Crossville
RSCC Press Release:
Roane State has been named a 2026 Entrepreneurial College of the Year by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), recognizing the college’s growing efforts to create opportunities for students, entrepreneurs, and businesses throughout East Tennessee.
Roane State shares this year’s honor with Houston Community College and Seminole State College. NACCE announced the co-winners during its 2026 Annual Conference in Boston on November 3.
“Roane State is well known for its student involvement and the momentum behind its growing entrepreneurship initiatives,” NACCE President and CEO Rebecca Corbin, Ed.D., said in announcing the award. “By expanding engagement, the college demonstrates how entrepreneurship can take hold and grow within a college community.”
Roane State President Chris Whaley accepted the award on behalf of the college.
“We are honored to receive this recognition, which reflects the excellent work of our faculty and staff and their commitment to our students and communities,” Dr. Whaley said. “At Roane State, entrepreneurship is about creating opportunities for students and aspiring business owners to turn promising ideas into action. Through strong partnerships, innovative programs, and access to resources, we are helping those ideas grow while strengthening the communities we serve.”
Roane State’s associate degree programs in business administration and management as well as its certificate in business ownership are designed with entrepreneurs in mind, giving students opportunities to apply what they learn directly to their own businesses through coursework.
Among them is Roane State alum Aaron Summerall, who completed courses toward his degree while pursuing interests as an entrepreneur and pastry chef. Summerall is now studying at the University of Tennessee and was recently selected for the selected for the 26th annual Public Policy Leadership Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School.
At Roane State’s Cumberland County campus, the Cumberland Business Incubator (CBI) provides another avenue for putting ideas into practice. The CBI helps entrepreneurs and small businesses with coaching and mentoring, marketing, access to capital, office and co-working space, and resources for developing and testing new concepts.
Roane State also supports aspiring and existing business owners through its Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) located at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. The center provides free confidential consulting and counseling as well as workshops and seminars.
The college’s extensive entrepreneurship efforts are complemented by its Workforce Development offerings, which connect businesses and individuals with industry-focused training, professional development, and continuing education.
Workforce programs cover wide-ranging areas such as manufacturing, healthcare, safety, and technology, with customized training available to meet employer needs. More than 100,000 hours of continuing education were provided by Roane State last year, serving clients from small local businesses and solo entrepreneurs to major employers such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12.
The NACCE award comes shortly after Roane State received additional national recognition for its broader commitment to student success. The Aspen Institute named named Roane State one of the 200 colleges eligible to compete for the to compete for the 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
“These honors reflect our deep commitment to connecting education with opportunity,” Dr. Whaley added. “Whether that means helping a student prepare to launch a business, assisting an entrepreneur in bringing an idea to market, helping an existing small business grow, or providing employers with the training needed to strengthen their workforce, Roane State will be there every step of the way.”
NACCE is North America’s leading advocate for entrepreneurship education and programming for community and technical colleges. The full announcement about this year’s Entrepreneurial Colleges of the Year is forthcoming and will be available at nacce.com/news.
Information on Roane State’s Business, Economics, and Management programs can be found online at roanestate.edu/BUSNprograms. Additional resources and training are available through the college’s Workforce Development division at roanestate.edu/workforce.
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