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News: Roane State building renamed for lifelong public servant Ken Yager

Group in front of new Yager Building sign

From left: Reverend Brad D. Raby, Honorable James M. Henry, Senator Ken Yager, Chancellor Flora Tydings, Lt. Governor Randy McNally, Dr. Chris Whaley

 

Oct. 11, 2019

By Bob Fowler
Roane State Staff Writer

From members of his Sunday School class to lieutenant governors, from fellow Rockwood Civitan Club members to the chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, a large crowd gathered Oct. 11 to pay tribute to a lifelong public servant.

The former Technology Building on Roane State Community College’s flagship campus in Roane County has a new name: It’s now the Yager Building, in honor of longtime State Senator Ken Yager.

“This is a name that we could not be more proud to have on a building,” said Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora Tydings. “He is a true gentleman and has a genuine passion for the work we do at community and technical colleges.”

“I am humbled by and grateful for the board’s generosity of naming a building on the Roane State campus for me,” Sen. Yager said. “It is an honor I never expected but will treasure the rest of my life.”

“No one has meant more to the college than Ken Yager,” said Jim Henry, whose long career in public service has included serving as Gov. Bill Haslam’s deputy governor. “No honor could be more fitting. No honor could be more deserved.”

Dedication ceremonies were conducted in the shadow of the three-story building, one of the first built and opened when Roane State was in its infancy.

Sen. Yager’s deep connection to the college and his ardent support of its mission spans decades. His career in public service has steadily increased in responsibilities and importance, from Roane County Attorney to county executive to now in his third, four-year term as the 12th District state senator.

His support for Roane State also grew ever stronger and more important. His seven-county district – encompassing some of the state’s most rural counties - includes five counties in Roane State’s service area – Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Roane and Scott. He also represents Rhea and Pickett counties.

Sen. Yager advocated for more than $16 million in state funding for Roane State’s Henry/Stafford Agricultural Exposition Center and played a crucial role in securing a science lab wing for the college’s Campbell County Higher Education Center. He sponsored legislation to create a scholarship program for students in the innovative Middle College program, where high school students can graduate from community college at the same time they receive their high school diplomas.

In Sen. Yager’s service area, that program funded scholarships for 223 students. “Just this fall alone, Middle College Scholarships have covered $130,996 in tuition for 147 students,” Roane State President Chris Whaley told the crowd. “Education has always been Ken’s passion,” he said.

Sen. Yager also founded and sustains the Malinda Raby Yager Scholarship, named in his wife’s honor, which is awarded each year to a Roane County graduate of Oliver Springs High School.

Sen. Yager also has served as an adjunct instructor, assistant professor, Dean of Business and Technology, and program director of paralegal studies at Roane State.

“He and his wife, Malinda, are Roane County treasures and we owe them both so much for their service to our students and to Roane County,” President Whaley said.

Others who gathered to pay tribute to Sen. Yager included Lt. Governor Randy McNally, Secretary of State Tre Hargett, TBR Vice Chancellor Kim McCormick, state Representatives Kelly Keisling, Ron Travis, John Mark Windle and Kent Calfee, along with a host of county and city officials from the region.

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