On Saturday, May 2^nd UTC celebrated the conferring of degrees to more than 1500 undergraduate and graduate candidates.  Graduation is, in my opinion, the best day in the life of a university.  It is the culmination of years of work by our students, of course, but it also represents the work and mentoring of our faculty and staff.  What a wonderful ceremony and the beginning of so many bright futures.  Thank you to all of our faculty and staff who participated on Saturday and those who worked behind the scenes to make Saturday’s commencement a memorable event.

Graduation means an end to the academic year and the beginning of summer — the time of the year when the campus is literally on the move!  We have approval to move forward with the planning for the Lupton Library/Fine Arts renovation project beginning this summer.  We are working to ensure that funding for the Lupton/Fine Arts project is the top UT priority for next year’s capital budget.  If funded, we would be in position to start renovation in the latter part of 2016.  Part of this funding request includes work in the Fine Arts Center.

Other projects with move implications include the renovation of Holt, construction of the Decosimo Student Success Center in Fletcher, the opening of a one stop Student Service Center and the relocation of the Disability Resource Center.  The renovation of Holt Hall is under design and due to start construction in May 2016.  Construction of the Decosimo Student Success Center in Fletcher Hall necessitates Political Science’s move to Pfeiffer Hall.  Last but not least, the one stop Student Service Center will be located in the University Center’s former computer lab space.  The Records office will move to the UC from Race Hall in space adjacent to the new service center.  The IT Solutions Center will be relocated to 1^st Floor, Pfeiffer Hall to make room for this new initiative.

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This past February I sent you an email in response to a student letter of concern regarding, among other things, UTC’s resolution of a Title IX-related incident.   I asked our then-Title IX Coordinator, now Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Employees and Director of the Office of Equity and Diversity, Dr. Bryan Samuel, to investigate with the help of the UT Office of General Counsel.

I received Dr. Samuel’s report this morning and I would like to share his findings with the campus and some of the changes that have been made since the incident that spurred the investigation.

On January 5^th, UTC enacted our Interim Policy on Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence (the entire policy is available at http://www.utc.edu/sexual-misconduct/pdfs/interim-policy-sexual-misconduct-and-relationship-violence-jan22015.pdf).  The interim policy, which will go before the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees this June, provides detailed information for students, faculty and staff on many topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Complaint filing, including anonymous complaints.
• Response to retaliation – UTC will take strong action if retaliation were to occur on our campus.
• Notification of Complainants and Respondents at certain stages of the process.
• Explanation of the Complainant’s Rights in cases of Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence.
• Guidance regarding time frame of investigations, decisions and appeals.

Dr. Samuel found that the Office of Student Development did not violate UTC’s policies and procedures; however, he did recommend some procedures that will be formally created for use in future cases:

• Guidance for when a complaint is received and how that process works through the Women’s Center.
• Guidance regarding best practices for complaint documentation and file storage.
• Guidance regarding general protocols for investigations.

I agree with the recommendations of Dr. Bryan Samuel and I have specifically charged UTC’s Title IX Coordinator, Stephanie Rowland, with putting into place procedures and protocols that will be used in conjunction with the new policy to ensure that all victims and survivors of sexual misconduct and relationship violence are treated with the utmost respect and compassion.

I want to thank the students who raised this issue, Dr. Bryan Samuel for his thorough investigation and the Office of Student Development for their complete honesty and disclosure.  All of us at UTC work hard every day to ensure that ours is a safe and inclusive campus.

Sincerely,

Steven R. Angle
Chancellor

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This year has not ended yet, but we are already looking forward to next year! One new event this coming academic year is a convocation ceremony for all freshmen students. It will be held on August 14^th at 9 a.m. in The McKenzie Arena. Convocation will be a lively event to generate MOCS pride and tradition. It will serve as a starting point for our freshman students, with graduation at the other end of their academic journey. All freshmen students and their parents/families will be invited. You will receive more information about Convocation throughout the summer.

The Faculty and Staff Campaign runs through tomorrow, Friday, April 17^th. Please consider participating and donating to UTC. You can specifically designate your donation to an academic department or college, the library, athletics, etc., or you can give to the Campus Fund. If you have any questions, please call Emily Forrest at 425-4048. Thank you for your support!

UTC held a press conference on Monday, April 13^th to celebrate the hiring of our new men’s basketball coach, Matt McCall. Matt was formerly an assistant coach at the University of Florida. He has helped lead Florida to great success and we look forward to an exciting year in 2015/16.

