Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a longtime partner of Pellissippi State Community College, has pledged $100,000 to support Pellissippi State’s new center for math and science on its Hardin Valley Campus.
Andy Page, ORAU president and CEO, and Eric Abelquist, ORAU executive vice president and chief research officer, presented the donation to L. Anthony Wise Jr., president of PSCC.
“We are excited to be able to help Pellissippi State realize its vision for a new science and math building on the Hardin Valley Campus,” Page said. “It’s exciting to think how many young scientists, engineers and mathematicians this new building will serve in the coming years.”
ORAU, which manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy, demonstrates its commitment to science, technology, engineering and math education and the STEM workforce through its support of Pellissippi State – both financially and through countless hours of volunteer time and expertise assistance.
Through the support of ORAU, Pellissippi State offered an annual middle school mathematics contest for 18 years. More than 10,000 students from 32 East Tennessee schools participated in the annual event, which was free for them to enter.
ORAU also partnered with Pellissippi State to offer an advanced manufacturing internship, a six-week program designed to prepare students to enter this high-tech workforce, and provided scholarship support to Pellissippi State students, who worked as math tutors during their time at the college.
Pellissippi State will break ground on the $27 million math and science center at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, at 10915 Hardin Valley Road. The 82,000-square-foot building will include 18 classrooms, six computer labs and nine science labs, as well as a teacher education center. It’s projected to open for classes in fall 2021.
Julia Wood is director of marketing and communications for Pellissippi State Community College.