(L-R) Ginger Hausser, TBR associate vice president for Institutional Advancement, Joy Bishop, Regent Danni Varlan, PSCC President L. Anthony Wise

The Tennessee Board of Regents has presented the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy to Maryville’s Joy Bishop in recognition of her support of Pellissippi State Community College.

The award is part of TBR’s Excellence in Philanthropy Awards recognition program that began in 2003 to recognize individuals, companies and organizations who donate their resources, finances and personal time to TBR institutions. TBR is the governing body for Tennessee’s 13 community colleges and 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

“I am honored to receive this award. I believe in the community college concept, and I particularly support Pellissippi State and its Blount County Campus. Dr. Wise, the faculty and the staff at Pellissippi State have added a great deal to all five of their campuses. I’m just so proud to be a member of the Pellissippi State Foundation Board of Trustees,” Bishop said.

Bishop has been a long-time supporter of Pellissippi State. She provided leadership in two of Pellissippi State’s major gift campaigns, which have resulted in the establishment and the expansion of the college’s Blount County Campus.

“Joy’s financial commitment to the college is just the tip of the iceberg in measuring her impact. She is a natural-born fundraiser who is not shy about asking others to support our institution,” said L. Anthony Wise, president of Pellissippi State.”

Most notably, she also was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Leg-Up Child Care Assistance Program, a program that provides free child care to a number of qualified Pellissippi State students who are single parents. The program is a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Pellissippi State and state-licensed child care centers in East Tennessee.

Program participants must be enrolled in a minimum of six credit-hours, have a 2.0 or better grade-point-average and be working toward a certificate or associate degree program. Leg-Up pays the full cost of weekly child care, after-school costs, registration fees and various activity charges for children between six-weeks-old and age 13.

The financial burden on single parent-students to provide child care while they work, attend school, and take care of their children, is a major factor in determining whether a student will successfully complete college. The annual cost of providing one child with year-round care can exceed $10,000 a year, and many of Pellissippi State’s student-parents have more than one child. Students participating in Leg-Up have shown improved class attendance, better grades and a lower dropout rate.

Bishop says the inspiration for the Leg-Up Program began on a 12-hour plane flight to Southeast Asia with friend Carolyn Forster. The women were on a trip to Vietnam and had a lot of time to think and talk about ways to help the students at Pellissippi State.

“We realized that the cost of child care was a real problem, especially for single parents,” said Bishop. “So we said, ‘We can do something about that,’ and we came up with a plan. We would get the business community to support us, and we would select only highly-motivated students and provide them with mentors in addition to the child care.”

Bishop formed a committee, which included Holly Burkett, the dean of Pellissippi State’s Blount County Campus, did some research on the cost of day care, and wrote out a plan to take to the state.

“Dr. Wise and I went to see the DHS commissioner. [Former] State Senator Doug Overbey [Maryville] met us at the commissioner’s office. Commissioner Hatter was aware of how much child care was a barrier to some students. She was impressed someone was working to do something to keep single parents in school and approved the plan,” Bishop said.

Bishop is quick to share the credit for the success of Leg-Up with her fellow committee members: Marty Black, Jim Proffitt, Carolyn Forster, Ellie Morrow, Gaynelle Lawson, Steve West, Mark Johnson, Greg McLean, Tammi Ford, Tom Bogart, Pam Wolf and Holly Burkett.

In September 2016, Pellissippi State hired Le’John Ellis to manage the program, which has grown steadily and, now, provides quality child care free of charge for 39 student-parents with 60 children in Knox and Blount counties.

“I think Le’John fell from heaven,” Bishop said. “Everyone needs someone to give them a leg up once in their lives. I’m so proud of Leg-Up. It’s perfect, just perfect.”

Bishop, a native of Texas, graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Federal Executive Institute. She spent 30 years in the U.S. Air Force as a civilian and was the first woman to receive an appointment to the Senior Executive Service. Bishop retired in 1990 as one of the highest ranking civilians in the Air Force and put her roots down in Blount County. She then started her own consulting firm, the Emerald Group, which helped underdeveloped countries. Joy serves her community as a member of Maryville Church of Christ, Blount Partnership, Maryville Kiwanis Club, Blount County Library, Maryville College Advisory Board, Clayton-Bradley Academy and Clayton Center for the Arts.

