The Tennessee Board of Regents has approved the naming of Faculty Office Building at Northeast State “Lana Hamilton Hall” in honor of Dr. Allana Hamilton, who passed away earlier this year after more than 30 years of service at the College and the TBR system.
Hamilton spent most of her career at Northeast State, rising from adjunct professor to vice president for academic affairs, before being appointed president of Jackson State Community College in 2017 and later as TBR vice chancellor for academic affairs.
As a first-generation college graduate, she had intended to go to medical school and become a doctor. In graduate school, as a teaching assistant in biology labs, she discovered a love for teaching, which was reinforced by spending summers as a naturalist in a state park. After earning her master’s degree, she became an adjunct professor at Northeast in 1991.
Hamilton later became a full-time faculty member in 1992 and dean of the Science Division in 2001. She became the College’s vice president of Academic Affairs in 2008, serving in that role until January 2017.
“Lana was beloved and admired by her colleagues for her can-do attitude and generosity of spirit. Even in tough times, her winning smile and cheerful nature were always an inspiration,” said Northeast State President Bethany Bullock.
In her VP role at Northeast State, she led the faculty, staff and administration in support of the college’s instructional program. She helped develop new academic programs based on the community’s needs, including, for examples, an industrial operations technical certificate and a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) initiative involving K-12 schools, public and private colleges and universities, employers and community members.
She also provided oversight and guidance to academic deans and for evening and distance education, learning support, the library, honors program, and teaching and learning resources at Northeast. She continuously evaluated the effectiveness of existing academic programs; participated in institutional strategic planning, and developed and managed a $19 million instructional budget.
Hamilton earned a bachelor of science degree in Biology at Tusculum University, a master of science in Biological Sciences at East Tennessee State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis at ETSU.