Funding for the creation of a higher education center in Lawrence County has been announced by Governor Bill Haslam. The center will be centrally located in Lawrenceburg and easily accessible to students in Lawrence County, an area with limited higher education options.

Tuition will be free to Tennessee adults without a degree or certificate thanks to the recent Tennessee Reconnect Act who want to work toward a technical certificate or associate degree. Courses to complete degree or certificate programs will also be offered to Tennessee Promise students.

Both scholarship programs are part of the Drive to 55 initiative to increase the number of Tennesseans with a degree or certificate to 55 percent by 2025.

The Lawrence County Higher Education Center will be initially supported through $4.6 million in state funds and $4.5 million in local funds.

 The Lawrence County center is one of several recent expansions to public higher education in rural areas of Tennessee.