Third Building Gets Closer to December Completion

            SMYRNA -- Faculty, administrators and staff had the opportunity to get a sneak preview of the soon-to-open third building during a recent tour. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 17. Check out these photos by Smyrna Branch Librarian Paige Hendrickson. 

Watch Motlow Smyrna Grow

     SMYRNA -- This is how construction of Smyrna's third building looked from above on Jan. 10, 2018. The new building will be completed by late fall 2019. (Photo provided by Messer/Aerial Innovations)

Welcome Letter From Motlow Smyrna Academic Dean Elizabeth Fitch

      

        Welcome Smyrna Students, Faculty and Staff!

        What excitement and energy we are experiencing with the kick off of the semester! The campus is truly buzzing with the return of our faculty and students. I am sure you have all noticed the construction on campus. We have ample additional parking this fall, which was badly needed, and the steel is finally going up for our new 82,000-square-foot facility. To put the building’s size into perspective, the Mary Lou Apple Building is approximately 35,000 square feet, and the Art Walker Jr. Building is around 17,000 square feet. The new building is scheduled to open next fall and will have more square footage than our two current buildings combined! We are all looking forward to new office space, a new library, 25 new classrooms, a state-of-the-art “One-Stop Shop”, and seven new science and mechatronics labs. There will be much more study space for students and a cyber café as well.

        Students, I know many of you are excited, nervous, apprehensive, and perhaps will feel overwhelmed at times this year. Please know that we have teams of people on campus ready to help you, encourage you, offer support, point you in the right direction when you need it, and celebrate with you when you achieve your academic goals. Your professors care. Talk to them if you are struggling in class. They are the first line of individuals who can guide you through course material. We also have completion coaches on campus, and you all have one assigned to you. These coaches are ready to help you find direction and assistance when you feel discouraged and overwhelmed. We also have a very caring front office staff who are ready to assist you with financial aid, business office, and admissions questions. Within our Student Success Center we have a Math Lab and Writing Center with qualified instructors ready to assist you in completing math and writing assignments. Additionally, we have some tutors in this area. Our library staff are kind, waiting with coffee, and quietly cheering you on as you take the time to focus, study, perform, and retain the information you need to succeed.

        You might be asking yourself, can I do this? The only things you can’t do, are the things you tell yourself you can’t do. It’s okay to ask for help, and finding the courage to ask for help is one of life’s biggest challenges. Your dreams can become reality. We are ready to help you achieve them. In the words of our president, Dr. Michael Torrence, let’s go! Let’s make the future a bright one. Let’s make it all we’ve dreamed of. Don’t let you, hold you back. Let’s go!

Construction Update: Watch Our New Building Grow!

By Charles Whiting

Motlow Buzz Editor-in-Chief

          SMYRNA -- If you've been off campus this summer, then you've missed seeing the rapid progress for Motlow Smyrna's new building and parking lot.

* The property was still a parking lot on March 21, 2018:

* The first tractor showed up the next day on March 22, 2018:

* By May 11, 2018, things were starting to happen:

* Here's how things looked on July 10, 2018:

 

* The new parking lot is taking shape, too:

 

Second Annual Blue Jeans and BBQ Event Raises $30,000 for New Building

By Ramona Shelton

Motlow Buzz Managing Editor

            SMYRNA -- Blue jeans… barbecue… blue grass music. What does all of that add up to? Why the third Smyrna building of course!

            On June 16, the Motlow College Foundation hosted the Second Annual Blue Jeans, BBQ & Bluegrass fundraiser for the upcoming Smyrna building at the Smyrna Event Center. Members of the Motlow family and the Smyrna community came together to enjoy a fun evening that helps the Smyrna Center grow.

            This year’s “Country Fair” theme started at the front door with corn hole and strong man games to enjoy before venturing into the main event. Once inside, guests had the opportunity to participate in this year’s silent auction. The BBQ bounty was evident in the brisket, pulled pork, veggies, and desserts devoured by the crowds come dinner time. 

