Adam Cabo

Alumna Tracy Barbour and her husband Ronald Barbour have established the Rev. Clifford and Mrs. Ollie Mae Griffith Memorial Endowment to benefit honors program students.

The $2 million grant from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission will support the college’s Rural RNs Rise (R3): Growing Caregivers initiative.

The college is partnering with both McMinn County Justice Center and Monroe County Justice Center, both of which received grants to support inmate education through Cleveland State Community College.

Students who paused their education at Baker College because of institutionalized debt now have the opportunity to return and finish their education while also receiving debt forgiveness thanks to the college’s new Return to the Hive program.

The new campus will open with the Fall 2026 semester. Applications for the first cohort of medical students at the new campus opened in May 2025.