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Updates and news for the week of October 24 – 30, 2023
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.
Building a new future for School of Nursing
 Conceptual rendering of the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building UTC received an $8-million gift from the Kennedy Foundation, Inc., to name the forthcoming home of the UTC School of Nursing the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building. This is the largest single gift in UTC School of Nursing history.
Chancellor Angle announced this milestone gift at a Monday afternoon press conference alongside the Kennedy family, UTC School of Nursing faculty, students and supporters.
Off-Campus Housing Fair
For the first time, UTC is hosting an Off-Campus Housing Fair. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 26), Off-Campus Student Services will host informational sessions for UTC students wishing to live off campus.
Stop by the University Center Tennessee Room for free food, giveaways and prizes—and meet representatives from off-campus properties, utility companies and municipal services to learn more about the options now available to students. For more information, click here.
GrubHub Coming to Campus on Wednesday
Students, faculty and staff, GrubHub will be on campus for a UTC-centric tabling event from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 25) outside the University Center (Heritage Plaza). Stop by to receive swag, grab a snack and sign up for awesome prizes—and learn about the UTC GrubHub app.
Send in your Information for the UTC Parent and Family Association Newsletter
It is again time to recruit campus partners to send in information for the UTC Parent and Family Association newsletter, a monthly roundup distributed to more than 5,400 parents/family members. The November newsletter will be emailed to members Wednesday, Nov. 1. Click here to see the October newsletter.
To share information with the families of UTC students—upcoming events, important deadlines, helpful suggestions and departmental news—email hannah-turcotte@utc.edu by Wednesday (Oct. 25).
- Please keep info to one paragraph of 200 (or fewer) words.
- Images or logos to accompany the paragraph may be submitted.
Staying healthy has a new look
Thanks to a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Health, University Health Services has updated its clinic.
Waiting room furniture has been replaced with chairs that have antimicrobial coverings. Exam rooms have been updated and have non-porous countertops, touchless faucets, soap dispensers and paper towel holders, and new cabinets.
University Health Services reminds students, faculty and staff that testing for COVID-19, flu and RSV continues at no cost to anyone in the University community. While UHS is seeing fewer cases of COVID, please stay vigilant. Click here to learn more.
Let the Ghoul Times Roll
Plan to stop by the UTC Library on Halloween (Tuesday, Oct. 31), where they put the “BOO” in books. Students, staff and faculty are invited to enjoy costumes, candy, games, buttons, food, prizes and more.
From 1-3 p.m., students in costume should stop by the first floor of the library and pose for a photo. Photos will be uploaded to Facebook and the top three student costumes will win $50, $25 and $15 Starbucks gift cards. Check out MocSync for more details about the Annual Costume Contest, including costume inspiration links from the ghost of past Facebook photo galleries.
Don’t want to dress up? No problem—you can still participate in the Library’s Open House showcasing the best services and materials to save you from everyday horrors. Learn more about how the Library’s materials and services can save you from common college nightmares. As a bonus, all attendees can register to win door prizes.
The outstanding people of UTC
 Members of the UTC CUIP team include (from left) graduate students Yasir Hassan, Monireh Rahmati, Medhi Khaleghian and Giang Do, Director of Operations/Chief Engineer Austin Harris, graduate student Tuan Nguyen, Grant Writer/Administrator Jordan Gwarjanski and Dr. Mina Sartipi. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) provided its first-quarter report for the 2024 fiscal year, including a downloadable PDF: Q1 FY24 YTD Report PDF.
Among those receiving awards in during the first quarter were Dr. Mina Sartipi and the UTC Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) team, who were awarded $1.1 million from the Federal Highway Administration for research to enhance detection of “vulnerable road users” within the Smart City Corridor.
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 TVFCU’s Dionne Jenkins (yellow sweater), UTC staff and MOC Academy students recognizing TVFCU’s $10,000 gift to MOC Academy on Mocs Give Day. UTC raised $1,734,947.42 from 2,131 donors during its fourth annual Mocs Give Day on Oct. 3. The day’s original fundraising goals to raise $1,000,000 from 1,500 donors were exceeded by nearly 73% and 42%, respectively.