            Music for the evening was provided by The Loaded Dogs, and that set the backdrop for the night’s highlight-line dancing lessons! The dance floor might have been packed, but the crowds definitely enjoyed watching the moves displayed by Motlow President Dr. Michael Torrence and Smyrna’s own Academic Dean Elizabeth Fitch. 

Phyllis Daniel cuts up with Motlow President Dr. Michael Torrence

            In addition to the silent auction, the night also included a live auction with many unique items up for bid. One of the items that got a lot of attention from the crowd was a fiddle signed by the great Charlie Daniels himself (no word on whether this particular fiddle was the one that actually ran the Devil out of Georgia though!).

            By the end of the night, more than $30,000 was in the kitty for the new building, a boost of 20 percent over last year’s event! If you are interested in making a donation for the new Smyrna building, please contact Motlow College Foundation Director Lane Yoder at lyoder@mscc.edu or (931) 393-1692.

Timeline for Construction of Our Third Building on the Motlow Smyrna Campus

March 19, 2018 – Closing of property for new parking lot and entrance.

March 22, 2018 – Gravel Parking Lot closes on the building site.

March 23, 2018 – Groundbreaking Ceremony, 11 a.m.

March 23, 2018 – Construction Meeting, 1 p.m. (these will occur every two weeks).

March 26-30, 2018 – Fencing/Erosion Control of the project area.

April 2, 2018 – Construction begins on the new building and a new 650-space parking lot.

August 2019 – Inspections and Certificate of Occupancy (the new building opens!).

Spring 2020 – Renovations of existing facilities.

The way the building site looked just before the start of construction on March 21, 2018.

Another New Beginning...

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

        What an exciting time to be a part of the Motlow Smyrna Campus! Construction on the new building is about to begin, and we will finally see the space we need coming to fruition. The building will be large at around 80,000 square feet and three stories high. To put this in perspective, the Art Walker Jr. Building is around 17,000 square feet, and the Mary Lou Apple Building is around 35,000 square feet. That means the new facility will have more space and classrooms than the current two buildings combined! In addition to 25 new classrooms and seven new labs, the building will contain an 8,000-square-foot library, a huge one-stop area for admissions, business and student success, as well as ample amounts of office space. Our faculty and staff who are currently sharing will finally have their own offices waiting for them when the project is finished. We have such an exceptional team that has the best professional attitudes about sharing. I can’t express how grateful I am to work with such an amazing group of people.

Smyrna Campus Academic Dean Elizabeth Fitch

        Things are going to start happening quickly now. Starting this week, erosion control will begin on the property. With this, you will see some fencing go up next week around the project area, and we will no longer be able to park in the parking lot that is located on the building site. On April 2, 2018, we will see the first construction equipment arrive. The construction team will begin clearing the wood line to put in 650 additional parking spaces, and the building itself will begin to go up. This project is going to move at a remarkable pace, as we are on schedule to occupy the new facility by July 2019.

        I began working at the Motlow Smyrna Campus in 2006, the first semester that the Art Walker Jr. Building opened. At that time, it was shiny and new, and all the faculty and staff, albeit a tiny group, were extremely proud of the new facility. It represented a new beginning, a new campus, and a new frontier for Motlow College. Everyone rolled up his or her sleeves, worked across divisions and departmental boundaries, and did whatever it took to make sure our students had the best experience possible. We opened that building with an enrollment of 800 students. It didn’t take long for the classrooms to be filled, office space to be shared, and extra space to be desperately needed. Fast forward to today, and we are looking at an enrollment of over 3,000 students, a much larger group of faculty and staff, and a familiar need for more offices and classroom space. Having been part of this campus’s growth, and this college’s journey for the past 12 years, I can say that one thing has stayed the same… our spirit. It’s a spirit of doing whatever is needed to serve our students, demonstrating flexibility and perseverance, sharing space when needed, pitching in to help a colleague with the planning or execution of a campus event, and remaining fearlessly dedicated to each other and our purpose. I am, and have always been, thankful to be a part of this team, a part of this campus’s growth, and a part of this college.

