Monroe County native and longtime educator Patricia Weaver, Ed.D., has joined Pellissippi State Community College as the school’s vice president for External Affairs.
Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. created the new position this summer as part of an organizational restructuring. External Affairs encompasses the college’s existing offices of Workforce and Community Development, Marketing and Communications, Event Services and Career Services, as well as the Pellissippi State Foundation, the fundraising arm of the college.
“This position appealed to me because it is the creation of a new division, and my forte is building relationships and collaboration,” said Weaver, who previously served as vice president of Workforce and Economic Development at Cleveland State Community College. “These are the offices that are out there on the front lines, telling Pellissippi State’s story – what we do for students, for the community and for the workforce. What an opportunity to bring all that together.”
Weaver also saw External Affairs as a perfect combination of her own education and experience. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Marketing Education from the University of Tennessee and taught marketing and cooperative education at the high school level early in her career. She joined Cleveland State full time in August 2006 as director of the college’s off campus sites in Athens and Vonore.
“I always wanted to teach because I love helping people reach their potential,” said Weaver, who made the shift from high school to college when she was ready for a change.
During her 16 years at Cleveland State, Weaver was promoted to assistant vice president of Academic Affairs and, ultimately, to vice president of Workforce and Economic Development, where she managed workforce development, continuing education, work-based learning, Tennessee Small Business Development Center, Advanced Technologies Institute and off campus centers in different counties of the institution’s service area.
“With an entrepreneurial mindset, I have a keen awareness and understanding of the unique role community colleges play within the education and workforce ecosystem,” Weaver said. “My experience allows me to blend and bridge our workforce development training with our academic certificates and degrees, to provide our communities with strong programming and the best opportunities to change the trajectory of lives.”
Weaver started her new role at Pellissippi State on Sept. 1, and hit the ground running – visiting area chambers of commerce, community organizations and industry partners.
“My role is to strengthen our relationships with our industry partners, K-12 partners and others within our communities,” Weaver said. “Marilyn Roddy, the director of Major Gift Development with the Foundation, put our new division’s role this way, ‘external relations for internal success,’ and I like that. I’m excited to see where we go from here.
“I look forward to working with Pellissippi State’s faculty, staff and communities as we continue to meet the needs of business and industry, individuals within our communities and economic development within our region to develop a skilled workforce,” she added.
“I am excited Dr. Weaver has joined us in this new role at Pellissippi State,” Wise said. “Her experience and expertise will serve us well on campus and in the community as we look to diversify the opportunities for learning in Knox and Blount Counties. Her leadership will be instrumental in the work of this new division and making certain Pellissippi State remains a place for transformational growth.”
For more information on the college, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865.694.6400.
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