“Joy’s work in the community and with Pellissippi State is transformative. When it comes to volunteering, Joy brings plenty of passion and positivity to the table. Her creativity, motivation and vision inspires all that engage with her. It is an honor to nominate Joy Bishop for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy,” Wise said.

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400.

Local historian Robert J. “Bob” Booker will discuss the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Knoxville during a special presentation at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 15, in the Magnolia Avenue Campus community room. The presentation is free to attend and open to the community.

Booker is a prominent Civil Rights activist who organized downtown Knoxville sit-ins as a student. He was the first African American elected to the Tennessee state legislature from Knoxville in the twentieth century and was instrumental in establishing the Beck Cultural Center. He is currently a Knoxville News Sentinel columnist and the author of the recently-published “An Encyclopedia: Experiences of Black People in Knoxville, Tennessee 1844-1974.”

At all five Pellissippi State campuses, students and employees will share their favorite texts by African American authors during read-ins — essentially a collection of marathon reading events:

• Blount County Campus — 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Feb. 14, lobby
• Division Street Campus — 9:40 a.m.-5 p.m., Feb. 15, lobby
• Hardin Valley Campus — 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Feb. 16, Goins Building rotunda
• Magnolia Avenue Campus — 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Feb. 12, lobby
• Strawberry Plains Campus — 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Feb. 13, lobby

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400. To request accommodations for a disability at one of these events, call 865-539-7401 or email accommodations@pstcc.edu.

Melody and Thomas Smith

In Blount County, Thomas and Melody Smith raised two children and emphasized the importance of a college education to them — although they did not have a college degree themselves.

After their children graduated, the opportunity for Thomas or Melody to enroll in college seemed like a pipe dream. They both had jobs, children and then grandchildren, and they had already worked hard to afford college for their children. It seemed that financial and time constraints would always keep them from a college degree.

Then, earlier this year, they began to see billboards for Reconnect Now at Pellissippi State Community College. Thomas and Melody jumped at the chance.

“When we heard about Reconnect Now, I researched it and told my husband that we would be crazy to pass this up,” Melody said. “It’s our chance to better ourselves as people and at our jobs.”

“We could not have afforded college for ourselves without Reconnect Now,” Thomas said.

Reconnect Now is Pellissippi State’s last-dollar scholarship that covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for qualified adults for the 2017-18 academic year. Participating, qualified students will roll into Tennessee Reconnect when it launches in fall 2018.

Melody, who is a receptionist at Helen Ross McNabb Center Outpatient Services, is studying Administrative Professional Technology with a Medical Office concentration. Thomas, who works for DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, is studying Engineering Technology with a concentration in Automated Industrial Systems.

“I work at DENSO in manufacturing, and a lot of the stuff they’re doing now I am still training on. There are people on my line who do engineering work, and that’s what I’d like to do. I can learn at Pellissippi the technology skills needed to use these new machines,” Thomas said. “I’ve gone as far as I can without a degree, and I’d like to do something different.

“I wish I had come back to college sooner, though I have had a learning curve when it comes to computers and all of that. The last time I was in school, we had spiral notebooks and pencils. The teachers have been wonderful to answer questions and offer tutoring. It’s been really good,” he added.

“It has been tough sometimes to be back in school after 35 years, but it feels good; it feels like an accomplishment,” Melody said. “I think the first few weeks we were both wondering what we had gotten ourselves into! Now we’re into a routine. We know we can do it.”

Both have learned new computer skills as they progressed through their classes, and have found help through resources like tutoring and mentoring in the Educational Resources Center at Pellissippi State. They have also found support from their son and daughter — and even their grandchildren. The couple, married for 31 years, returned to school at the same time their granddaughters, both six years old, entered kindergarten and first grade.

