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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (July 2, 2019) — The Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC), an award-winning regional economic development organization, has selected Milligan College as the host for the TVC National Summit in May 2020. Milligan President Dr. Bill Greer welcomed Rep. Phil Roe, TVC officials and local leaders to campus today, July 2, 2019, to begin planning next year’s event.
“We’re grateful to TVC’s leadership and Congressman Roe for selecting Milligan as the location for next year’s national summit,” shared Greer. “We look forward to showcasing the region’s renowned industries, along with the natural beauty of Northeast Tennessee and our campus. As a private Christian liberal arts college with over 150 years of history in the region, we recognize that technology plays a large part in our own transformation and how we prepare students to go forward and transform their communities.”
Roe formally announced the location for the 2020 summit at this year’s TVC National Summit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in May, and Dr. Greg Harrell, Milligan’s engineering programs director, was present to extend a personal invitation on behalf of the college.
“There are phenomenal technological advances occurring in our region,” shared Rep. Phil Roe at today’s meeting. “In hosting the TVC National Summit next year at Milligan, our region has a tremendous opportunity to tell our story and tell it loud.”
The TVC supports the advancement of science and technology in a five-state region, including Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The TVC aims to increase new federal investments and more private sector opportunities in the region, and its annual National Summit advances collaboration between key institutions, organizations, businesses and political leaders.
“Last year, we found that federal investments into the Tennessee Valley Corridor exceed $75 billion, and these investments lead to over 150,000 direct jobs for federal employees and contractors,” shared TVC executive director Darrell Akins. “These investments are spent on national security, America’s economic competitiveness and meeting the great challenges faced by our country.”
Milligan, the first private college to host the summit, remains committed to meeting the region’s demand for well-prepared leaders in science and technology. In 2016, Milligan added degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, with support from local industry leaders, to prepare students to enter one of the fastest-growing occupations. In addition, Milligan launched a master’s degree in information systems in the fall of 2018 to equip working professionals with the best practices in analysis, design, communications and security for information systems development and implementation.
To learn more about the Tennessee Valley Corridor, visit tennvalleycorridor.org.