Elizabeth A. Fitch

Smyrna Campus Academic Dean

New Building to Improve Educational Experience on Motlow’s Smyrna Campus

By Anthony Czelusniak

Motlow Buzz Staff Writer

SMYRNA, Tenn. – The new 80,000-square-foot building will provide Motlow’s Smyrna campus with new classrooms, offices and more to improve the educational experience available from Motlow State Community College.

 On Friday (March 23), the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building will make history. The building is expected to take 18 months to complete and will be ready for the 2019 fall semester.

The third building will include a new library, student lounge, bookstore and administrative offices. When it is completed, the current bookstore will become the all-new Media Center. The Tutoring Center will move from the Student Success Center in the Mary Lou Apple Building to a renovated space within the Arthur L. Walker Jr. Building as well.

The brand-new classrooms will provide more space for the expected record increases in student population. According to the enrollment fact book provided by Motlow, student enrollment in the 2016 fall semester was 5,144 throughout all the campuses, a growth rate of 11.1 percent from the previous year. The Smyrna campus accounted for nearly half of that population and growth.

Because of this population increase, educators are struggling to find appropriate rooms for their classes. For example, Professor John Hart teaches multiple literature classes in computer labs.

“As much as we love the second building, we have outgrown it,” Hart said, sharing what the new building will mean to him and his students. “We look forward to having more classes, offices and places for students to study and socialize.”

A new student lounge will bring the possibility of an outside food vendor to set up inside the building. This possible addition will be great for students and staff who do not want to travel, or do not have the ability to travel to the restaurants on nearby Sam Ridley Parkway.

The new building will also bring with it possibilities that haven’t been thought of yet. With more than 80,000 square feet on three floors, there will be a lot of room for growth within Motlow’s Smyrna campus.

Eventually, the campus will have five state-of-the-art buildings surrounding acres of beautiful green space.

We Heard It Through The Grapevine That...

                  * Our Motlow Smyrna Environmental Science class was featured in a photo that appeared in the January issue of the Music City Center's Green Times. https://www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com/sites/default/files/media/Holiday/january_2018_green_times.pdf

                  * The Smyrna Library handles the campus Lost and Found. A number of items have already been turned in. Stop by to see if the collection includes something you've misplaced or lost.

                  * Groundbreaking for the new building will occur on March 23, with construction beginning on April 2. Construction on a new entrance and parking lot will begin at the same time. The building will be ready for classes in August 2019.

                  * New faculty include Carmen Lopez (Spanish), Nathan Fisher (Chemistry), and Felicia Brown (Sociology).

                  * Motlow needs faculty and staff to volunteer for its marketing campaign. Interested? Contact Terry Bryson at tbryson@mscc.edu.

                  * Barnes and Noble in Murfreesboro will donate a percentage of all sales on Feb. 10 to Read to Succeed. Mention "Read to Succeed" on checkout.

                  * Motlow has created an online list of students who made the Dean's List or Honor Roll. Check it out: http://www.mscc.edu/deans_list

                  * Smyrna's Honors English 1010 class used an innovative new subscription service rather than a textbook. Now the students are famous! Check out their photo in Journal of the Month: https://www.journalofthemonth.com/info/course

(Got news? Send your tips to cwhiting@mscc.edu or rshelton@mscc.edu)

 

Motlow College Seeks New Building for Record-Breaking Attendance

By Mike Sparks

Motlow Buzz Reporter

SMYRNA, Tenn. -- It is no surprise that the Smyrna Motlow State Community College Center is Tennessee’s fastest growing college with 2,500 students this spring semester, much to the credit of Gov. Bill Haslam’s vision of Tennessee Promise.

Haslam’s Tennessee Promise has been a resounding success. With that success has come a fast-paced 32 percent rate of growth between the fall of 2014 and 2016. The two-building Smyrna Motlow State Community College campus currently has only 33,000 square feet. The classrooms are packed with 35 students each, teachers sharing small closet-sized offices, no area to host large lectures or a large gathering, and a small overcrowded library. The need for this new addition is greater now than ever before.

The rapid enrollment at the Smyrna Campus has led to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and Board of Regents both prioritizing the Smyrna Motlow’s third building as the number one priority in Tennessee for higher education.

