December (and exam week) are upon us! This semester has flown by and the excitement and momentum on our campus continue to grow.
UTC senior, second-term Student Government Association president, and Brock Scholar Robert Fisher joins distinguished company through his selection as a Rhodes Scholar. For reference, this is only the third time in our long history that a student has been awarded this prestigious honor. Robert was chosen as one of thirty-two scholars from the United States after a lengthy process that originally included approximately 1600 applicants. Quite an accomplishment!
On Tuesday, November 25th UTC honored 181 employees at the Service Awards Luncheon. Honorees ranged in service from 5 to 40 years with a total of 2595 years of UTC employment. It is the people that make our campus such a special place – you are UTC. Thank you for all that you do.
The annual faculty and staff holiday open house took place in the new library on November 24th – a perfect location to celebrate the end of the semester and the excitement of the year to come! Lupton library will close shortly after exams and the new library will be open for business on January 5th. Thank you to all who have worked so hard to make this incredible campus asset a reality. If you missed the open house and would like to see a tour of the library and an interview with Dean Theresa Liedtka, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0oocs3mow&feature=youtu.be.
Work on the strategic plan continued with a feedback-gathering meeting on December 2nd. The input was incredible. As I sat in the audience and listened to the discussion I was so proud of this campus. If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend Tuesday’s meeting, another event will be held in the beginning of January. Keep in mind that this is a broad university plan that will affect all of us, make sure your voice is heard during this process. A draft of the strategic plan can be found at http://www.utc.edu/strategic-plan/resources/pdf/utc-strategic-plan-draft-20141204.pdf. Thanks for your participation.
Men’s and women’s basketball both had home wins last Thursday, the men’s team won 78-67 over Coastal Carolina and the Lady Mocs upset the University of Tennessee, Knoxville 67-63. UTC Wrestling has had an exciting start to the season as well and is currently ranked 20th in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches’ Poll.
Congratulations are in order for Mocs football. The team earned numerous SoCon all-conference awards last week: defensive lineman Davis Tull was selected as Defensive Player of the Year, quarterback Jacob Huesman won the Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year, offensive lineman Corey Levin won the Jacobs Blocking Award and the Mocs had fifteen all-conference selections – more than any other school in the conference, ten of those were on the first team. Last, but not least, Coach Russ Huesman was named the Wallace Wade Coach of the Year!
Mocs football takes on Indiana State in the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs this Saturday, December 6th at 1:00 pm in Finley Stadium. Tickets are $20 for general admission, let’s pack the stadium! For more information see GoMocs.com.