Updates and news for the week of October 3 – 9, 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.

UTC News  |  UTC Events Calendar  |  Campus Updates

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It’s Mocs Give Day!

Today is Mocs Give Day, UTC’s annual day of giving. With a goal of raising $1 million from 1,500 donors, all gifts in any amount to UTC will help us reach our goal and support the great work that’s happening around campus.

With 13 special Mocs Give Day matches and challenges spanning from Mocs Club to Scrappy’s Cupboard to each college, you can make more of an impact to the places around campus you love just by giving today. Make your gift to UTC today!

To UTC and beyond: Happy Homecoming Week

UTC’s Homecoming Week prepares to take students further than ever before as organizations gear up for space-themed events lasting through Saturday’s 4 p.m. football game against Western Carolina University at Finley Stadium. Tailgating begins at 1:30 p.m. and the homecoming king and queen announcement takes place during halftime.

Make sure to follow @utchomecoming on social media to stay up-to-date with homecoming activities.

Calling all students!

Mocs students, you will be receiving an email this week about the Student Experience Survey. This survey is administered to all 54,000 students across the UT system to learn about your current needs, well-being and preferences, and we need everyone’s help in completing the two-minute questionnaire. Click here to go to the survey. Student feedback informs us about the Mocs experience and helps identify opportunities for the future.

The Power C Tour Heads to Memphis

The Power C Tour, a statewide outreach effort to prospective students on academic programs, admissions, housing, financial aid and campus life at UTC, is heading to Memphis.

The Power C Tour Memphis visit, taking place from 6-7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday (Oct. 5) at the Marriott Memphis East (5795 Poplar Ave.), will give high school students, transfers, graduate students and their families a feel for UTC. Representatives from the academic colleges, student services, the UTC Executive Leadership Team—and Scrappy—will be on hand to answer questions and make connections in a friendly, relaxed environment. Visit utc.edu/roadtrip for more information.

WUTC Fall Pledge Drive

WUTC’s Fall Pledge Drive begins today (Oct. 3)—coinciding with Mocs Give Day—and runs through Friday, Oct. 13.

A public service of the University, WUTC is home to National Public Radio programming in our area; local hosts Richard Winham, Ray Bassett and Haley Solomon; and learning opportunities for students on the UTC campus.

More than half of WUTC’s funding comes from the community here in Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley.  Please support WUTC at wutc.org and click the Donate button.

Let’s All Stay Healthy

University Health Services reminds students, faculty and staff to follow the process for staying healthy by getting flu and COVID vaccines at your local pharmacy.

While UHS is seeing fewer cases of COVID, please stay vigilant. COVID is still in the area, along with the flu. Click here to learn more.

Hispanic Heritage Month

This week’s Hispanic Heritage Month event calendar includes:

  • Today (Oct. 3): “Un Nuevo Pasado/Someday Soon: A Documentary by Pablo Mazariegos,” Roland Hayes Concert Hall, 6 p.m.
  • Tuesday (Oct. 10): Study Abroad Spotlight, Lupton Hall first floor, 3:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday (Oct. 10): Guest Lecturer Cynthia Orozco, University Center Auditorium, 5 p.m.
  • All Month Long: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage with UTC Library, click here to see electronic collections

The outstanding people of UTC

The Class of 2023 UTC Athletics Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony will take place Friday (Oct. 6) in the University Center Tennessee Room. The inductees represent four decades of Mocs athletics history: Michelle Fuzzard LaCourse (softball, 2008-2012), Stephan Jaeger (men’s golf, 2006-2009), Bobby Orand (wrestling, 1977-1980), Frank Reed (softball head coach since 2002) and Anastasia Zhukova (women’s tennis, 2006-2007).

The Hall of Fame also recognizes four individual award winners: Hiren Desai (Gordon Davenport Award), Cedric Greenway (Joe Morrison Award), McClendon Curtis (Scrappy Moore Award) and Dr. Frank “Bubba” Trundle Jr. (Harold Wilkes Award).

The event is open to the public, but registration closes Wednesday (Oct. 4).  For more information on the banquet, the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame or to purchase tickets, visit GoMocs.com/HallofFame.