“They were so nervous to start school, so we were able to tell them that we were starting school, too. The only difference is that we don’t take a big yellow school bus to school,” Melody said. “When they have quizzes the same week I do, they will call to ask me how I did on my test. They ask me how many answers I missed and tell me what they missed. I tell them that we can both study and work harder and do better next time.

“Our children, family and friends are so encouraging. They call to check on us, support us and ask if we need help with homework. They are very proud of us and recognize what a huge step this is for us.”

For Melody and Thomas, Reconnect Now has opened the door to a life they did not think was possible for them, though they spent years ensuring it was available for their children. They do not take the opportunity lightly.

“It feels good to take a chance. We can do this. We’re not going to give up,” Melody said.

For more information about Reconnect Now at Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu/reconnect or call 865-694-6400.

Take Back the Night is an international campaign to raise awareness of domestic, relationship and sexual violence. The Blount County event will feature a rally and walk that will start at the Blount County Public Library and process up and down Broadway Avenue. Also at the library, the Maryville Police Department will demonstrate safety and self-defense techniques, and community agencies will present resources for victims of domestic, relationship and sexual violence. The event’s main speaker is from the Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee. The event is not suggested for those under age 18.

“Take Back the Night can be empowering and healing,” said Kim Thomas-LaRue, director of Student Life at Pellissippi State and planner of the event. “We hope to bring about awareness of domestic violence — and if we can help even one person, then this night will be a success.”

The Blount County Public Library is located at 508 N. Cusick Street in Maryville.

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400. For more information about the Blount County Public Library, visit www.blountlibrary.org or call 865-982-0981.

Two classes in the “Our Appalachia” series will explore the history and biology of East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Each class will grant attendees 1.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), which may count towards teacher continuing education requirements.

• Critters in the Coves and on the Crags — Wildlife in the Great Smoky Mountains, 6:15-8:15 p.m., Tuesdays, Sept. 12-Oct. 24. Cost is $89 plus a $15 materials fee. Learn the lore and legends regarding wildlife in the Smokies.
• Family, Faith & Freedom — The Scots-Irish in the Southern Mountains, 6:15-8:15 p.m., Mondays, Sept. 11-Oct.23. Cost is $89 plus a $15 materials fee. Explore the heritage of the Scots-Irish in Appalachia.

Other non-credit courses offered beginning in September:

• Basic Digital Photography, 6:15-8:15 p.m., Thursdays, Sept. 14-Oct. 12. Cost is $119. Learn the basics of exposure, composition, lighting and color theory. Bring your own digital SLR or point-and-shoot camera with manual mode.
• Demystifying Investing, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28. Cost is $39. Explore the investment tools and strategies that can help you reach your financial goals.

For more information about lifelong learning at Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu/bcs or call 865-539-7167.  To request accommodations for a disability for one of these classes, contact the executive director of Equity and Compliance at 865-539-7401 or accommodations@pstcc.edu.

Pellissippi State Community College will see record enrollment this fall.

When classes begin August 28, approximately 11,571 students will walk onto Pellissippi State’s five campuses — which reflects an increase in enrollment of about 10.4 percent over the same day last year.

This fall, the college launched Reconnect Now, a last-dollar scholarship for qualified adult students that covers tuition and mandatory fees. About 2,706 students are eligible for Reconnect Now funding.

The college’s previous record high enrollment was 11,260 in 2011. Pellissippi State has been the largest community college in Tennessee since 2015.

“Our pilot of Reconnect Now has proven that adults in Tennessee have waited for an opportunity like this,” said Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. “Pellissippi State is proud to open the doors of education to everyone.”

Headcount enrollment is up at all five of Pellissippi State’s campuses in Knox and Blount counties, and is up almost 50 percent online.

“Covering the cost of tuition and fees does not meet all of the needs of adults with jobs, families and lives outside of school,” Wise said. “We have expanded the classes and programs we offer online, in the evenings and on weekends to fit adults’ schedules, and we’re pairing adult learners with support services like free child care for qualified single parents, credit for prior learning and even an academic fresh start if they’ve tried college before unsuccessfully.”

