FCT News Blog

Congratulations, Graduates!

Fountainhead College of Technology will recognize 50 graduating students at its spring graduation ceremony on Friday, April 26.

The college will award 26 Associate's Degrees and 24 Bachelor's of Applied Science Degrees during the ceremony. Fountainhead College is honored to welcome Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett who will present the graduation speech. See Mr. Burchett's full biography below.

Many graduating students have already joined the workforce and are working for local employers, including Clayton Homes, Pilot Flying J, Ruby Tuesday, SAIC, Jewelry TV, Vericom Cabling & Communication Solutions, Canberra Industries, Equipment Locator Services, Tennessee Waste, among others.

This is the first graduating class since the college moved its campus to west Knoxville. The graduation ceremony will take place on April 26 at 10 am at the college's former campus on Tazewell Pike. The graduating class comprises students from all programs in the college, including Network Security & Forensics, Information Technology, Electronics, Wireless Communications, Application Development, Radiological Protection, Health Information Management, and Computer Programming.

Fountainhead College congratulates these graduates as they complete this milestone and turn their full attention to launching their careers and spending more time with their families. We are proud that in our 65-years as an institution of higher education, our graduates continue to have a unique and positive impact on nearly every technology-related industry in the region.

Tim Burchett Bio

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett took the oath of office on Sept. 1, 2010, after completing a successful 16-year career of service in the Tennessee General Assembly.

After taking office as Knox County Mayor, Mayor Burchett started applying his experience in the state capitol at the local level by saving taxpayers millions of dollars, and by restoring public trust in Knox County government. He continues to focus on ensuring quality service to citizens, efficiency in government and financial savings to taxpayers.

Entrepreneurship, confidence in the free market, and a desire to serve the people of Knox County are traits that guide Mayor Burchett. They are a large part of the conservative foundation from which he derives his core principles of service, efficiency and savings.

Mayor Burchett attributes his commitment to a career in public service to his parents, Charlie and Joyce Burchett, who were both educators. Mayor Burchett's father, Charlie, was a WWII veteran who served in the Pacific Theater. He returned home to work his way up to Dean of Student Conduct at the University of Tennessee. Charlie Burchett passed away shortly after his son announced his plans to run for Knox County Mayor.

As a child, Mayor Burchett attended the Little Red Schoolhouse then later attended West Hills Elementary, Bearden Junior High, and Bearden High School. He was a member of the Bulldog graduating class of '82. After high school, Tim stayed in Knoxville, attending the University of Tennessee and earning a degree in education.

After college, Mayor Burchett started a successful small business, which he operated until deciding to run for public office. He began serving in State House of Representatives in 1994.

In 1998, after serving four years as a state representative, he was elected to the first of three terms as 7th District Tennessee State Senator. During his time in the General Assembly, he earned a reputation as an effective legislator who put honesty, integrity and constituent service above partisanship political expediency. He most recently served as the chairman of the Budget Subcommittee in Finance, and was secretary of the Finance, Ways and Means Committee. Mayor Burchett also sat on the State and Local Government Committee, as well as the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee.

Thursday, April 18

11am - 7pm

You are invited to attend Fountainhead College’s Open House
where you will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with faculty, financial aid counselors, admissions representatives, career counselors, and tour our new campus.

Learn about career fields related to cyber-security and information technologies, wireless communications, electronics & robotics, and health care.

• Free Food 
• Door Prizes 
• Live Radio Broadcasts 

Directions to Fountainhead College:

View Larger Map

10208 Technology Drive | Knoxville, TN 37932 

Knoxville InfraGard Chapter Meeting

How to handle workplace violence and active shooter senarios will be discussed at the next InfraGard Knoxville chapter meeting on Thursday, March 14, from 11:00 – 12:30 pm at Fountainhead College.

Charity Menefee and Capt. Nate Allen will present planning recommendations on preparing for and responding to workplace violence or "active shooters" and facilitate group discussion on those subjects.

