Moe Khaleel (left), associate laboratory director of ORNL's Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, presents a symbolic check to Pellissippi State Community College President L. Anthony Wise Jr.
UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy, has donated $5,000 to the Pellissippi State Community College Foundation to advance STEM education for community college students across East Tennessee.
Moe Khaleel, associate laboratory director of ORNL's Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, presented a check to Pellissippi State Community College President L. Anthony Wise Jr. during a ceremony at ORNL on Monday.
"ORNL is proud to support the expansion of educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Pellissippi State," Khaleel said. "Developing the highly skilled workforce of the future is essential for our nation's security and economic competitiveness."
ORNL's contribution to the Campaign for Pellissippi State will help provide updated facilities, state-of-the-art equipment, new programs and financial resources for students.
With more than 10,600 students and five campuses, Pellissippi State Community College is the largest two-year, public community college in Tennessee. Its Hardin Valley Campus is located just miles from ORNL.
"Not every community college can say they have a world-class national laboratory in their backyard," Wise said. "Our continuing partnership with ORNL gives students opportunities to see how their science, math and engineering classes here can catapult them into a variety of exciting and lucrative STEM careers. Our student success in these areas helps build the workforce that our community needs to remain competitive in the future."
During the 2019 fiscal year, Pellissippi State supported STEM education by breaking ground on the Bill Haslam Center for Math and Science, an 82,000-square-foot laboratory and multi-purpose educational building. Pellissippi State additionally hosts the Tennessee Science Bowl for high school students and a middle school math competition.
