A $100,000 Community Enhancement Grant for the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee will be announced at a press conference this Friday, March 14, at 3:30 p.m.
The announcement, to be followed by a hard-hat tour of the new Baker Center building, will take place at the center’s new site at 1640 Cumberland Ave. State Sens. Jamie Woodson and Tim Burchett, who supported the Community Enhancement Grant bill, will attend.
The grant from the state of Tennessee will be used to create lesson plans, materials and activities; make audio and video enhancements to the building’s museum exhibits; and purchase technology for the building’s classrooms.
The Baker Center will move into its new building later this year, and a grand opening celebration is being planned for the fall.
The new facility will include a museum that will tell the story of how government works using Sen. Baker’s life as a backdrop, explore modern Tennessee politics and engage students and adults in interactive civic exhibits. The building also will house the Modern Political Archives and include a 200-seat auditorium, as well as classrooms with break-out rooms for instruction and conferences.
The Baker Center is a nonpartisan center that develops educational programs and promotes research to further the public’s understanding and knowledge of our system of governance, critical public policy issues and the importance of public service and civic engagement. The center fosters a genuine respect for differing points of view, and it serves as a forum for discussion, debate, education and research.
For more information about the Baker Center, see http://www.bakercenter.utk.edu.
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Contacts:
Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu
Alan Lowe, (865) 974-8515, alowe4@tennessee.edu