Charity Menefee is the Regional Hospital Coordinator for the Emergency Preparedness Department of the Knox County Health Department. Capt. Nathaniel Allen works in Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security with the Knoxville Police Department.

Visitors are welcome at this InfraGard meeting.

A lasagna lunch will be offered to guests for $8. To order lunch, RSVP to Richard Scheuch.

InfraGard Knoxville Members Alliance

The mission of the Infragard East Tennessee Members Alliance is to educate and inform our region's businesses, organizations, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, as well as private citizens on issues surrounding cybercrime and security. The East Tennessee Infragard Chapter is a 501c nonprofit organization, and is one part of a national networked organization called InfraGard.

Directions to Fountainhead College:

Free lunch. Free tour. No pressure.

Fountainhead College invites you to visit our new campus, enjoy a catered meal, take a short tour and learn about our Associate and Bachelor degree programs. 

Starting March 5, the school will sponsor five Lunch & Learn Tuesday events. 

EndGameCon: Video Gaming Mania 

EndGameCon is an interactive video gaming convention on January 27 featuring competitive tournaments, retro gaming, live entertainment and much more. EndGameCon is free and open to all ages.

To Compete: A $5 tournament fee allows you to compete in contests for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Madden 13.

EndGameCon will combine the winners of Sunday's tournaments with winners from previous tournaments. There will be special rooms for Magic the Gathering card game, all things Pokémon, role-playing games and people "who love overly complicated and overly-priced board games." Come dressed as your favorite video game character and enter the COSPLAY Competition! 

WHEN: Sunday, January 27, from 2 – 9 pm; (Pre-registration begins at 1pm)

WHERE: 3203 Tazewell Pike, Knoxville, at Fountain City Commons (former location of Fountainhead College of Technology)

Event Highlights:

• Battlefield Knoxville will set up a mini combat arena laser tag course
• A Live radio remote by "The X" from 3 - 5pm
• Photo booth with full-sized R2-D2
• Register to win cash prizes & a vacation package to Las Vegas
• Retro gaming booths
• Get a tattoo onsite from Ambition Tattoo
• DJs will be spinning underground electronic music
• 3-D Visuals Projection Mapping with Michel Rasnake

• Twitch TV will stream the event live

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New campus opens doors to the future

The new Fountainhead College of Technology campus opened its doors for business last week at its new location in west Knoxville near Interstate 40/75 and Pellissippi Parkway. Over 200 students are currently enrolled in the college's eight technology-focused programs. 

The new campus is spacious and modern with larger classrooms and labs, a larger library resource center and student lounge. 

The school has a dedicated Testing Center, where students and non-students can test for leading technology certifications, many of which are embedded into the curriculums. Fountainhead College is a CompTIA Authorized Academy Partner, as well as an authorized Pearson Vue and Prometric Test Center.

"This is a watershed moment in the history of Fountainhead College," said Richard Rackley, the school CEO. "We are bringing our students closer to where the tech-focused jobs are, and we are now able to bring our considerable expertise in IT, cybersecurity and health information directly into Knoxville's technology community. Moving our campus west couldn't come at a better time, given the growth and need for a skilled and tech savvy workforce."

Fountainhead College Moving Campus to West Knoxville

Richard Rackley, CEO of Fountainhead College of Technology, has announced that the college will move its campus west to a site in Knoxville's technology corridor, near Interstate 40/75 and Pellissippi Parkway. 

After nearly 30 years of holding classes at their Tazewell Pike campus, the college will begin its spring term on January 7 in a 30,000 square foot building formerly occupied by Knoxville's ITT Technical Institute at 10208 Technology Drive.

This move reflects growth for Fountainhead College and the local technology industry, and the institution's mission of connecting students and graduates with employers, many of whom are located in west Knoxville. 

The new campus is situated in the epicenter of a technology corridor which is home to over 500 technology companies and 75,000 college and university students. An Open House will be announced early spring.