News
President Oldham recognized by regional organization
Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham received Tennessee Valley Corridor’s highest
honor, the Corridor Champion Award at the organization’s 24th Annual National Summit recently held on the campus of
the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Corridor Champion Award is presented to individuals and organizations who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in advancing the objectives of the TVC. The mission of the organization is promoting awareness of the various federal missions located in the TVC five-state, twelve congressional district region in TN, KY, VA, NC and AL that represents an annual federal investment exceeding $75 billion and creating over 150,000 direct jobs.
Past organizational recipients have included Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Tennessee Valley Authority, and individual awards have gone to Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.
Oldham and Tennessee Tech were recognized for their strong support of the TVC in hosting events and Oldham’s service on the group’s board of directors.
Oldham additionally serves on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce board. A major focus of his efforts is toward local and regional economic development. Over the last three years, approximately 4,000 new jobs have been created in Putnam County.
According to recent rankings, a Tennessee Tech degree has the highest return on investment of any public university in the state according to Payscale, whle Money Magazine rates Tech the number one public university in the state.
During Oldham’s time leading the university, Tennessee Tech's physical campus has grown with over $200 million of capital improvements, including a $90 million laboratory science building and a $50 million student fitness center. Recently, the “Tennessee Tech Tomorrow” capital campaign reached a $60 million milestone.
“I am honored to receive this award because the TVC and the state’s higher education institutions have mutually beneficial goals. We continue to put students first with more expansive and relevant offerings than ever before, and in turn, that helps fulfill corridor objectives,” Oldham said. “There are two things universities have to do well: create and disseminate knowledge and identify and develop talent.”
Before becoming Tennessee Tech president, Oldham served as provost and senior vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Freed-Hardeman University and his doctorate in analytical chemistry from Texas A&M University.
The 2020 TVC National Summit will be held on the campus of Milligan College in Johnson City, TN.
For more information about the Tennessee Valley Corridor, please visit: tennvalleycorridor.org