“Mocs Give Day is all about the collective power of giving. Almost 80% of all gifts were $100 or less,” said UTC Vice Chancellor of Advancement Kim White. “From supporting scholarships and athletics to study abroad opportunities and student support services, alumni and friends of UTC came together to support the areas on campus they are passionate about.”
Mark your calendar
The UTC Honors College invites faculty and staff to attend an Honors Teaching Get-Together from 5-6:30 p.m. today (Oct. 24) at Cherry Street Brewing (300 Cherokee Ave. in the Northshore). We will treat you to some food and drink as you mingle with other faculty members and brainstorm topics for interdisciplinary, team-taught courses. The event will also feature “academic speed dating”—a terrific opportunity to chat with colleagues and come up with exciting new courses to teach.
Come join us and consider proposing a seminar to teach in 2024-2025 for the Honors College. Click here to learn more about Honors seminar proposals.
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The Tasty Tidbit Leadership Lunch Series, a trio of sessions open to UTC students, faculty and staff, continues from noon-1 p.m. today (Oct. 24) with a West Campus Housing multipurpose room session titled “Aspire to INSPIRE with Taylor Tipton.” A light lunch will be provided. Click here to RSVP.
Coming up next: A Monday, Nov. 6, leadership lunch in University Center Chattanooga Room C, titled “What Is Servant Leadership Anyway? A Discussion with Ken Jones.” Click here to RSVP.
Email Daniel-Grzesik@utc.edu, the director of Leadership Development and Programs, to learn more about the Tasty Tidbit series.
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Information sessions are taking place for two spring 2024 study abroad courses, which are open to all UTC students. The courses have no prerequisites and include two-week international study trips to Germany and to the Balkan countries of Albania, Greece and North Macedonia. Both are led by UTC Gary W. Rollins College of Business faculty members.
Sessions about both courses will be discussed on the following dates:
- Today (Oct. 24): Zoom, 12:30 p.m.
- Friday, (Oct. 27): Zoom, noon
Students earn three credit hours on the undergraduate level (MGT 4950) or graduate level (MGT 5950). For more information, contact COBInternational@utc.edu or visit COB International Programs.
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Cultural Spotlight: Puerto Rico takes place from 4:45-5:45 p.m. today (Oct. 24) in the Lupton Hall first floor lobby. Come learn about Puerto Rico, its history and its culture and how you can travel there without a passport as an American citizen. Click here for more information.
Cultural Spotlight is a platform through which UTC students and scholars can share their culture and traditions with the UTC community. This program is very casual and may include presentations, dance performances, music, sample foods and Q&As. This cultural exchange and learning between attendees is open to the entire UTC community.
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 Clockwise from left: Colum McCann, Ishmael Beah, Felice Bell, Christian J. Collier and Sybil Baker. National Book Award winner Colum McCann, author of the New York Times bestseller “Let the Great World Spin,” and Ishmael Beah, a Quill Award-nominated author and human rights activist, will participate in a panel discussion called “Changing the World with Stories” from 7-9 p.m. tonight (Oct. 24) in the University Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit the Changing the World with Stories website.
“Changing the World with Stories” panelists will also include UC Foundation Professor and Associate Department Head Sybil Baker and Christian J. Collier, a Chattanooga-based spoken-word artist and musician.
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If you’re interested in studying abroad at all during your time at UTC, don’t miss the Center for Global Education Study Abroad program’s biggest event of the year.
Stop by the Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday (Oct. 25) to meet with partners from across the globe, chat with study abroad alumni, eat food from around the world and grab some swag. The event will take place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the University Center Tennessee Room.
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Take Back the Night, taking place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 25) on Chamberlain Field, is an annual October event that brings awareness to gender-based violence.
The event includes a march against gender-based violence, a survivor speak out, and a candlelight vigil to honor survivors and those lost to gender-based violence. Campus community members interested in volunteering can sign up on the Center for Women and Gender Equity’s volunteer list.
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An eight-week summer 2024 business research internship opportunity in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is available for up to five UTC students. Click here for information about the program.
