The 2 p.m. ceremony took place at Centerpoint Park, located at the intersection of Lovell Road and Pellissippi Parkway. Among dignitaries attending was Knox County Executive Thomas Schumpert. Tusculum President Dr. Dolphus Henry presided at the event and made closing comments.

When completed, the new center will be approximately 30,000 square feet in size, almost doubling the amount of space now available to Professional Studies in its current Executive Park headquarters.

In his comments, Henry noted that Tusculum's Professional Studies program, which is designed to fit the schedules of typical working adults, reflects the "innovation and adaptation" that has marked Tusculum's history from its beginnings, when its founders designed educational approaches that fit the needs and lifestyle of frontier East Tennesseans.

He noted the effectiveness of the Professional Studies approach for working adult students, more than 5,000 of whom have become Tusculum graduates through the program. "Now, with the creation of this new Knoxville center, that whole process will be enhanced and improved. More students can be served, and served more efficiently in a much-improved learning environment. At the same time, we can expect public awareness of Tusculum College to grow tremendously in this immediate area and beyond," he said.

Also speaking at the event was Dr. Suzanne Hine, vice president and dean for Professional Studies. Standing on the site of the planned structure, she described the area as "a field of dreams" for those who have watched Professional Studies develop and grow since its origins in the 1980s, and thanked all those who attended the event.

Also speaking briefly were Knox County Executive Thomas Schumpert, Tusculum Board of Trustees member Carol Bailey, a 1991 graduate through the Professional Studies program; and Tech. Sgt. Donald Felch, USAF, a current student in the program.

Besides Bailey, other Tusculum College Board of Trustees members attending were Tom Ferguson of Greeneville, and Hugh and Eleanor Jaynes of Knoxville.

Among notable features of the new Knoxville center will be 12 large classrooms, a technology work room, a library/learning resource room, and computer laboratory facilities. Each classroom is being designed to incorporate state-of-the-art technology.

A feature of the two-story structure with a symbolic significance will be a large arched entranceway reflective of one of the identifying architectural arches featured in some of the most historic structures on the Tusculum College campus in Greeneville. The new center will be situated on 4.3 acres of land and provide parking capacity for 250 cars.

Early work at the site is already under way, and the building is expected to be complete and in use by September 2002.