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Roane State will welcome the first students through the doors of its new Knox Regional Health Science Education Center on January 20, 2026, for the first day of spring classes.
The college, in partnership with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Knoxville and Covenant Health, is planning a special opening and welcome event to mark the occasion. Current and prospective students, faculty and staff, healthcare industry partners, project supporters, and members of the community are invited to share in the celebrations.
Activities are scheduled throughout the day on Jan. 20, starting at 10 a.m. and wrapping up at 4 p.m. The 130,000-square-foot facility is expected to educate more than 8,000 students each year through health science programs offered by Roane State and TCAT Knoxville. The new space will allow both colleges to significantly expand courses and programs.
“We have been waiting for this day, and I know our students are equally excited to see the new campus take shape,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “The integration of technology with experiential learning will change the way our students build patient-centered knowledge and skills for the real word. This is the future of health science education.”
Current Roane State programs to be offered at the new campus include polysomnography, EMS, and respiratory therapy, with nursing and medical laboratory technology being among the first programs to move in. With the added space provided by the new location, Roane State is also planning to launch programs such as diagnostic medical sonography (ultrasound), echocardiography, and neurodiagnostic technology.
Students and guests can learn about all of Roane State’s health science programs by visiting informational tables set up in the first floor lobby during the event. Covenant Health representatives will provide information on career opportunities and Roane State clubs and organizations will share information about how students can get involved on campus.
Full facility tours are scheduled for 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. (participation in each group is limited). Tours will include a peek inside the facility’s flagship Roane State Simulation Center – the first of its kind in the state to offer classroom, laboratory, and simulation learning all under one roof. The center’s immersive room will feature an interactive display for guests.
Roane State will debut its simulation ambulance as part of the event, with a push-in ceremony set for 11 a.m. outside the Simulation Center’s ambulance bay. The new ambulance will be used by the college’s EMS programs as well as emergency transportation services for training.
Free coffee (10 a.m.-noon), snacks, and giveaways will be available at various times throughout the event. A pizza lunch sponsored by Covenant Health will be available for students from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Students are also encouraged to drop by the lobby early to enter drawings for prizes and Roane State Foundation scholarships and snag a free swag bag while supplies last.
Back in September, Roane State and TCAT Knoxville hosted a ribbon cutting for the site now known as the Covenant Health Campus. The name honors the largest donation in the history of both colleges – 10 acres of land along Sherill Boulevard, gifted by Covenant Health in 2023, that made the project possible.
The total estimated cost for the project was $75 million, with the State of Tennessee having contributed more than $67.5 million. Roane State Foundation has led the charge to raise an additional $7.5 million needed to complete the project and provide aid for students. The THRIVE Campaign has raised nearly $5 million of that goal so far.
The street address of the facility is 9575 Sherrill Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37923. For more information on the new campus, the fundraising campaign for student scholarships, and the expanded programs that will be offered, visit thrive.roanestate.edu.
