Next week, from April 21-25, nine commencement ceremonies will take place at McKenzie Arena, with one ceremony designated for advanced degree candidates and the rest for candidates for bachelor’s degrees. More than 1,200 graduates have registered to participate in a ceremony. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!
The spring semester is quickly coming to its end. April 26 is the last day of classes, followed by Reading Day. Final exams take place April 28-May 4.
I want to commend everyone involved in putting together this year’s virtual ReSEARCH Dialogues, the largest academic conference on our campus. This has been a fantastic week showcasing the different research endeavors going on at UTC. The live event schedule concludes today, including a keynote address by former Co.Lab Chief Executive Officer Marcus Shaw at 11 a.m. Conference presentations will be available for viewing on-demand until April 16 by accessing the ReSEARCH Dialogues conference link.
It was an honor to participate in ribbon-cutting ceremonies to open the new Mechatronics Lab. Located on the second floor of the Engineering, Math and Computer Science building, the new mechatronics lab is filled with cutting-edge equipment and robots that can be found in the manufacturing industry worldwide. Congratulations to Dean Daniel Pack and Ahad Nasab, head of the Department of Engineering Management and Technology, for this program’s growth.
Congratulations to Lola Oke, a Brock Scholar and political science major, on being accepted into the Fulbright Canada Mitacs Globalink program and the 2021 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program. Winning one national competitive award is rare; winning two is almost unheard of. What a tremendous honor!
Good luck to Tucker Adkins, a 2013 Department of History graduate and current adjunct instructor. Tucker was recently named a semifinalist for the Fulbright Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award. The program provides funding for a 6-month research project at a participating Welsh university.
Best wishes to the SMILE Fund’s Chartered Financial Analyst team in the Americas Regional semifinals, which take place today and tomorrow. The UTC CFA Research Challenge Team was the greater Tennessee “Sub-Regional Champion” for the fifth straight year!
Congratulations to head coach Gavin McKinney and the UTC soccer team on placing third in the Southern Conference regular-season standings, the team’s best-ever finish in program history. Gavin earned SoCon Coach of the Year accolades, while junior Maggie Shaw was named conference Defensive Player of the Year. The Mocs allowed only five goals during a 7-2-1 regular-season campaign before losing 1-0 to Furman in the SoCon semifinals.
Congratulations to Tim Kelly on winning this week’s Chattanooga mayoral election. Tim lives within walking distance of the campus and has taught entrepreneurship and marketing as an adjunct professor here. I look forward to working with our new mayor and continuing the outstanding partnership the University has with the city. I want to thank the many UTC students who participated in the political process by voting or volunteering to work on campaigns. I also would like to thank Mayor Andy Berke for his service as mayor of Chattanooga. Mayor Berke welcomed me with open arms when I arrived here as Chancellor, and I have enjoyed working very closely with him on numerous initiatives.