Ten of Tennessee’s public universities are coming together for an awareness campaign about the importance of a college education.
While public universities typically compete with each other to enroll students, the University of Tennessee’s “Four The Future” campaign is designed to inform the public about the benefits of obtaining a degree.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced this week that he named three key judicial appointments for newly created state courts.
He appointed Shawn Fry to the 13th Judicial District Criminal Court, Ashleigh Travis to the 19th Judicial District Circuit Court, and Julie Heffington to the 22nd Judicial District Circuit Court.
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Through his charitable foundation, a Tennessee businessman plans to award grants to aspiring Austin Peay State University entrepreneurs in a competition modeled after the popular television show “Shark Tank.”
“Guidance from entrepreneurs and business leaders has played a key role in shaping my career,” said businessman Spencer Patton, who runs The Patton Foundation. “That’s the heart behind the Patton Foundation and the PEG Challenge – to pay it forward by offering education and assistance to young entrepreneurs with big dreams.”
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Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul launched a new program: an incentive to get children ages 5 through 11 to take COVID shots, now that they are available. The program in question has that usual bureaucratic and humorless advertising campaign: “Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate.”
According to the New York State website, “Parents and guardians of children ages 5 through 11 who receive their first vaccine dose by December 19th can enter the State’s incentive program for a chance for their child to win a full scholarship to any two- or four-year SUNY or CUNY college or university; the scholarship includes tuition, room, and board. Ten winners will be announced each week beginning November 24th, with a total of 50 winners being selected over the five-week period.”
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Officials at the Clarksville-based Austin Peay State University announced they will move all of this year’s face-to-face summer classes online, or to other forms of non-face-to-face instruction.
“We appreciate everyone’s hard work and flexibility as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic,” APSU President Dr. Alisa White wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff.
“In order to continue to do what we can to mitigate the spread of the virus and ‘flatten the curve,’ we have decided to move all face-to-face Summer 2020 classes to non-face-to-face instruction.”
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Officials at two Middle Tennessee universities announced this week that they too will make drastic measures because of the coronavirus.
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Officials at Nashville International Airport and other public institutions in Tennessee have announced measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus throughout Tennessee.
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Tennessee is a unique state, not only because we have the greatest citizens, but because of our geography. We border eight states. That can be an advantage and a disadvantage at times. When economic times are good, people want to relocate to our state. When economic times are difficult, it allows residents to move to a neighboring state and pursue more money in their chosen occupation. In education, we lose teachers to our border states on a regular basis.
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More and more international students attend universities in Tennessee. They take the knowledge and the skills they acquire here and apply them back on their home turf. Could that eventually put the United States at a competitive disadvantage? Bill Persinger, spokesman for Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, said he could not answer. “I won’t comment on the political aspects of it, but it’s important for our students to understand global competitiveness,” Persinger told The Tennessee Star Monday. “If we have someone who is a first-time college student who is on a Pell grant or otherwise then the only way they are able to learn other cultures is by bringing international students here. I think that is important for all our students and getting them the best education possible.” Nashville Public Radio reports Vanderbilt and Belmont have more than doubled their international freshman enrollment since 2009. Meanwhile, public universities like Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee State University also have more international students. This, the website, reported is deliberate. Persinger told The Star that Austin Peay has too few international students and it’s important to get more. “The university is a place to challenge your thought process and expose you to…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — As he travels the country speaking to young people, Alberto Gonzales asks them, how big can you dream? Many are afraid of getting laughed at if they talk about their ambitions, or they are afraid of failure, Gonzales said Thursday at a Latinos For Tennessee fundraising reception. But he wants them to know that in America, dreams can still come true. Gonzales is a former U.S. attorney general who served under former President George W. Bush and today is the dean of Belmont University’s Law School. A product of humble beginnings in Houston, Texas, Gonzales spoke of his own life as an example, telling of how his mom lived to see her son become a high-ranking official in the nation’s capital. As another example, he joked that as a young boy he dreamed of the Houston baseball team that became the Astros one day winning the World Series. That dream came true Nov. 1 when the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the title for the first time in their existence as a Major League Baseball franchise. Thursday’s fundraiser at The Standard at the Smith House in downtown Nashville was held to raise financial…
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Latinos For Tennessee will hold a fundraising reception Nov. 16 to support a new internship program for Austin Peay State University students who will serve with both Congress and the Tennessee General Assembly. Guest speakers will include former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, currently dean of Belmont University’s law school; Mary Ann Gomez Orta of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute; and Hergit “Coco” Llenas of American Federation for Children. The event will be held at The Standard at the Smith House in downtown Nashville. Latinos For Tennessee is partnering with Austin Peay and the Washington, D.C.-based Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute to pilot the dual internship program. Participants will be Tennessee students currently enrolled at Austin Peay. Preference will be given to applicants of Hispanic descent. “Our hope is that the program will be expanded to include other partner schools in the state, but for now we are launching this as a pilot program,” said Latinos For Tennessee coordinator Michelle Garcia. The reception Nov. 16 will benefit the two students who will be selected for the first semester of the program. Garcia said the goal is to cover tuition, airfare, housing, transportation, books and a stipend for each of the students.…
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