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Updates and news for the week of November 29 – December 5, 2022
The UTC Campus Weekly newsletter is distributed every Tuesday morning. If you have news, events or announcements you would like shared with campus, please submit your information to chuck-wasserstrom@utc.edu in the Division of Communications and Marketing by 3 p.m. on Friday for placement in the following Tuesday’s newsletter.
Campus Updates | University Events Master Calendar | UTC News
SGA Leads Two Walks to Review Campus Safety
Students with the UTC SGA led a group of about 35 people on a roughly three-mile walk around campus during the first of two “Safety Walk” events on November 22. Members of University administration were joined by campus and city safety officials on a route developed by SGA members to highlight concerns within three primary areas: sidewalk surfaces, pedestrian safety at traffic intersections and handicapped-accessible building entrances and sidewalk ramps.
- Upon returning to the University Center where the trek began, SGA and UTC leaders discussed the issues identified. The group agreed that, in addition to sidewalks, pedestrian safety and accessible buildings, outdoor campus emergency call boxes must be more visible and accessible.
- Throughout the walk, UTC Associate Dean of Students Brett Fuchs compiled a list of potential problems, a task he repeated at the day’s second outing that started at 8 p.m. Fuchs will develop a “master list” of findings from both walks for University officials to consider.
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One Small Step: Save the Date!
Faculty, staff and students: Save the date—Thursday, December 8—for the free listening party and celebration of “One Small Step” in Chattanooga.
- One Small Step is an initiative of NPR’s StoryCorps project, and our city is one of just six sites selected nationally to participate.
- Will Davis of UTC’s PodLab is leading the effort and has recruited and recorded conversation participants who might not appear to have anything in common toward encouraging listening to those with whom they disagree.
- Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the listening party, 6-8 p.m. on December 8 at Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum.
- You’ll meet conversation participants, hear excerpts of conversations being edited for a serial podcast, receive small commemorative items and enjoy a variety of beverages.
For more information and to register, click here.
Fall Commencement Info: Ticket deadline is Wednesday
UTC is excited to host Fall 2022 Commencement ceremonies December 16-17 to celebrate graduates’ achievements. McKenzie Arena is undergoing construction, which limits attendance capacity; in order to accommodate guests, tickets will be required for entry.
Every person entering the arena will be required to present a valid ticket. Graduates will be able to claim 15 tickets (one for themselves and 14 for guests) through Wednesday (November 30). Beginning Reading Day (December 6), if there are still tickets available, graduates will be able to request additional tickets on a first-come, first-served basis by emailing the Arena Box office at mocsticketing@utc.edu.
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Scrappy’s Cupboard Cap and Gown loan program available
Scrappy’s Cupboard is happy to offer cap and gown academic regalia loans to any UTC student who has been approved to participate in a UTC graduation ceremony and cannot afford to purchase the regalia required to participate. Academic regalia is available for loan up to five (5) days prior to the graduation ceremony and must be returned no later than five (5) days after the graduation ceremony.
To request a cap and gown loan for fall 2022 graduation ceremonies, please complete the request form no later than 5 p.m. on December 12.
If you have any questions, contact the Office of Student Outreach and Support at (423) 425-2299 or scrappyscupboard@utc.edu.
Fall Commencement Info: Faculty Seating
Faculty seating will be available on the arena floor as was the case pre-pandemic. Every person entering the arena will be required to present a valid ticket. Due to space limitations, it is vital to have an accurate account of the faculty that will be participating. If you would like to attend any ceremony, please use this link.
If you sign up to attend a ceremony, please make every effort to attend; since capacity is limited, there is a finite number of tickets.
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The outstanding people of UTC
 Members of the UTC Construction Competition Team are, from left, Jace Holt, Joshua Wilson, Zion Laoo, Paris Cornelison, Grant Watson, Madison Williams, Levi Thornton, Wesley Boyle and Elijah Kerr. Photo credit: Paul Baggett, associate lecturer of construction management. The UTC Construction Competition Team (pictured) placed in the Top Five in both the Commercial Building and the Shadow Team categories in this year’s Associated Schools of Construction Region 2 competition, which covers the Southeast.