The River City Company’s Clean & Green event will take place next Saturday, April 25^th, starting at 8 a.m. If you haven’t signed up yet to volunteer, it is not too late – you can still sign up at www.cleanandgreenchattanooga.com. Make sure that you indicate that you are signing up as a UTC representative and as part of the UTC team.   Thank you for participating in this community event. I will see you there! If you have any questions about this program, please contact Laura Cagle at laura-cagle@utc.edu.

Commencement is Saturday May 2, 2015 – be sure to wish our graduating students well. I am sure they would love to see you at Commencement if you can attend.

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As announced in October, we undertook a three-phase process which sought input and feedback from the entire campus. Each division was encouraged to hold open discussions. We held several campus-wide meetings. Through the engaged discussion of the issues we came together as a campus to carefully consider how we can improve.

I have carefully considered the recommendations from the University Planning and Resources Advisory Council (UPRAC). Some of these recommendations can be acted upon immediately; others will require more in-depth examination. We conducted this process in an environment of transparency and inclusion, and I appreciate every comment and question we have received.

You can view the decisions regarding the UPRAC recommendations at
http://www.utc.edu/business-financial-affairs/pdfs/angle-budget-report.pdf.

A Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program was also implemented as part of our rebalancing process.

As we have said throughout this process, we are not in a budget crisis. UTC is fiscally healthy. We are taking these steps to remain strong.

We continue to be a strong campus, transforming the lives of our students and adding value to our community. Our past success is the foundation for our even greater future.

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There has been considerable discussion on campus about the Budget Rebalancing process. UPRAC is continuing its work and budget proposals that came to the committee four weeks ago have changed significantly. For example, several of the more controversial proposals have been taken back to departments and/or department heads for further discussion and input.

Budget discussions are almost always difficult and cause angst and discomfort among faculty, staff and students. We must remember that this is a Budget Rebalancing process. It is not about cuts, it is about achieving excellence and better serving our students and community. UPRAC is making recommendations to me, not making decisions. Several people have asked “what happens after UPRAC makes its recommendations?” I have responded that I am expecting recommendations to fall into three categories: (1) Noncontroversial budget actions that need to be quickly enacted; (2) Recommendations that clearly have merit and broad campus support but are complex – the “gray area;” and (3) Complex, controversial recommendations that clearly need additional study prior to action. Recommendations in area (1) will hopefully be easy to address. The “gray area” recommendations, (2), may each require a different path. For example we might form a task force of faculty, staff and students to provide recommendations, examine negative and positive impacts of the recommendation, and/or develop an implementation plan; refer the recommendation to an existing UTC committee; or form a new standing committee. Recommendations in area (3), the controversial ones, will be carefully considered and vetted even more carefully than noted for area (2) prior to action. At this stage, I have no recommendations so I cannot address any details.

My number one goal throughout the Budget Rebalancing process has been to ensure that the campus is heard. The eventual decisions may not be to everyone’s liking but it is vital to our cohesiveness as a campus that everyone feel that their input was acknowledged and honestly evaluated. UTC is people. You are UTC. Your opinion will be heard and listened to.

UPRAC will hold a town hall budget meeting on Friday, March 20^th from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. in the University Center Auditorium. They will share progress to date and seek input. If you cannot attend the Town Hall meeting, or prefer to provide written feedback, we welcome your input at http://www.utc.edu/budget-rebalancing/. In order for this to be a productive discussion, the lines of communication must be clear. Thank you for the input that has already been received.

The UT Board of Trustees approved the 2015 UTC Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP) at its meeting last week. This program is open to full-time faculty and staff who, as of June 30, 2015, are either 55 years or older with at least 10 years of service; 60 years or older with at least 5 years of service; or any age with at least 25 years of service. The incentive is a lump sum payment based on fifty percent of the employee’s annualized salary as of June 30, 2015 (less administrative or other stipend amounts) and the employee’s effective retirement date would be June 30, 2015. If you would like more information about this program or a list of information open sessions, please see www.utc.edu/retirement-incentive.

Last but not least, the SoCon Championships start this week and UTC’s wrestling team and our men’s and women’s basketball teams are competing in Asheville, North Carolina. Women’s basketball is ranked 17^th in the AP Top 25 after Saturday’s win against East Tennessee State and plays UNCG today at noon. Men’s basketball and men’s wrestling will both compete on Saturday, March 7^th.   Go Mocs!