The cost of the new 79,443-square-foot building is $27 million. The college is required to raise $2.7 million or 10 percent from local sources such as nonprofits, local county, and municipal governments.  

The new three-story building will be located at the northwest corner of the campus. It will host a much-needed 22 classrooms, one-stop shop for recruiting and financial aid, physics lab, general biology lab, computer science lab, art lab, chemistry lab, anatomy and physiology lab, EMS lab, nursing lab, medical technician lab, mechatronics lab, 15 private faculty offices, and additional office space. Students will be pleased with the new Cyber Café, which will provide seating for students to interact, study, eat, and much more. In order to be more efficient with space, rooms can be utilized together to accommodate up to 350 students. The new library will boast over 6,500 square feet and be available to the general public as well.

“I’m very excited about the new library, which will host 60 computers, open space for 60 students, eight group study rooms, stack space for up to 10,000 volumes and more,” said Campus Librarian Paige Hendrickson. “The students are extremely excited about not only the new library, but also the new Cyber Café.”

In 2014, Tennessee was the only state offering a wide-reaching program that gave recent high school graduates the chance to go to community college without paying tuition. With the ever-increasing cost of a college education, Tennessee Promise came as a relief to many struggling families and students. College tuition debt has amassed to $1.4 trillion today, leaving the average college graduate with roughly $37,000 in student debt, up 6 percent from last year, according to the Federal Reserve.

Educational experts say Tennessee's example as a higher education trailblazer could help shape higher education policy for years as students move through the education pipeline. The Tennessee Promise is an increasingly popular model as Tennessee plays an important role in the education debate.

Many may not be aware that the campus library is open to the general public, which helps with those who may not have Internet access and who may want to apply for jobs online, email or other needs.  For more information on how to get involved with Motlow State and the great things that are happening, visit www.mscc.edu or call (615) 220-7800.

Haslam’s ‘Drive to 55’ Initiative sets the goal to increase the percentage of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential to meet Tennessee’s current and future workforce and economic needs. The governor has championed both his tuition-free college and the Drive to 55 initiative. For more information on Tennessee Promise or Drive to 55, visit www.TnPromise.gov or www.Driveto55.org

Motlow State Community College Plans New Building

 By Trey Carter 

        SMYRNA, Tenn. – Motlow State Community College plans to add a third building to its Smyrna campus by spring 2019 that will offer more classes, programs and possibly a cafe space.

 Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Cheryl Hyland provided details for this new building. The college’s funding is awaiting approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents. If approved, the building will be built west of the Science and Applied Technology Building. Also, Motlow would be required to raise 10 percent of the total cost for the building.

“I am tremendously excited to be able to expand academic programs and service delivery to serve in the community,” said Hyland.

            Rapid growth of the Tennessee Promise scholarship program has created the need for new space on the Smyrna campus. Some 1,038 students are taking advantage of the two free years provided by the State of Tennessee, a 52.87 percent increase over fall 2015. By 2025, the number of Tennessee Promise students is projected to grow to include 895 more students.

However, Hyland said the proposed building is not a direct result of the Tennessee Promise scholarship. The third building was planned many years ago, with the original master plan laid out before the college opened a campus in Smyrna. The current campus has approximately 2,800 students.   

            The new building will be focused on providing more classrooms and labs for new or already existing programs. The school is looking to add a new nursing program and many classes to go along with it. While plans have not been finalized for what rooms will be included, there is discussion about adding an auditorium, an art room, a cafe, and more labs for science classes.

The school is in search of a restaurant to go inside the new building. The majority of students should be pleased with the inclusion of an outside food vendor.

            If all goes as scheduled, the new building will be expected to break ground in 2017. Once started, the building will take a projected 15 to 18 months to complete.

With a new building, the school will be required to expand the amount of parking spaces on campus. One new building with approximately 80,000 gross square feet must have 750 new parking spaces to accommodate students.

            “A new building sounds great,” said Austin Kraner, a Motlow student. “The campus will definitely need the space once new students come in.”

            For more information about Motlow State Community College, visit www.mscc.edu. 

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