The establishment of a state community college at Gallatin involved the cooperative work of many civic leaders and citizens of Sumner County as well as State officials. A unified proposal for a college was presented by Robert L. Wendling, leading a Sumner County delegation, to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in Nashville on September 11, 1967.
Volunteer State Community College was founded in 1971 in Gallatin TN about 30 miles NE away from Nashville. The total enrollment of Volunteer State is 6,979 and the teacher/student ratio is 1:20.