the college attended.

Most Democrats see this as a measure to hold back the typical college voter, who turned out heavily for Obama in 2008.  ”This is an attempt by Republicans to prevent losing votes,” Kyle said.

The bill can be reintroduced next year, but Kyle doesn’t see much changing until the next state elections in 2014.

by Nicole Hedger

Pellissippi State will be arming its security guards.

“We want to make sure that the campus environment is as safe and secure as possible,” said Pellissippi president, Dr. Anthony Wise.  The guards are going through “a series of psychological tests that they have to take, and certifications they have to get” in order to carry the firearms.

Pellissippi has been considering this decision in the past, but Wise said, “We just feel like this is the appropriate time to do it.  We had one of our guards retire, and we’re starting a new search, so it seemed like this was a good time to make that transition.”

The college will also be conducting a security audit over the course of the summer.  An outside group is being brought in to evaluate all of the school’s practices and procedure “to make sure we have the right kind of notifications in place, and the right kind of communication tools,” said Wise.  “(This is) so that we have all the tools we need in place in order to make the campus as safe and secure as possible.”

Tennessee has been a friend to Pellissippi State in renovating the new Strawberry Plains campus.

The state has given us $8.5 million to help pay for the new campus, which costs $10 million total,” said Peggy Wilson, director of the Pellissippi Foundations. The other $1.5 million has been paid by the foundations.

The buildings at the new campus, formerly a manufacturing site, are now being renovated, and new equipment for labs and other classrooms is being added. President Anthony Wise, Wilson and others meet with individuals and groups on a regular basis to raise funds for the renovations.

“After following all the necessary steps to gain the interest of the individuals or groups, we inform them that we will name buildings, labs, auditoriums and classrooms (as they wish), depending on the amount of the donations,” said Wilson.

Wilson praised Wise and the foundations committee for working diligently to make this new campus and renovations as cost efficient as possible for the school. The renovations for the new campus are well underway and will soon be ready, she said.