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Royer, D. (2021, October 20). TN lawmakers OK $900M package for Ford plant. News Channel 3
WREG Memphis. https://wreg.com/news/tn-lawmakers-ok-900m-package-for-ford-plant/
Shields, B. (2021, November 16). State, Ford officials talk Blue Oval City with West Tennessee
leaders. Jackson Sun. https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/2021/11/17/state-ford
-officials-talk-blue-oval-city-west-tennessee-leaders/6365007001/

Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson. (2022). About the TCAT. https://tcatjackson
.edu/about/about-tcat
Tennessee Office of the Governor. (2021, September 27). Memphis Regional Megasite lands
$5.6 billion investment from Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation. TN.gov. https://
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Townsend, T. (2021, May 6). Memphis International Airport top ranking indication that our city is
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University of Tennessee Martin, Office of University Relations. (2022, April 22). Tennessee General
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Yu, Y. (2021, December 7). How Ford plans to build out workforce development curriculum
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/8853279002/

Appendix

Postsecondary Questions Emailed to J. Sisk, TCAT-Jackson, April 13, 2022
1. Do you feel that Blue Oval City is/will be an answer to prayer for our students at the
secondary and postsecondary levels? If so, in what way(s)? Do you see a downside at all?
2. I have read that there is to be a TCAT campus on the megasite facility. Will a TCAT on site
be something new in TN or even in other parts of the United States?
3. I have always understood the TCAT system to provide specific geographic areas with the
skilled workforce they need through competency-based training programs (i.e., not all
programs offered at all locations). In what ways will this on-site TCAT expand or alter this
model of TCAT?
4. How will this kind of state government/private industry partnership work from an
education/training perspective? Will this be an internship approach?
5. What might be the advantages of building an on-site TCAT rather than expanding capacity
at existing campuses nearby?
6. What kind of programming and enrollment do you anticipate for this on-site facility? Will
the students be dual-enrollment high school students, regular TCAT students, current/future
Ford employees? What programs are planned?
7. From a postsecondary perspective, how might such a large manufacturing employer
affect Tennessee’s community colleges and 4-year institutions? The majority of my
students from Hardeman County headed to JSCC once they graduated.
8. Do you anticipate expanded program alignments between state postsecondary institutions
(TN Transfer Pathways) to include TCATs?
9. Do you anticipate a decline in postsecondary programming/capacity because of the new
employment opportunities offered by the Ford facility?
10. Do you anticipate a shift toward increased TCAT program enrollment vs. a more diversified
college-going culture? If so, is this a continuation of a recent trend (perhaps related to the

60 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators