Southwest Tennessee Community College — Maxine A. Smith Center

The Maxine A. Smith Center is a three-story, 67,300-square-foot learning site at 8800 East Shelby Drive in southeast Memphis, serving nearby neighborhoods and students travelling from Collierville, Germantown and Olive Branch. Rather than function as another full-size main campus, it brings college classes and student services closer to this part of the metro. Southwest says the building contains a library, eight computer classrooms and 21 additional classrooms, including science laboratories.

The program list ranges from aviation operations and cyber defense to business, computer information technology, criminal justice, general studies, logistics, paramedic training, psychology and social work. The college’s Workforce and Community Solutions division also maps professional training to this center, and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center offers no-cost, confidential business consulting from its Memphis location. Students should confirm whether a particular degree course or training session is scheduled at Smith before planning a trip.

On-site services include academic tutoring, library access, cafeteria, cashier, records, testing, child care and a student lounge. Advising and financial-aid staff list appointment-based service at this center, so the main campus offices are not the only place to start. The official location map helps orient drivers along East Shelby Drive and the surrounding highways; the college’s parking decal rules and visitor arrangements should be checked before arrival.

The center is named for Maxine A. Smith, a Memphis civil-rights leader and education advocate. That connection is more than a name on a building: the site’s neighborhood role is to put classrooms, labs and student support within reach of southeast Memphis. For English learners, Southwest’s ESL assessment and advising help identify courses, while the term schedule shows which sections are available at this location.