UT Martin Builds a Talent Pipeline for the Region
The City of Martin works closely with the University of Tennessee at Martin to help facilitate workforce development.
Sponsored by: Sponsored by City of Martin and UT Martin
Drawing on its deep roots, the University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, TN, is poised to support the region’s growing workforce needs.
In addition to its main campus, UT Martin has five regional centers that make higher education and training even more accessible to students across West Tennessee.
“Our regional centers are there to serve nontraditional or place-bound students,” says Alisha Melton, UT Martin’s executive director of the Office of Research, Outreach and Economic Development.
The regional center in Somerville, for example, is only 20 minutes from the Ford Motor Co.’s BlueOval City site, a planned automotive assembly complex under construction northeast of Memphis.
“Our focus is on workforce development,” says Melton. “We’re exploring programs that will benefit not only Ford, but also other businesses and industries in our area. We’re concentrating on mechatronics and hands-on skills to prepare our students for the change that’s coming, as well as stackable credentials and pathways for students coming out of high school.”
UT Martin enjoys a close relationship with its hometown. Brad Thompson, director of community development for the City of Martin – and, like Melton, a graduate of the university – says: “The university is what makes Martin, Martin.”
Thompson says the Town and Gown Association helps keep those ties strong, including plentiful ways for students and the community to come together throughout the year, including local opportunities for dining and shopping.
From the summer Music in the Park series that regularly draws students from their homes across the region to student and community collaboration for the annual Tennessee Soybean Festival, Melton says students feel embraced by the city.
She says she often hears from parents about the confidence they feel because of the attentive, supportive community in Martin.
“Now,” Melton says, “UT Martin is uniquely positioned to positively affect our entire region. With Ford coming in, and the explosion of economic development that’s going to happen in the next five to six years, we have so many resources in the form of people, knowledge and outreach that will benefit our communities. It’s really exciting to be part of that and to know we’re helping guide the way into the future.” UT Martin enjoys a close relationship with its hometown. Brad Thompson, director of community development for the City of Martin – and, like Melton, a graduate of the university – says: “The university is what makes Martin, Martin.”