An information session about the internship with Dr. Robert Dooley, dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business, will take place at noon on Thursday (Oct. 26) in Fletcher Hall Room 109. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to COBInternational@utc.edu. The application deadline is Nov. 1; click here to apply.
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Join Pre-Health Professions Advising on Thursday (Oct. 26) for an inspiring exploration of the ethical considerations doctors encounter as they strive to create a health care landscape that is equitable, affordable and rooted in patient-centered care.
Doctors participating in the panel discussion, taking place from 4-5:30 p.m. in the University Center Chattanooga Room, include a rural emergency medicine physician, a family practice physician, a plastic surgeon and a pediatrician. Everyone is invited—from medical professionals to students from any major to anyone interested in the future of health care ethics.
The discussion will explore topics ranging from health care to the humanities, social sciences and allied health fields. Audience members will deepen their understanding of the innovative approaches doctors apply to the ethical challenges they face.
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Please join UTC Campus Recreation from 6-8 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 27) for a Family Festival: Spooky Waters Pool Party. Tickets may be purchased by UTC Campus Recreation members and non-members. Our pool will be decorated and themed for a not-so-scary family night featuring trunk-or-treat-style booths, log-rolling music and much more.
Tickets are $10 per person in advance and $15 day of event and can be purchased through the UTC Campus Recreation portal. Email campusrec@utc.edu with questions.
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 Carrie Newcomer Songwriter, recording artist, performer, educator and activist Carrie Newcomer is performing in the UTC Fine Arts Center’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 28). Click here for ticket information.
Newcomer has been described as a “prairie mystic” by the Boston Globe and one who “asks all the right questions” by Rolling Stone magazine. She has 19 nationally released albums on Available Light & Concord/Rounder Records and earned an Emmy Award for her PBS special, “An Evening with Carrie Newcomer.”
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The Office of the University Registrar provided important upcoming registration dates and deadlines.
Monday (Oct. 30) is the last day to withdraw from any full-term course on a course-by-course basis with a grade of W (one or more courses).
Also, online withdrawal is available through 11:59 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 30).
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“Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century,” edited by Alice Wong, was selected as the Read to Achieve text for 2023-2024. “Disability Visibility,” a collective anthology of short essays, interview transcripts, articles, blog posts and creative prose, introduces UTC students to conversations in and around disability representation.
In celebration of that book selection, Haben Girma—a human rights lawyer advancing disability justice, the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School and contributor to “Disability Visibility”—has been invited to UTC to share her story. Girma, named a White House Champion of Change by President Obama and the recipient of a Helen Keller Achievement Award, will speak at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2, in the University Center Tennessee Room. Her lecture is open to all.
Girma’s visit to UTC is sponsored by Student Success Programs, Department of English, Disability Resource Center, Department of Political Science and Public Service, Division of Access and Engagement, Honors College and Walker Center for Teaching and Learning.
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In his documentary “Beautiful Faces,” 2012 UTC alum Dagan Beckett explores the journeys three young patients, their parents and local surgeon Dr. Larry Sargent took through multiple plastic surgeries to address their medical problems.
The Chattanooga premiere of “Beautiful Faces” takes place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, in the Fine Arts Center’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the cast and filmmakers. Admission is free for students and $5 for non-students, but registration is required. Click here for the registration link.
Research and Networking Opportunity
The Vice Chancellor for Research and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) are planning to support a site visit and networking opportunities with researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. We are seeking to gather information about faculty interests and preferences to help us plan for the visit and other potential activities in 2024.
Any UTC faculty member or researcher is eligible to participate. Please take a few moments to complete the brief survey here to help us schedule activities of interest to you.
Campus Updates
With the start of the basketball season right around the corner, single-game tickets for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are now available. Single-game ticket options begin at just $10 (general admission) for the women’s slate and $12 (200 level baseline) on the men’s side.
The season opens for both programs on Monday, Nov. 6, at McKenzie Arena—with the women taking on King University at 11 a.m. and the men facing Covenant College at 7 p.m.
Click here to learn more and to buy tickets.