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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 25^th 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 24^th – 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 2^nd. 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 20^th 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 6^th at 1:00 pm in Finley Stadium. Tickets are $20 for general admission, let’s pack the stadium! For more information see GoMocs.com.

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Visit with me and other colleagues. Share ideas. Ask questions. The only agenda is to have some meaningful conversation.

The open door format allows you to drop by and chat for a few minutes about whatever is on your mind and gives me an opportunity to hear directly from you about a variety of topics.

I look forward to meeting and talking with you.

Steve Angle
Chancellor

Coffee with the Chancellor
December 3, 8:00 am – 9:30 am
EMCS Building, Maytag Room 426

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On November 11th Coffee with the Chancellor went into a classroom and I met with some of Dr. Kazemersky’s and Dr. Ennis’s upper division Engineering students.   We had an open discussion and covered many issues from summer session course availability to when will the new library (and Starbucks) finally open? The next Coffee with the Chancellor is targeted to faculty and staff and will be hosted by the College of Engineering and Computer Science on December 3rd from 8:00 to 9:30 in the Maytag Room (426), EMCS Building. These events have no agenda and people come and go as their schedule allows. It is always fun to interact in an informal format and I learn a lot about the campus.

This past week was a busy one for Mocs Athletics. Friday brought home wins in volleyball and in the women’s and men’s basketball opening games – the Lady Mocs beat Villanova University 49-45 and men’s basketball won 110-53 over Hiwassee College. Saturday brought three road victories for men’s wrestling against Michigan State, Northern Illinois and Kent State.   Football triumphed over Tennessee Tech with another strong showing.   Mocs football is now 8-3 and ranked 9th in both the FCS Coaches Poll and the Sports Network Top 25. The final regular season game of the season is this Saturday as we play Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.   With a win, we might receive a bye for the first round of the playoffs. Without a bye, our first playoff game (hopefully at Finley) will be November 29th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for details and check “gomocs.com” for the more information.

The Employee Engagement Survey ends tomorrow, November 21^st. If you have not yet taken the survey, please do so now. We want and need your input. Just a reminder – no one at UTC or UT will see the individual responses, this survey is anonymous.

Lastly, as we approach Thanksgiving, I want to thank you for all you do – It is the people who make our university such a special place.   You are UTC!   Have a joyous Thanksgiving.

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Our new budget website is now up and running.  You can check it out at: http://www.utc.edu/budget-rebalancing/.

On Friday, October 24^th the University of Chattanooga’s class of 1964 held their reunion dinner and I had the privilege to attend.  The dinner was a kick-off event for a weekend of fun and memories.  Several members of the class told me that in 1964 the library was in Fletcher Hall and they had not been in the “new” Lupton Library.  Imagine their surprise to find the Lupton Library will be repurposed for classrooms and offices as our new library opens in January 2015.

The Mocs football team rolled past Western Carolina University this past Saturday with a 51-0 win.  UTC is now in sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference with a 5-0 conference record for the first time in our history.  Join us this Saturday in Finley Stadium at 1pm when the Mocs take on Wofford College and can clinch the SOCON title and an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a win.

Earlier this week the School of Nursing hosted “Coffee with the Chancellor” in their simulation classroom.  This is an informal gathering with no agenda except good conversation.  Faculty and staff have an opportunity to ask questions, see other parts of the campus, and meet colleagues in other departments and units.

This morning I had the pleasure of speaking at an alumni breakfast for Unum employees.  Unum employs over 700 UTC alumni!  They offer many opportunities to our students and alumni.  The Unum Scholars program, which offers part-time employment to selected students, began only eighteen months ago with four scholars and now has over forty-eight students!

Last, but not least, the Employee Engagement Survey began on Monday, November 3^rd and will continue through Friday, November 21^st.  We really care about your thoughts and opinions.  The more people we hear from, the better the results will be.  Please take the time to take the survey.

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Visit with me and other colleagues. Share ideas. Ask questions. The only agenda is to have some meaningful conversation.

The open door format allows you to drop by and chat for a few minutes about whatever is on your mind and gives me an opportunity to hear directly from you about a variety of topics.

I look forward to meeting and talking with you.

Steve Angle
Chancellor

Coffee with the Chancellor
October 1, 8-9:30 a.m.
Chancellor’s Office, Founders Hall

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