Lisa Afua Serwah Mensah, Rural Development Undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, visited Tusculum College on April 15, to tour the campus and visit the site of the proposed new science and math building.
Mensah toured the Greeneville campus and visited the site of the proposed Dr. Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Math. Mensah met with student representatives, the building’s architect and several Tusculum officials, including Dr. Nancy B. Moody, president of the college, and members of the administration.
“USDA partners with communities across the country to create greater economic opportunity for rural Americans in a variety of ways,” said Mensah. “These projects are examples of our StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiative that aims to increase investments in rural communities through intensive outreach and strong partnerships with community leaders, businesses, foundations and other groups that are working to combat poverty. Investing in local and regional food systems is one of four pillars of USDA’s work to help revitalize the rural economy and create jobs.”
A $4.7 Million USDA Community Facilities loan will help Tusculum College complete the new science and mathematics building.
“The Tusculum College community is very pleased with our partnership with Rural Development and what this partnership means to our faculty and most importantly to our students. The Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Math will provide every student who attends the Greeneville campus an opportunity to study in a state-of-the-art facility that will only be excelled by the excellence of the faculty. It will be particularly good for students in math, the sciences and health-related programs to participate in faculty research, attend classes, lectures and other functions. This is a project long overdue,” she said.
Mensah leads three USDA agencies charged with improving the economic well-being of rural America: the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Utilities Service and the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. These agencies provide agencies and non-profits with loans and grants for critical infrastructure, such as utilities and housing, they would otherwise not be able to access.
The Meen Center for Science and Math will be a four-story structure of approximately 100,000 square feet. Interiors include wings for biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and environmental science. There will also be lab space and research areas for both faculty and students.
The ground floor features the environmental science wing with a loading dock, as well as larger general classroom spaces and classrooms equipped for distance learning programs. A large lecture hall will also be included on the ground floor. Space is also allocated to house the Bachelor of Science degree program in nursing and at least one other graduate level health-related program.
Construction is expected to begin late spring.
USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.
The Rural Business Enterprise Grant and Rural Business Opportunity Grant programs have recently been combined into the Rural Business Development Grant program. RBDGs may fund a broad array of activities to assist with business development such as targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas, help funding distance learning networks and employment related adult education programs.
USDA Rural Development is moving investments to rural America with housing, business and infrastructure loans and grants to create jobs and strengthen rural economies with an emphasis to assist areas of persistent poverty. Since 2009, the agency has assisted more than 1.5 million Tennessee families and businesses in 230 communities in all 95 counties of Tennessee, investing more than $5.4 billion through affordable loans, loan guarantees and grants.
For more information on USDA Rural Development programs available in Northeast Tennessee contact the Greeneville Area Office at 423.638.4771 x 4, or 800-342-3149 x 1492. Information can be found online at www.rurdev.usda.gov/TN.
Rural Development Secretary of the USDA Lisa Mensah, front right, visited with officials and students at Tusculum College on Wednesday. Mensah was visiting to get an update on the proposed Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Math, for which Rural Development provide low-interest loans.