I Love UTC Week: As a proud two-time alum, my love for UTC runs deep, and what better way to celebrate that love than by joining the entire campus community for I Love UTC Week March 31 through April 4. Whether you’re a student, faculty, staff, alum or simply part of the UTC family, I Love UTC Week has something for you!

Recognizing Excellence: Each year, the University of Tennessee Alumni Association (UTAA) honors outstanding UTC faculty and staff through the Outstanding Teacher and Public Service Awards. Each award includes a $1,000 honorarium and an invitation to the UTAA Board of Governors reception and dinner. Click here to learn more and submit nominations. The deadline for nominations is March 31.

A New Academic Calendar: I want to thank Provost Hale and the Academic Calendar Committee for gathering valuable feedback from faculty, staff and students regarding the upcoming changes to the academic calendar. These adjustments will benefit the majority of our campus, and it’s important that we navigate this transition smoothly in the next academic year. Aligning our schedule with regional four-year institutions, Chattanooga State and Cleveland State enhances our ability to attract transfer students. At the same time, the later start date provides additional support for students navigating academic appeals. Both changes will positively impact our enrollment and retention efforts—a vital priority moving forward.

Four Decades of Impact: Congratulations to UC Foundation Professor of Psychology Amye Warren, who is being honored this evening (March 20) at the College of Arts and Sciences’ annual Spotlight on Faculty Excellence event. For the past four decades, Dr. Warren has applied insights from language and cognitive development research to enhance educational and justice outcomes for children, adolescents and autistic individuals.

Wrestling News: Congratulations and best of luck to a trio of Mocs wrestlers—Blake Boarman (133 pounds), Noah Castillo (157) and Sergio Desiante (174)—as they head to this weekend’s NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia.

More SMILE Fund Smiles: For the ninth consecutive year, a UTC SMILE Fund student group won the CFA Greater Tennessee Research Challenge. Congratulations to the victorious 2025 team comprised of Breonna Gandhi, Kyle Leivas, Caden Christenson, Justice Cardenas and Daniel Goodman. The SMILE Fund mentors are Robert L. Maclellan/UC Foundation Associate Professor of Finance Hunter Holzhauer and industry professional Ray Ryan.

Knowledge Bowl Victory: A big “Go Mocs” to physical therapy doctoral students Jaimin Rasmussen, Candace Ricketts, Lauren Clark and Rebecca Sullivan on winning the American Physical Therapy Association’s Knowledge Bowl. The Knowledge Bowl is a Jeopardy-style competition designed to test teams of DPT students on their knowledge of various topics related to physical therapy, and the UTC group defeated teams from two of the top six-rated PT programs in the country.

Power C ChattState: In advance, I would like to thank the UTC staff and faculty members who will talk to hundreds of prospective transfer students on Tuesday (March 25) for a Power C Tour event at Chattanooga State Community College. This is an extremely important event in which our faculty, advisors, financial aid experts and current students get the opportunity to talk to ChattState students about the ease of transferring to UTC to complete their bachelor’s degree programs.

MobileMOC Hitting the Road: The School of Nursing is set to unveil MobileMOC, a mobile outreach health clinic designed to expand health care access for older adults and caregivers in rural Southeast Tennessee. A launch celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Tuesday (March 25) at the Rhea County Welcome Center in Dayton, Tennessee—followed by a UTC celebration from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 31, between Hunter Hall and Chamberlain Field. The MobileMOC vehicle was made possible through a $2.6 million grant awarded by the Tennessee Department of Health.

An Honors College Honor: UTC, along with ChattState, CARTA and other partners, is co-sponsoring the Southern Regional Honors Council Conference (SRHC) March 27-29—bringing 500-plus honors students and educators to Chattanooga. This year’s meeting will showcase a range of Chattanooga-unique events, including a City as Text exploration followed by a Q&A with Mayor Tim Kelly; a student networking event with Narrative Four; a screening of “How to Sue the Klan” at the IMAX featuring director John Beder and “Chattanooga Five” family members; hundreds of undergraduate research presentations and posters; and a reception at the Tennessee Aquarium. UTC alum and Brock Scholar Robert Fisher—the University’s first Rhodes Scholar, a Truman Scholar, and founder and principal of Fisher Strategy Partners—will deliver the keynote address. Welcome to Chattanooga, SRHC!

Happy 40th Anniversary: The Meacham Writers’ Workshop, one of UTC’s longest-running literary traditions, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week with a series of readings, receptions and special events featuring award-winning writers, UTC alums and emerging voices. Since its inception in 1985, the workshop has provided a platform for nationally known authors, local writers, students and novice writers to engage in an open exchange of ideas, works and readings. A big round of applause goes out to the workshop’s director, UC Foundation Professor Sybil Baker.

Schorr Internship: WaterWays, a Chattanooga-area nonprofit, announced May 2024 UTC graduate Emily Patton as its first recipient of the Schorr Internship in honor of the late Dr. Mark Schorr, a professor in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science. Patton earned bachelor’s degrees in environmental science and humanities and was a Brock Scholar.

Hitting the Right Note: This was music to my ears! Members of UTC’s Music Educators Social Society student organization, led by president and vocal education major Emily Bruce and faculty advisor Ali Allerton, came together to support a fellow educator. The group raised more than $1,000 to help 2024 UTC alum Lauren Cardenas, now a music teacher at DuPont Elementary School, purchase instruments for her classroom.