Northeast, Walters State have buildings approved

BLOUNTVILLE — The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) held its quarterly meeting Friday at Northeast State Community College, where it approved building project proposals for its colleges, five new and revised policies, the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, and other measures.

One of the proposals that was approved during the meeting involved Northeast State itself. The college will receive an addition to its Technical Education Complex valued at $18 million. In addition, Walters State Community College in Morristown received an even more significant add-on, a $65 million Technology Building replacement and renovation project.

The board heard presentations by Northeast President Jeff McCord and partnering host TCAT Elizabethton President Heath McMillian highlighting activities on their respective campuses focusing on student success. The board governs Tennessee’s public community colleges and colleges of applied technology.

The board approved its new building project requests for state funding, totaling $449 million, and a proposed $80.5 million request for major maintenance projects across the system. The TBR requests now go to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) for its review along with similar proposals from the state’s public universities. THEC’s recommendations will then go to state officals later this year for consideration for inclusion in the overall state budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026-27, which the state legislature will consider next year. Projects will not receive final approval until the legislature approves the state budget next spring.

For FY 2026-27, the board focused on projects at the community colleges, after the state approved more than $1.5 billion for projects at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology in recent years.

Additional project proposals approved by the board Friday are:

Dyersburg State Community College, new Workforce Entrepreneurial Center, $49 million.

Volunteer State Community College, new Wilson County Higher Education Center, $61 million.

Columbia State Community College, Warf Building replacement, $64 million.

Dyersburg State Community College, new Henry County Higher Education Center, $43 million.

Nashville State Community College, Science and Technology Building replacement, $57 million.

Cleveland State Community College, Career Education Center replacement and renovations, $92 million.

The committee and board meetings were live streamed and are archived for viewing on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/june-2025-quarterly-board-meeting.