Hannah Perkins announced as new director of the Maryville College Downtown Center
Dec. 3, 2024
For Hannah Perkins, the new director of the Downtown Center, Maryville College felt like home instantly.
Perkins got her start in multimedia broadcast communications at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, and has worked extensively in social and digital media both locally and regionally since graduating in 2017. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in marketing with an emphasis in brand communication from the University of Colorado in Denver.
Previously from Colorado, Perkins had never before set foot in Tennessee. But when her fiance got a job in the area and she was referred to the open directorship of the newly opened Maryville College Downtown Center, she traded the Rockies in for the Smokies — a pretty good deal, according to her.
“It’s uncanny the resemblance that Maryville College and Susquehanna have,” she said. “They even have the same school colors. It really feels like coming home.”
While the location and familiar small-town feel are certainly bonuses for Perkins, she says the biggest draw of this position was the opportunity to help strengthen the bonds between the College and the community. The Downtown Center, announced in May 2023 and opened in September 2024, is designed to serve as a college hub for classes and collaboration with members of the community, as well as home for the College’s newly created Hospitality and Regional Identity (HRI) program and Fermentation Sciences minor.
Since starting work at the Downtown Center during Homecoming week, she’s been busy meeting with as many people as she possibly can — from MC faculty and staff to local businesses to Blount County Chamber of Commerce members — to hear what kinds of hopes and dreams the Maryville community has for the Center.
“There’s such an array of possibilities that the Center has, and it’s really exciting to be a part of it from essentially the very beginning,” she said. “Everybody you talk to has their own version of what the space could be, so I’m trying to nail down all of those ideas to make sure that at the end of the day it’s a really cool, innovative space for Maryville College and for the community.”
Before moving to Maryville, Perkins worked as the marketing manager for a brewery in Colorado; her background in beer makes her particularly intrigued by the new brewing possibilities the Downtown Center offers.
“I come from the beer industry, and so I was really excited when I saw the Fermentation Science minor here,” she said.
Working closely with Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Nathan Duncan, who heads MC’s Fermentation Science courses, she’s hoping the Center can provide opportunities to develop the program out into the Maryville community.
Perkins has also been working to develop community education classes that would utilize the teaching kitchen in the Downtown Center; for instance, she hinted at a potential collaboration with a local baker to offer a workshop on sourdough starters and bread making.
All of these programs are still in the early stages of planning, but with the strong relationship between Maryville College and partner organizations like Blackberry Farm and RT Lodge, Perkins expressed her excitement about the opportunity for students and community members to learn from local legends in the hospitality industry.
The Center is still relatively new, and there is a great deal left to be accomplished in getting it up and running as Perkins works with faculty, staff and Maryville locals to turn it into a space that fosters community. It’s a large undertaking, but it’s work that Perkins believes is important, exciting and full of possibilities.
“Maryville College is in a small town, and what we really want is to connect the College to the town, bringing people out into the downtown area through meaningful interactions, events, and collaborative programs,” she said. “When you have a strong relationship between the College and the downtown, there’s so much potential in what you can do. The two should be able to be great independently and even better together, so I hope that’s what this space does for this community, the College and the city at large.”
“I’m tremendously excited about Hannah’s leadership for the Downtown Center,” added John Berry, chief operations officer of Maryville College. “She brings experience and enthusiasm to this important role and has already made a positive impact on campus and in the Maryville community.”
Written by Julia Jeffress ’25