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Check out these Mocs making a difference:

  • Graduate student Lesley Green Boyd won the women’s 5-kilometer race in leading the Mocs to a first-place finish in Saturday’s Live in Lou Cross County Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • Senior mechatronics major Juan Pena and Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu were featured in a NewsChannel 9 story about the UTC robotics team’s first international award.
  • Follow-up stories on a pair of hazmat accidents in Chattanooga brought Local 3 News and News 12 Now to campus to talk to Civil Engineering Professor Ignatius Fomunung.
  • Dr. Bento Lobo, head of the Department of Finance and Economics, talked to Local 3 News and the Times Free Press about the effects of a government shutdown.
  • Dr. Holly Berkowitz, coordinator of the UTC Writing and Communication Center, recently wrote, “#essayhack: What TikTok can Teach Writing Centers about Student Perceptions of College Writing” for the University of Wisconsin-Madison writing center’s website.
  • Longtime WUTC-FM radio personality Richard Winham was the subject of a Chattanoogan feature story.
  • UTC alumnus Dylan Rivera (political science: public policy 2020), now the City of Chattanooga’s director of Policy Planning and Implementation, was the Chattanooga’s Choice Award recipient at the recent 2023 La Paz Latino Leadership Awards ceremony. Others with UTC ties who were nominated for awards included senior Mateo Jimenez and alums Amira Marquez Moreno and Raiza Barahona.

Mark your calendar

Annual enrollment for 2024 benefits is open through Oct. 13.

The UTC human resources team is available to help you navigate the enrollment changes and options with a trio of Q&A Zoom sessions:

  • Today (Oct. 3) at 10 a.m.
  • Friday (Oct. 6) at 3 p.m.
  • Monday (Oct. 9) at 11 a.m.

Click here for the Campus Updates post about annual enrollment, which includes links to the annual enrollment newsletter, annual enrollment videos and PartnersForHealth.

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Discover, plan and attend campus events with ease thanks to the new and improved UTC Events Calendar. Users can now find events hosted by Mocs Athletics, the UTC Library, faculty and student organizations and more all in this one, convenient location.

This week, the Division of Communications and Marketing is hosting short online FAQ information sessions on the following days:

Read more at UTC Events Calendar FAQ. For more info, email eventscalendar@utc.edu.

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Junior Gage Goza (as Charles Condomine) and sophomore Ellen Rich (as Ruth Condomine).

Junior Gage Goza (as Charles Condomine) and sophomore Ellen Rich (as Ruth Condomine).

The UTC Theatre Co. opens its 2023-2024 season tonight-Saturday (Oct. 3-7), presenting Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” in the Fine Arts Center’s Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. every night, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here and through the UTC Box Office in person or by phone (423-425-4369). Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students (with proof of student ID) and seniors.

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Tonight (Oct. 3), the Division of Diversity and Engagement and the College of Arts and Sciences will present “Un Nuevo Pasado/Someday Soon: A Documentary by Pablo Mazariegos.” The free event, which takes place from 6-7:30 p.m. in the UTC Fine Arts Center’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall, will consist of the film’s screening and a session with its creator.

In “Un Nuevo Pasado,” Mazariegos examines the immigration path of Guatemalan immigrants now residing in Chattanooga while coming to terms with his own migration experience.

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UTC Asian Studies, Department of History and Center for Global Education will present Dr. Yajun Mo, an associate professor of history at Boston College, for a free public lecture at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 4) in the University Center Raccoon Mountain Room. The discussion is titled “Head to the Northwest: Modern China’s Movement Westward.”

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The Department of Chemistry and Physics will host a research poster session and alumni reception from 3-4:30 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 6) on the fourth floor of Grote Hall.

Chemistry and physics undergraduate students will present research they have done over the past summer in the form of research posters. Come and walk around, talk with students and meet the faculty. The reception for alumni will immediately follow in Grote 403.

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UTC’s bi-annual Bloodanooga Blood Drive, in collaboration with Blood Assurance, is taking place Oct. 10-11 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the University Center Tennessee Room. A single blood donation will save three lives in our community.

Blood donors will receive free food and a special event T-shirt. As an extra incentive, all donors will be entered into a drawing to win a turntable sound system and vinyl starter pack. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to another successful event.

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Dr. Cynthia Orozco, an award-winning and best-selling author, historian, consultant and public speaker, is coming to UTC as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Orozco, professor emeritus in History and Humanities at Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso, will give a public lecture from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the University Center Auditorium. The free guest lecture is open to the public.

A book signing will follow the lecture. Attendees are asked to register for the event for a chance to win a free copy of one of her books.

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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 Wednesday, Oct. 11, 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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The next UTC Research Institute brown bag lunch will take place from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12, in the UTC Library Room 435. Each brown bag lunch is designed to engage faculty and staff across campus in identifying opportunities for collaboration.

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Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin joins the Tennessee Democracy Forum on Thursday, Oct. 19, for the next “Conversation on Democracy,” sponsored by the Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Government, the Division of Diversity and Engagement and the Honors College. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Guerry Center Reading Room and will also be available via Livestream.

Click here to register for the event.

Notice of Final Defense: Upcoming Research Presentations

The UTC Graduate School announced that the following students will be presenting their final works of research as advanced degree candidates. Everyone is invited to attend.