Check out these Mocs making a difference:
- Assistant Professor of Chemistry Meredith Barbee was featured in an extended Q&A with Advanced Science News.
- UC Foundation Associate Professor of Economics Rafayet Alam was interviewed for a Local 3 News segment about Black Friday and inflation.
- Mocs football offensive lineman McClendon Curtis is one of 15 finalists for the FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the FCS’ top student-athlete. He is pursuing a master’s degree in School Leadership: Teacher Leadership. Curtis also was selected as the Jacobs Block Award winner, which goes to the Southern Conference’s top offensive lineman.
- Defensive lineman Jay Person was named the SoCon’s Defensive Player of the Year and is a finalist for the national Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS’ top defensive player.
- Running back Ailym Ford is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is annually presented to the national offensive player of the year in college football’s Division I subdivision.
- Six Mocs football players earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, led by sophomore offensive lineman Reid Williams; his 3.950 GPA in Engineering Management is tops among the team’s undergraduates. The other honorees were wide receiver Tyron Arnett, defensive back Reuben Lowery III, placekicker Aaron Sears, defensive back CaMiron Smith and punter Gabe Boring.
Winter Welcome: Save the Dates
Save the dates for Winter Welcome 2023. The Office of Student and Family Engagement is excited to announce the dates for Winter Welcome week: January 9-13, 2023. The 2023 Winter Welcome calendar is jam-packed with a ton of programs and events to help welcome everyone back in the spring. Follow @utc_engage on Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on event details.
- Please complete this form to submit an event for the calendar.
- The priority deadline to submit events for the Winter Welcome calendar is Tuesday, January 3. Events received by this date will be added to the Winter Welcome website before class begins. The final deadline to submit events is 1 p.m. on Friday, January 6. Events received after that date are not guaranteed to appear on the Winter Welcome website.
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Freight Broker Professional Program Open House
Upperclassmen and recent graduates looking for an employment pathway—or anyone interested in becoming a freight broker—can learn about UTC’s 90-day program at the upcoming Freight Broker Professional Program Open House.
You will also learn about the freight broker role, freight broker career benefits and how the UTC program will set you up for success in Chattanooga’s red-hot freight industry. Eligible students have opportunities to access tuition reimbursement, sign-on bonuses and post-course job opportunities through 11 local employer partners. To RSVP, click here.
Campus Updates
The Office of the Bursar sends congratulations to the Class of 2022.
For students continuing the UTC experience, here is some important information regarding the Spring 2023 semester:
- Students who have registered for Spring 2023 should view their E-Mocs statement. The information is accessible via their MyMocsNet accounts.
- The last day to pay for Spring 2023 is Thursday, December 15.
- Cancellation of classes for Spring 2023 due to non-payment will occur on Monday, December 19, at noon EST.
- First day of classes for Spring 2023 is Monday, January 9.
- All students are encouraged to set up ACH/Direct Deposit for refunds through their MyMocsNet accounts.
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UTC Parking Services announced that Monday (December 5) will be the first day to purchase parking permits for the spring 2023 semester, beginning at 9 a.m. Reserved permits are on a first-come-first-sold basis with limited availability. Click here for the link to the UTC Parking permit purchase website.
The SGA is hosting a clothing drive to gather donations to give to the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga from 4-5 p.m. on Thursday (December 1) at the University Center. The charity is asking for clothes that are still in fairly good condition in any size for the winter months, such as jackets, pants, gloves, socks, shirts and shoes/boots.
Unmasking: Now We Speak is a Mark Making visual art, creative writing and performance project focusing on men and women with addiction and mental health issues. The participants’ art and stories are the result of a year-long workshop series in which they worked with storytellers and artists to tap into dark crevices and access the parts of themselves that house the pain and suffering both endured and committed. The project will culminate with a reception at ArtsBuild from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday (December 1) where the participants’ art will be exhibited and their stories will be performed spontaneously by community actors. The event is free and the public is welcome.
The Clarence T. Jones Observatory has reopened this fall, with events scheduled through this Sunday (December 4). The observatory, owned and operated by UTC, is free and open to the public. Gates open Sunday at 5:30 p.m., with a lecture and Planetarium show beginning at 6 p.m. and telescope viewing until 8 p.m.
