Effective Aug. 15, Blevins will become the sixth director of the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton in the 44-year history of the school. By a unanimous vote of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) on July 22, Blevins was selected upon the recommendation of TBR Chancellor Charles Manning and a search committee who considered 53 applicants and interviewed five candidates for the position.
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| L–R, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Charles Manning, Dean Blevins, James King, Vice Chancellor for Tennessee Technology Center |
In accepting the appointment, Blevins said he looked forward to returning to TTC-Elizabethton. "It is like a homecoming, returning to where my teaching career began. Jerry Patton set high standards for the school. They are big shoes to fill," Blevins said. From 1993 to 1997, Blevins taught Electricity and Electronics and served as a counselor at TTC-Elizabethton.
Blevins has received several prestigious awards during his tenure in Kingsport, including the 2009 National Skills USA Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award and the first Leadership Award presented by Tennessee SkillsUSA in 2008. He has also served as president of the Tennessee Directors of Career and Technical Education.
In 2004, Blevins received a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Tennessee College of Education, specializing in adult technology education. He received his masters' and bachelors' degrees from East Tennessee State University in 1994 and 1995.
Last year, TTC-Elizabethton served approximately 872 students and had an annual operating budget of more than $3 million. The school offers ten full-time programs that may be completed in 12 to 20 months, as well as numerous online courses.
Classes are offered in Elizabethton, Mountain City , Kingsport and Bluff City . In addition to Patton, other directors who have served at TTC-Elizabethton are Tommy Neese, Lonnie Hyder, Kelly Yates and Dr. Bruce Blanding.
The Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton was established in 1963 as the State Area Vocational-Technical School at Elizabethton under legislation sponsored by the late State Sen. Herman Robinson of Elizabethton.