Dr. Dana Nichols, vice president for academic affairs at Chattanooga State Community College, has been selected as one of 40 leaders from across the nation for the Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence.
Aspen Presidential Fellows begin their 10-month fellowship in July 2018. Fellows will learn strategies and frameworks enabling them to lead community colleges to high levels of student success and effective partnerships.
Nichols will be assigned to a current or former community college president mentor who has achieved exceptional outcomes for students.
Nichols came to Chattanooga State in 2016.
Optimist Club honors detective
The Scenic Chattanooga Optimist Club has awarded the 2018 Respect for Law–Officer of the Year award to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Rodger Brown.
The Respect for Law-Officer of the Year Award has its roots in a program started in 1965 when former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and International Optimist Club Past International President Carl Bowen created the Respect for Law community program.
The program was adopted locally because of the club’s belief that it’s important to recognize the positive attributes of local law enforcement personnel who serve and protect the citizens of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
Detective Brown has served in numerous positions within the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office since he was hired in 1988, including assignments in the Hamilton County jail, patrol division, SWAT, training division and criminal investigations division.
Brown is a graduate of the National Forensics Academy and is a field training officer, firearms instructor and agency armorer.
He is presently assigned to the criminal investigations division, where he investigates crimes against persons, and crime scene unit.
Former golf pro joins E|Spaces
Former professional golfer Derek Rende has signed on as vice president of sales at E|Spaces.
Born and raised in the Chattanooga area, Rende returns home after competing on various professional golf tours, including winning on the PGA Tour Latin America. Before touring, he graduated with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he played for the nationally-ranked golf team.
As vice president of sales, Rende will spearhead efforts at E|Spaces’ Chattanooga location to build the customer base, recruit new business and increase revenue. E|Spaces is a Nashville-based work space rental company with locations in Belle Meade and Cool Springs.