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The Institute of Contemporary Art, housed in the Fine Arts Center, is conducting a planning study to better emphasize areas of growth and change. In order to better understand ourselves and how we can serve you both now and in the future, we request your survey participation as a valued member of the UTC community. This anonymous survey will take approximately 3-5 minutes.
As an incentive for completing the survey, you will have the ability to enter your contact information for a chance to win a $50 gift card. Click here for the survey link.
To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://icachatt.org/about.
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Injured in intramurals? Tweaked something in the gym? Back and neck soreness from hours of studying? Just need guidance getting back to your favorite activities? Check out UTC’s free physical therapy clinic.
The Pro Bono Physical Therapy clinic, a part of University Health Services, is staffed by UTC Doctor of Physical Therapy students and professors and is 100% free. Clinic hours are 8 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and 1-5 p.m. on Thursdays. Call University Health Services at 423-425-2266 or email ptclinic@utc.edu for more information.
Looking ahead
This week’s Mocs home athletics calendar:
- Thursday (Oct. 26): Volleyball vs. UNCG, Maclellan Gym, 6 p.m.
- Friday (Oct. 27): Men’s Tennis at the UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic, UTC Tennis Center, all day
- Friday (Oct. 27): Volleyball vs. ETSU, Maclellan Gym, 6 p.m.
- Saturday (Oct. 28): Men’s Tennis at the UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic, UTC Tennis Center, all day
- Sunday (Oct. 29): Men’s Tennis at the UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic, UTC Tennis Center, all day
- Monday (Oct. 30): Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Boo and Gold Halloween Event, McKenzie Arena, 5:30 p.m.
Looking back
 Junior Sam Doss-Watson, left, an environmental geology student, learns from Dr. Ashley Manning-Berg in her Grote Hall lab. Early this semester, UTC Assistant Professor of Geology Ashley Manning-Berg was one of 32 early-career scientists selected to participate in a NASA workshop at Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C., for what she called “an intense week coming up with ideas of how to look for life on Mars.”
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Here are some other recent UTC stories featured in the Newsroom:
Tales from the UTC PodLab
 Meghan Phillips and Charlie Yowell “Tennessee Valley Across the Table” is a student-led podcast that brings locals, often strangers with different views, together to learn who we are as people. It is inspired by StoryCorps’ One Small Step program.
In 2022, community members came to the UTC PodLab and opened their lives with stories about their families, their politics and their hopes for the future. This year, UTC Honors students, under the direction of Will Davis, studied the recordings and chose the material that most resonated with them. This episode by UTC business student Mary Scott features a conversation between Meghan Phillips and Charlie Yowell.
You can subscribe to “Tennessee Valley Across the Table” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
WUTC Spotlight: Changing the World with Stories
Narrative 4 uses what it calls a “story exchange” to create curiosity and empathy in a first-person format.
Tonight (Oct. 24), Narrative 4 co-founder Colum McCann will participate in a panel discussion titled “Changing the World with Stories.” The events starts at 7 p.m. in the University Center Auditorium.
Over the summer, UTC hosted multiple two-day orientation sessions for new students coming to campus utilizing Narrative 4 techniques. A recent Scenic Roots on WUTC-FM featured several people talking about the “story exchange” experience, including Narrative 4’s Kate Rudder; juniors Georgia Hunley and Emily Waddell, who were among the UTC orientation leaders; and UTC Coordinator of Music Education Lee Harris.
Be Well Tip: Body Acceptance Week
This week we celebrate Body Acceptance Week. Did you know there are three types of body acceptance?
- Body positivity (“I love my body”) encourages unconditional body love no matter what it looks like.
- Body neutrality (“I do not love or hate my body”) prioritizes the body’s function and achievements rather than its appearance, views the body through a neutral lens without judgment or forced positivity, and acknowledges body love is not always realistic or attainable.
- Body liberation (“I am more than my body”) promotes inclusivity, body autonomy, fat acceptance and size diversity and separates a person’s self-worth from their body or appearance.
Check out the Center for Wellbeing’s Instagram page throughout the week to learn more about body acceptance.
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