We Have A Lot to Be Proud Of!
Great news for our Mocs Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams: both are Southern Conference Champions! It’s the 11th SoCon Tournament Title for the men and the 14th for the women. Both teams are now on their way to the NCAA Tournament. I am so proud of what they’ve accomplished this year, and they’re not done yet. Special thanks to the UTC Pep Band, Cheerleaders, students and fans who traveled to the tournament to support the teams.
Yesterday we learned that CBS Sports will be broadcasting live from UTC on Sunday as we host a men’s basketball bracket selection viewing party in the University Center Auditorium. Doors open at 5pm and the national broadcast begins at 5:30pm. I encourage fans from across campus, and from the community, to join us for the broadcast so we can show the nation what it means to be a Moc! We’ll also host a viewing party for the announcement of the women’s basketball brackets on Monday in the UC auditorium, 7-8pm.
I would also like to congratulate our UTC Wrestling Team, which had an outstanding performance at the SoCon Tournament. The team finished a ½-point shy of a team title, but the Mocs had two wrestlers, Scottie Boykin and Kamaal Shakur, win individual titles.
Last week our campus and community came together for the Chattanooga Information Forum, held in our University Center. Mr. Tim Moreland, Chattanooga’s Director of Performance Management and Open Data, spoke to a group of faculty, staff and students interested in learning more about the city’s operations, challenges and needs. The goal was to identify new ways in which UTC and the City of Chattanooga can collaborate to enhance research and student learning.
We also had a visit from U.S. Senator Bob Corker, who spoke to a highly-engaged group of faculty, staff and students at the first UTC College of Business ‘Leadership Speaker Series’ event. He talked about setting ambitious goals and challenging yourself to think bigger. His lecture was followed by a Q&A session with a smaller group of students, where he answered some pretty tough questions. Senator Corker told me he was impressed with the intellect and engagement he saw in our students. I couldn’t agree more. Here’s a short video recapping the event.
A quick reminder to faculty and staff that the deadline for completing the required sexual misconduct, relationship violence and stalking awareness training is March 31st. It is important for each of us to remain informed about these critical issues. The mandatory training is available online and should take less than an hour to complete.
Next week is Spring Break! I want to encourage all of our students to enjoy the well-deserved time off – and to be careful out there! We’ll see you back after the break as we sprint to the end of the semester.
Finally, I’d like to invite you to join me for the next Coffee with the Chancellor taking place Tuesday, March 15th in my conference room located at 102C Founders Hall. Everyone who shows up will receive a nice coffee mug and can also pick up one of our Power C lapel pins from my assistant, Teresa McKinney.