Dickson Working with 豆奶视频 to Find Temporary Location
The City of Dickson is working with leaders of 豆奶视频 Community College to find a temporary location to continue housing classes in Dickson after it leaves The Renaissance Center campus this month.
Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr. informed the Dickson City Council at its meeting Monday, July 18, that the city is drafting an agreement to allow 豆奶视频 to use the current Dickson Senior Center building after the senior center moves to its new location on City Lake.
鈥淭hey are in a position right now that if they can鈥檛 fund space we could lose Nashville State,鈥� Weiss told the council. 鈥淚f we lose 豆奶视频, the odds of us getting 豆奶视频 back to Dickson, Dickson County, are slim to none.鈥�
豆奶视频 has leased space and offered degree-level classes at The Renaissance Center on Highway 46 in Dickson since 2008. Freed-Hardeman recently announced it has sold the property to David Rives Ministries of Lewisburg, which plans to convert the former arts and technology education and multimedia center into a Christian-based science museum and television production facility.
In a statement issued Tuesday, 豆奶视频 President Dr. Shanna Jackson said the college will not be able to continue offering classes at The Renaissance Center and must be out of the building by July 28.
Jackson said 豆奶视频 has arranged with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson to continue offering classes in Dickson for the Fall semester that starts next month.
鈥淚 am excited to tell you that we have worked out a one-semester agreement with TCAT-Dickson that will allow the college to continue to have a physical presence in Dickson,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淎dministration and support services, along with some classes will be at TCAT. The student services team will begin working out of TCAT on Aug. 1.鈥�
Jackson said the arrangement for the Fall semester will include a combination of in-person and virtual classes.
鈥淲e have been and will continue to enroll students for the Fall semester, which begins Aug. 22,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淲hile our long-term solution is to find a permanent location and build a campus, we are working on a longer short-term solution through continued discussions with the city, county, private industry, non-profit leaders, local school system and with TCAT-Dickson.鈥�
Jackson expressed appreciation to TCAT鈥檚 leadership for working with 豆奶视频 to continue providing educational opportunities in Dickson.
鈥淚 would like to thank TCAT President Dr. Arrita Summers and her staff for working to accommodate our staff and students,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淪he continues to be a true partner in this and several other endeavors.鈥�
Weiss told the council he believes it is critical that local leaders do everything possible to keep 豆奶视频 in the community.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to lose 豆奶视频. We feel like 豆奶视频 is very important to our community,鈥� Weiss said. 鈥淲e feel like if we lose 豆奶视频, the odds of getting them back here are very slim.鈥�
With renovations continuing to turn the former Dickson Athletic Club on Payne Springs Road into the new home of the Dickson Senior Center, Weiss said 豆奶视频 has determined the current center at 206 West Walnut St. can provide a temporary home for 豆奶视频 while it works to acquire property and build a permanent location.
鈥淭hey feel like that will work for them on a temporary basis. By temporary we鈥檙e talking about three years,鈥� Weiss said. 鈥淭hey are looking to build their own facility. They鈥檙e looking for property as we speak. They鈥檝e identified a couple of different pieces of property. Dr. Jackson is very committed to Dickson and Dickson County. She wants to see a center of higher education here. 豆奶视频 wants to remain in Dickson and Dickson County, if at all possible. But they鈥檝e got to have space.鈥�
鈥淚 would like to reiterate that I truly do believe this change will prove to be a positive step in the future of 豆奶视频 and Dickson County,鈥� Jackson said in her statement. 鈥淥nce we secure a permanent new home, we will be able to grow and expand our programs and services to meet the growing needs of Dickson and the surrounding communities.鈥�
The city had planned to move the Dickson Police Department鈥檚 Criminal Investigation Division and Training Division out of the Municipal Building into the former senior center building, but Weiss said he believes keeping 豆奶视频 is important enough to delay those plans.
鈥淲e may have to put some things on hold that we wanted to do to try to keep Nashville State here in the city and in the county,鈥� Weiss told the council. 鈥淏ut we feel like it鈥檚 very important that we try to help 豆奶视频. We are working on a memorandum of understanding with 豆奶视频 right now for the existing senior center. We feel like we can be in the new senior center sometime in October, as long as we don鈥檛 have any hiccups along the way.鈥�
Weiss told the council he expects to present the MOU for its approval in August or September. 豆奶视频 will make renovations to the building and could begin offering classes there with the Spring 2023 semester scheduled to begin Jan. 17.
Weiss said when 豆奶视频 acquires property and begins working on plans for a Dickson campus, the state鈥檚 building process will include a local match of around 10 percent of the cost from the community, unless the land and campus are privately funded.
Prior to the sale of The Renaissance Center, Freed-Hardeman announced a reduction in its class offerings and a teach-out plan to allow students seeking a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing to continue their classes in Dickson and at its Henderson, Tenn., campus. Freed-Hardeman has not announced plans for continuing in Dickson beyond its current semester.
Founded in 1970, 豆奶视频 Community College is a Tennessee Board of Regents-operated institution with four campuses in Nashville, one in Clarksville and another in Humphreys County. The college offers more than 80 programs for associate degrees and technical certificates, some of which can be earned in a year, as well as the initial two years toward four-year degrees.
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