Pellissippi State’s Reconnect Now program will last through summer 2018. Next fall, qualified Reconnect Now students at Pellissippi State will transfer into the state’s Tennessee Reconnect scholarship program.

The official enrollment numbers for the semester will be determined and released on September 11.

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400.

The stratosphere as visible from a high altitude balloon. Pellissippi State students, in partnership with NASA, will send a high altitude balloon into the stratosphere during the upcoming total solar eclipse. Watch the eclipse and livestream footage from the balloon at Pellissippi State’s Blount County Campus during Tailgating in Totality.

Pellissippi State Community College invites the community to enjoy a unique view of the total solar eclipse — from the ground and from the stratosphere — on August 21 at its Blount County Campus.

The family-friendly Tailgating in Totality event begins at noon and lasts until 3. Food trucks will be on campus, but attendees are welcome to bring their own food and beverages. Bring your own chairs, blankets, sunscreen and other supplies. Alcohol is not permitted on campus. Please do not bring pets.

Pellissippi State will furnish attendees with eclipse glasses until supplies run out. Parking is limited; arrive early.

Attendees will have a prime viewing spot for the total solar eclipse when it begins at approximately 2:30. The college will be streaming live footage from a high-altitude balloon of the eclipse as well. The footage, produced by Pellissippi State students in partnership with NASA, will provide a unique view of an eclipse from the stratosphere. Hardin Valley Thunder, Pellissippi State’s bluegrass band, will play from 1:15-2 p.m.

Enrollment and student services — including admissions, financial aid, advising and the bookstore — will be closed at the Blount County Campus all day, Aug. 21. These services will be open at all other Pellissippi State campuses.

For more information, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400. To request accommodations for a disability at this event, contact the executive director of Equity and Compliance at 865-539-7401 or accommodations@pstcc.edu.

The free event will feature health exhibitors providing demonstrations, free materials and free health checks from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at 2731 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway. A Medic blood drive will be held on campus from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. that same day.

Exhibitors including AccuQuest Hearing, Alcoa Chiropractic Center, Blount County Eye Center, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Blue Ridge Family Dentistry, Gold’s Gym, Healthy Living Essential Oils, Healthy Mind Counseling Services, Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center, Profile by Sanford Weight Loss Center, Smart Trips, Tennessee Orthopedic Clinic, Tennessee Vein Center and UT Medical Center.

For more information about this event, contact the Blount County Campus at 865-981-5300. To request accommodations for a disability at this event, contact the executive director of Equity and Compliance at 865-539-7401 or accommodations@pstcc.edu.

Pellissippi State Community College students interact with a HABIT dog during finals week.

Pellissippi State Community College, in partnership with Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee, is on track to make all five of its campuses official HABIT facilities.

HABIT is a program that sponsors visits from medically and behaviorally screened dogs, cats and rabbits to facilities like schools, retirement and assisted-living facilities, rehabilitation facilities and hospitals. For many years, Pellissippi State has hosted HABIT animals on its campuses during final exam weeks as a de-stressor for students.

Pellissippi State’s Blount County Campus is the first among the college’s campuses to attain its HABIT facility designation. Pellissippi State is the first community college in the state to be named a HABIT facility.

“I have a Maine Coon cat who is a HABIT animal,” said Betsy Boyd, a counselor on the Blount County Campus. “I have been bringing him by campus to visit, and he became an immediate hit with our students, faculty and staff.”

HABIT facilities can host volunteers with HABIT animals at any time. For Pellissippi State students, that means that comfort animals can be available more than simply during finals weeks.

Elizabeth Firestone, director of Counseling Services at Pellissippi State, said, “We like the idea of promoting visits from HABIT animals to all of our campuses because our students have so much stress in their lives — from the simple stresses of the college workload to the fact that many of our students are juggling multiple roles at home and at school.”

HABIT, which is housed at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, promotes the benefits of human interaction with animals, including lowered stress and improved senses of wellbeing. More information about HABIT is available at vetmed.tennessee.edu.

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400.