Committee backs Pellissippi State master plan emphasizing student life and workforce spaces

Pellissippi State Community College’s master plan, presented Feb. 19, 2026, to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission Finance & Operations Committee, was recommended to the full commission following a consultant presentation of campus priorities and projected enrollment recovery.

Consultant Art Litsky described a five‑step planning process grounded in the college’s strategic plan and informed by engagement with more than 100 faculty, staff and students. The presentation highlighted campus‑by‑campus needs: a student life and event building and recreational fields at the Hardin Valley main campus; welding capacity expansion at Strawberry Plains; renovations at Magnolia (the oldest building) and a proposed aviation academy building on the Blount County campus to bring an existing off‑campus program onto campus once the current lease expires.

Litsky said Pellissippi’s on‑ground headcount exceeded 11,000 in 2017 before COVID and dropped afterward; the team modeled two enrollment scenarios and used a median projection of about 7,500 on‑ground students as a longer‑term recovery target (2035–36). The presenter and commissioners emphasized the importance of informal study and collaboration spaces as drivers of student success and retention.

Commissioners asked about the extent to which proposed athletic and recreational facilities would be state funded and whether proposals included varsity athletics; the presenter characterized most items as recreational and student‑life investments that are largely campus‑funded rather than requests for broad state capital support. After discussion the committee moved and voted to recommend the Pellissippi plan to the full commission (6 ayes).