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

Important changes are on the horizon for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. The FAFSA application will now become accessible by Jan. 1, 2024, a departure from the customary opening date of Oct. 1.

The changes come after the passage of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which “represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024-25 award year,” according to the U.S. Education Department’s FAFSA website.

To apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds and loans, students need to complete the FAFSA form.

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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.

Germany Information Sessions

  • Thursday (Oct. 5): Fletcher Hall Room 109, 12:15 p.m.
  • Friday (Oct. 6): Zoom, noon

Balkans Information Sessions

  • Today (Oct. 3): Zoom, 3 p.m.
  • Wednesday (Oct. 4): Fletcher Hall Room 109 or Zoom, noon
  • Tuesday (Oct. 10): Fletcher Hall Room 109 or Zoom, 1:30 p.m.

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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Do you feel like you need direction returning from an injury or getting back into a workout routine? Do you have a running injury? Is your back or neck sore from “study posture?” Make an appointment for physical therapy.

The Pro Bono Physical Therapy clinic, a part of University Health Services, offers free physical therapy to UTC students, faculty and staff. Clinic hours are 8 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and 1-5 p.m. on Thursdays. Call University Health Services at 423-425-2266 to schedule an appointment, or email ptclinic@utc.edu for more information.

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All Recovery: Thursdays at 5 p.m. in University Center Room 154 (open to all; come share and be in community with others)

  • All Recovery is a weekly group of the Mocs Recovery Program. It is open to those in all stages, pathways and types of recovery including substance use, mental health, disordered eating/eating disorders, process addictions (gambling, social media, shopping, exercise, etc.) and those with loved ones navigating these concerns. This is a supportive space for all and a great starting place to get involved in other groups, social events and initiatives of Mocs Recovery.

SMART Recovery: Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in University Center Room 152

  • SMART Recovery is open to those who are sober, sober-curious or interested in reducing harm related to their substance use. All recovery pathways are honored here.

Healing Through Harmony—Mental Health Recovery: Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in University Center Room 154

  • Join us as we listen to songs and discuss how the lyrics mirror the struggles we often encounter today—and what we can do to recover from and overcome them. FYI: You don’t need to be able to play an instrument/sing to come. All that’s really required is that you like listening to music. We will sometimes have various other art/media-based activities, but there’s no skill required. This is just a place to talk, learn and meet others you can relate to.

LGBTQ+ All Recovery: Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in Prism Center (Lupton Hall Room 116)

  • Open to all but focused on LGBTQ+ students and allies. All types of recovery and pathways welcome.

Looking ahead

Recent Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week Alex Mitchell and his Mocs teammates will take on Western Carolina on Saturday. The Homecoming Week kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Photo courtesy of Michael Wade/GoMocs.com.

Recent Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week Alex Mitchell and his Mocs teammates will take on Western Carolina on Saturday. The Homecoming Week kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Photo courtesy of Michael Wade/GoMocs.com.

This week’s Mocs home athletics calendar:

  • Thursday (Oct. 5): Softball vs. Lee, Frost Stadium, 5 p.m.
  • Friday (Oct. 6): Volleyball vs. Furman, Maclellan Gym, 6 p.m.
  • Saturday (Oct. 7): Men’s Tennis Alumni Match, UTC Tennis Center, 9 a.m.
  • Saturday (Oct. 7): Women’s Tennis Alumni Match, UTC Tennis Center, 9 a.m.
  • Saturday (Oct. 7): Football vs. Western Carolina, Finley Stadium, 4 p.m.
  • Saturday (Oct. 7): Volleyball vs. Western Carolina, Maclellan Gym, 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday (Oct. 8): Soccer vs. Virginia Military Institute, Finley Stadium, 1 p.m.

Looking back

Dr. Max Jordon

Gaining on pain: UTC physical therapy professor researches treatment for lower back pain: UTC Department of Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Max Jordon is an expert in treating lower back pain. Along with his teaching duties, spends four hours a week in the Pro Bono Physical Therapy clinic offered by University Health Services.

Here are some other recent UTC stories featured in the Newsroom:

Tales from the UTC PodLab

Benjamin Ballard and Kate Hixson

“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 exercise and health sciences student Lily Richards features a conversation between Benjamin Ballard and Kate Hixson.

You can subscribe to “Tennessee Valley Across the Table” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

WUTC Spotlight: Scenic Roots

UTC offers a minor in historic preservation through its Interior Architecture and Design Program. Students in the program base their senior thesis projects on an actual historic building in Chattanooga that needs a new life. Preserve Chattanooga, a historic nonprofit, partners with UTC to offer teaching fellowships for the program, guide the senior thesis experience and give awards to students for exemplary work. This partnership was recently featured on WUTC’s Scenic Roots.

Homecoming Day of Service

Homecoming Banner Painting
 

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