The first classes were offered in the fall of 1971 at a temporary location, and in August 1973 the college moved to the current location of its main campus on Patton Lane in Harriman. Roane State's first permanent branch campus, designated as the Oak Ridge campus, was located in western Knox County near the Pellissippi Parkway and was shared with State Technical Institute at Knoxville, another Board of Regents institution. In the fall of 1988, two years after the campus opened in 1986, State Technical Institute became Pellissippi State Technical Community College and took over the entire campus, while Roane State moved its Oak Ridge classes to leased sites in Oak Ridge. A new permanent Roane State Oak Ridge campus opened in Oak Ridge on August 13, 1999. In 1989 higher education centers were established in leased facilities in Cumberland, Scott, and Loudon counties. In 1990 a center was opened in Campbell County. The Scott County center relocated to a permanent site in Huntsville in 1994 and the Cumberland County center opened in a permanent site in Crossville in 1998. Also in 1998, Roane State's Center for Health Sciences moved into a new leased facility in western Knox County that was built specifically for the college and the Tamke-Allan Observatory, a new college center for astronomy, was dedicated. A Morgan County campus was constructed in Wartburg in 2008. In 2013, Roane State began offering courses at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility.
Presidents
The college president is Dr. Chris Whaley. The college's first president was Cuyler Dunbar, who served from 1970 until 1988, when he left to become president of Catawba Valley Community College in North Carolina. He was succeeded by Dr. Sherry L. Hoppe, who served in the position until 2000, when she became interim president of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. After Hoppe's departure, Bill Fuqua served as interim president until 2001, when Dr. Wade McCamey became president. McCamey left Roane State in 2005 to be president of Walters State Community College. Dr. Goff assumed the presidency in the fall of 2005. Dr. Goff retired in October 2012 and was succeeded by Dr. Whaley, who had previously served as vice president of student learning/chief academic officer. Previous presidents
Dr. Cuyler Dunbar
Dr. Sherry L. Hoppe
William S. Fuqua
Dr. Wade B. McCamey
Dr. Gary Goff
Academics
Roane State offers career-preparation programs and transfer programs. The college's associate of applied science programs and certificate programs are designed for students who wish to enter the workforce after graduating. Fields include nursing and health sciences, paralegal, business and education. Roane State's 2013 job placement rate was 98 percent. The college also offers transfer programs for students who wish to start at Roane State and then transfer to a four-year institution after two years. Tennessee Transfer Pathways have been designed to ensure seamless transfer, and the college also has articulation agreements for programs that do not have a Tennessee Transfer Pathway. Roane State also has a number of noncredit courses for professionals in business, healthcare and other fields The college has received numerous grants for a variety of workforce programs and other initiatives. Roane State has received $21.8 million in grants since 2007. Students also can study abroad through Roane State's international education programs.
