Vol State

Commitment to bettering education is being recognized by the North Central P-16 Council. The group recently announced the 2018 BEST (Businesses Empowering Students and Teachers) Award winners. The BEST Award celebrates the accomplishments of community leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs. It recognizes those who share knowledge and expertise, advocate, and foster student success in pre-K through postsecondary education. The P-16 Council is made up of area secondary school educators, higher education leaders and business people.

Celebrated Irish performer, Paul Brock, brings Celtic, Irish and Global music to Volunteer State Community College for two performances. Several Irish musicians and dancers join him in the Paul Brock Band. Brock is an accomplished accordion and melodeon player who has performed at venues across the world, including the Grand Ole Opry. The first free concert will be held on November 14 at 7 p.m. in Caudill Hall on the Vol State campus in Gallatin at 1480 Nashville Pike. No tickets are required.

Science education requires specialized equipment and labs. Teaching technology is constantly evolving. Volunteer State Community College faculty, staff and students celebrated the beginning of a project Friday that will update the science and math facilities on the Gallatin campus. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a $6.2 million renovation of the J. Howard Warf Math and Science Building. The project will update all existing science labs and add two additional labs.

The creator of “The Body Farm” in Knoxville, Dr. Bill Bass, will speak at Volunteer State Community College on Tuesday, October 23 at 10 a.m. in a public lecture. The forensic anthropologist is best known for his work in founding the Anthropology Research Facility at U-T Knoxville. Researchers there study the decomposition of donated bodies in various weather and burial conditions. The findings, including methods to help determine when a person died, revolutionized forensic science and criminal investigation.

The performance group Wulin Hanyun will bring Shaolin Kungfu and Chinese folk music to Volunteer State Community College in November. The Kungfu masters from the Shaolin Martial Academy in the Henan province in Central China combine colorful costumes with acts of physical prowess. The show is sponsored by the Center for Chinese Music and Culture and the Confucius Center at Middle Tennessee State University. The event will be held on Friday, November 2 at 7 p.m. in Caudill Hall on the campus at 1480 Nashville Pike in Gallatin. The show is free and open to the public.

Volunteer State Community College debate students, Elijah Avery of Lebanon and Isaac Montoya of Hendersonville, won first and sixth place, respectively, in the Beginning Novice category at the Smokey Mountains Parliamentary Debate Tournament at Walters State Community College in Morristown recently.

TN Promise and TN Reconnect programs provide tuition-free education for graduating high school seniors and adults. Apply to Vol State now.

Aztec dance group Quetzalli Yolotl will be a highlight of the Fall Fiesta at Volunteer State Community College on October 20. The annual celebration of Latino culture will include a soccer goal kicking contest, with several age categories from kids to adult. The Fiesta is a free event featuring food, music and fun.

The Volunteer State Community College Art Gallery is showcasing the work of two female artists, both working with feminine imagery in a variety of materials, including textiles.  Gallery coordinator, Sue Mulcahy, said that Monica Stewart and Erinn Nordeman challenge the traditional roles of women, and invite the viewer to question the identity and expectations of women today.