Northeast State President Janice Gilliam was elected president of the Community Colleges of

Appalachia for 2014-15 at the organization’s recent annual conference.
The Community Colleges of Appalachia is a voluntary association of public community colleges serving the common interests of member colleges and their communities through programs and services responsive to the unique cultural, geographic, and economic development challenges facing the region. Currently, CCA has 39 member colleges throughout 13 states spanning the Appalachian region.
CCA builds greater awareness among the general public, the higher education community, regional and national funding sources, and others of the vital contributions now being made by the community colleges of Appalachia in responding to the needs of their communities and of the potential for additional resources to expand and enhance these efforts.
Gilliam became the first female president of Northeast State in 2009.
“As president of the second largest college in the region, Dr. Gilliam epitomizes the College’s three value statements of respect, responsibility and responsiveness,” said a press release issued by Northeast State regarding Gilliam’s appointment. “Under her tutelage, Northeast State was recognized as first among all Tennessee community colleges for its graduation rate, productivity – number of graduates compared to enrollment – and efficiency – lowest cost to produce a graduate.”
The College recently launched the largest capital project in Tennessee community college history with its Emerging Technologies Complex and expanded with a teaching site in downtown Bristol that features the school’s new Entertainment Technology program. The College will soon be expanding to another teaching site in downtown Johnson City.