Record Enrollment:  These are exciting times for our University with the official reporting of this fall’s 14-day numbers.  The total headcount at UTC was a school-record 11,834—comprised of 10,245 undergraduates and 1,589 graduate students—surpassing the previous mark of 11,695 in fall 2020.  For the second consecutive year, UTC welcomed a record first-time freshman class (2,473 students, following last year’s 2,359).

Celebrating Our History:  The opening of the new Wolford Family Athletic Center, our campus’ latest jewel, has made Founder’s Week extra special.  The building is absolutely magnificent.  I want to thank and congratulate everyone involved for their work in this outstanding addition to McKenzie Arena.

Day of Caring: Community involvement plays a significant role in the UTC experience, and I am so proud of our campus efforts to enhance the Chattanooga community.  Tomorrow (Sept. 20), students from all over UTC have volunteered to participate in the United Way of Greater Chattanooga’s citywide Day of Caring community service initiative, participating in beautification efforts such as painting, cleanup and moving debris.  What a great way to make an impact in our city!

Let’s Give Mocs:  Tuesday, Oct. 1, is Mocs Give Day—an annual day of giving when proud alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends unite in generously making a difference for UTC. There will be nine matching gift opportunities and donor challenges throughout the day supporting every college and athletics, meaning your gift can make even more of an impact.  Please visit mocsgiveday.utc.edu to learn more.

Big Quantum News:  Last week we announced that UTC has been awarded a Governor’s Chair in Quantum Information Science and Engineering.  The Governor’s Chair program is designed to attract the best of the best to the state of Tennessee and bring an international leader in the field to UTC and Chattanooga.  This faculty member will have a joint appointment at UTC and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

BGE’s Big Win:  A trio of research proposals led by Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science faculty members recently secured over $1.8 million in external grant awards.  A big round of applause goes out to Dr. Francesca Leasi, Dr. Davy Giles, Dr. Loren Hayes and Dr. Azad Hossain on being awarded major grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Spreading the Word About AI:  Kudos to everyone involved in UTC’s CH-AI initiative supporting the investigation and potential application of AI discoveries.  The initiative recently launched a student-led podcast, “CH-AI Brews: Infusing Conversations About AI,” at a Guerry Center launch party.  You can click here to read about “CH-AI Brews” and learn how to listen to the podcasts.

A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month: The theme of this year’s UTC Hispanic Heritage Month is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together,” which is so appropriate on our campus.  For the first time, UTC has a Latino fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi—a national fraternity founded in 1975.  A massive round of applause goes to students Mateo Jimenez, Joseph Morales, Alex De La Cruz, Anthony Bracero, and Christopher Bracero for their work in bringing the fraternity to UTC.  The fraternity will be receiving a proclamation from the City of Chattanooga this Saturday, Sept. 21, during a ceremony at the annual Hispanic Heritage Festival at Highland Park Commons.

On the Road Again:  It feels like the semester just started, but we are already talking about hitting the road for our annual Power C Tour, with upcoming out-of-town visits to Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville.  This fall’s Power C Tour begins two weeks from today—on Thursday, Oct. 3—at the Marriott Memphis East.  For those of you with friends and family in Memphis, let them know we are headed their way!