Nashville State has an important role to play in building a more just and equitable Middle Tennessee. While this has always been true, the structural challenges that many of our students experience on a day-to-day basis have been amplified during the COVID-19 crisis, exposing both the breadth and depth of the task before us. The new Visionary Fund will help position Nashville State for excellence during the next 50 years and beyond. We want to see students thrive during their time at Nashville State and beyond, so were thinking creatively and looking for new solutions to ensure that all students have the resources they need to be successful. An important element of eradicating disparities in our local economy and workforce involves removing barriers to college completion that prevent marginalized individuals from crossing bridges to prosperity. We're stronger together, especially when we're #NashvilleStateStrong.