The UTC Center for Wellbeing, Human Resources and Employee Wellness are sponsoring a campus visit by Dr. Garland Vance on Tuesday, December 6, on the topic shared by the title of his recent book, “Gettin’ (Un)Busy.” He will provide a workshop for supervisors in the morning and a workshop for faculty and staff in the afternoon. Click here to register.
Jeff Flowers, Retirement Plan Advisor with Empower Retirement (aka Retire Ready Tennessee), will be on campus at the UTC Library Tuesday, December 13, for in-person 401k and 457 retirement planning meetings. These meetings are beneficial for employees at all stages of their careers. To schedule an appointment, please follow this link to see available times. Virtual meetings are also available on other days.
Reminders:
- The UT Concur Travel Team will be offering training on specific topics in November. All sessions will be recorded and posted at Learn More About Concur and are eligible for HR128 credit. You can enroll by visiting the Concur Topics area of the K@TE learning management system; Zoom details, including the password, will be provided in the confirmation email. The list of topics and dates can be found by clicking here.
- The Testing Center is looking for individuals interested in helping with the administration of the ACT at UTC. This is a paid position, and proctors and room supervisors are needed for the following 2023 dates: February 11, April 15, June 10 and July 15. If you are interested in working one session or all four, email cathy-jackson@utc.edu.
- A Grant Writing Workshop set for February 2-3, 2023, will provide individual, technical assistance consultation sessions. This workshop is highly encouraged for new faculty or faculty who are new to federal proposal development. Click here to register for the workshop and here to register for 1:1 consultations.
Beating the drum for Beat Hunger
For the first time since it started 26 years ago, the “Beat Hunger” concert at UTC was directed by someone new.
Ethan McDaniel, who is in his first year as adjunct instructor and director of the Percussion Ensemble in the Department of Music, oversaw his first “Beat Hunger” concert on November 21. The concert was created by Monte Coulter, who retired in 2021 after 41 years at UTC.
Looking ahead
Events posted to this week’s University master calendar include:
 Sophomore Mocs wrestler Jackson Hurst (photo courtesy of Purdue University) This week’s Mocs Athletics calendar:
- Wednesday (11/30): Women’s Basketball at Georgia State (Atlanta, Ga.), 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday (11/30): Men’s Basketball at Tennessee Tech (Cookeville, Tenn.), 7 p.m.
- Saturday (12/3): Wrestling at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 11 a.m.
- Saturday (12/3): Women’s Basketball at Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), 1 p.m.
- Saturday (12/3): Men’s Basketball at Gardner-Webb (Boiling Springs, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Looking back
 UTC roommates Hayley Sweatman, left, Cas Sandefer and Bayli Sigman. Three UTC first-year students landed part-time jobs after volunteering for a morning of work at Siskin at Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center earlier this semester. All are members of AdvanceU Leadership, a Themed Learning Community.
Here are some other recent UTC stories featured in the Newsroom:
- Considered one of the world’s top experts on Iran, Dr. Saeid Golkar has been interviewed by 68 news organizations since the start of the protests in September, including Reuters, the BBC, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, NBC and the Wall Street Journal.
- Dr. Amir Alakaam, associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at UTC and director of its Master of Public Health program, recently received a $332,500 grant from the Tennessee Department of Public Health.
- Haley Solomon, the faculty adviser of the Perch, with the help of her dedicated students, such as Perch Station Manager Fay Aregai, have rebranded and rebuilt the UTC student radio station after COVID-19 pressed the pause button for this student organization in March 2020.
WUTC Spotlight: Open Book
On a recent episode of Open Book, Richard Winham spoke with Robert Crais about the author’s most recent novel, “Racing the Light.”
The author of 19 novels, Crais began his career writing scripts for such groundbreaking television shows as “Hill Street Blues,” “Cagney and Lacey” and “L.A. Law.” After 10 years in Hollywood spent as one of a group of writers working on a script, he left to write novels “he wanted to read.”
Be Well Tip of the Week
World AIDS Day takes place annually on December 1. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.
Globally, there are an estimated 38 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS-related illnesses, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
- World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
- Testing for HIV is critical and there are several free resources available in Chattanooga including Cempa, Choice Health Network, and the Hamilton County Health Department.
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