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Kingsport in running for Innovations Award

Published May 2nd, 2009 | 2 Comments

KINGSPORT — For nearly a decade the city of Kingsport has worked to improve and cultivate higher education opportunities for its residents, from Educate and Grow to the proposed Academic Village in downtown.

Now the Model City is being recognized by Harvard University for its years of work in the arena of higher education.

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University has announced the 2009 Top 50 Government Innovations competing for the Innovations in American Government Awards.

Kingsport is in the Top 50 and is so because of its higher education initiatives taken over the past 10 years.

“I would say for the past 10 plus years, we’ve certainly made higher education a priority while continuing our emphasis on K-12,” said Mayor Dennis Phillips. “It’s an honor for the city any time you get the attention of the Harvard business school.”

The Top 50 were selected from over 600 applicants nationwide and include programs from 21 cities and towns, seven counties, one school district, 11 states, eight federal agencies, one tribal government and one regional authority.

Finalists of the 2009 Innovations Awards will be announced May 18, while the six winners will be announced in September. If Kingsport were to be in the top three, the city would receive a $100,000 award; the next three receive a $50,000 award.

“It is an extremely prestigious award and would give the city recognition for the higher education initiatives that have taken place,” said Morris Baker, grant writer for the city.

To be in the running for the award, Kingsport submitted information on the higher education initiatives the city has taken over the past decade to help revitalize the city’s economic and educational base.

Baker said the initiative dates back to November 1999, when then Mayor Jeanette Blazier held an economic summit to help improve the economic and educational condition of the city. The summit came soon after Eastman Chemical Co. announced the layoff of 1,200 workers.

The two-day summit included representatives from city and county government, the business community and education officials and dealt with topics such as work force development, economic development, the strategic focus of Kingsport and education opportunities.

“A consultant came in and basically said (Kingsport) is a rust belt city with a dying manufacturing community and that (the city) needed to change,” Baker said. “(Summit participants) worked up different strategies and came up with champions with specific areas.”

One of the first ideas to come to fruition from the summit was the Educate and Grow scholarship program — started by Kingsport in 2001 and later expanded by Sullivan County. The program provides tuition assistance for qualifying students graduating from area high schools.

Another idea from the summit was the creation of a downtown satellite location for Northeast State Technical Community College. Thus the Regional Center for Applied Technology opened for business in September 2002, instructing students in computer science, business management and office administration skills.

Since then, the city of Kingsport has expanded its higher education goals, first with the construction of the Regional Center for Health Professions (which houses all of NSTCC’s medical programs) and then the Kingsport Center for Higher Education (a facility where students can earn a four-year degree from a variety of colleges and universities).

Two other facilities have also joined the higher education ranks in downtown Kingsport — the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (led by Eastman and Domtar) and the Pal Barger School of Automotive Technology.

Over the past decade, the city has gone from a tuition assistance program to an Academic Village in downtown Kingsport, where an estimated 2,500 students will be attending classes daily once complete.

“What we’ve done is be very unique. It’s been a willingness to show we’re serious about education, and I think Kingsport for many years has said we’re very serious about K-12. Now we’re leading the nation in showing we’re serious about K-16,” Phillips said. “The fact we’ve made it happen — turned an idea into reality — has gotten their attention.”

In addition to encouraging the adaptation of innovative practices worldwide, award winners provide models of good governance taught in government school curricula worldwide.

Such programs inform research and academic study around issues of democratic governance at Harvard and serve as the basis for case studies for present and future public practitioners.

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Congratulations to all involved in bringing Kingsport to the forefront in "user friendly" higher education and for being nominated for this award.

Kingsport has, through it's Liesure Services department, especially, been increasing it's support of the Arts gradually over the last several years.

It can't be a top priority in tough economic times, but it certainly has been a priority. Next time you go through town, take a look around you at the marvelous "Sculpture Walk" and other public art projects, or go to the Renaissance Center and see how many offices are there, at an at cost rent, which support different arts related causes and how many arts related classes are offered in the building (by Senior Center, Art Guild, etc.).

At the Academic Village classes have already been offered in some arts, but have not well attended.

If we notice what is being done and support those, our City officials will be more apt to be supportive of these projects in the future.

Mary McNabb | 5/4/2009 - 10:11 AM - ( Comment

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This is great, assuming those seeking "higher education" aren't seeking it in the arts, because Lord knows Kingsport and Mr. Phillips wouldn't want to support that unless they're restricting it.

Justin Simpson | 5/3/2009 - 11:37 AM - ( Comment

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