Chancellor’s Update

I want to thank all of our faculty, staff and students who came to the University Center on Valentine’s Day for the Town Hall/QEP kickoff celebration.  What a fun event!  If you could not attend, the Town Hall helped introduce the campus to our upcoming SACSCOC reaccreditation visit on March 6-9 and UTC’s Quality Enhancement Plan, called “A Moc’s First Year.”

With the site visit coming up in just a few weeks, it’s the perfect time to express gratitude for the difference each and every one of you makes in the life of our students.  You all help students find their path and chart their course.  You are vital in helping students find a sense of community on campus.  Thank you for all you do.

Our UTC celebration of Black History Month continues with numerous activities on and off campus during the second half of February.  Please check MocSync and the Black History Month page for more event details.

We have had some very lively Coffee with the Chancellor sessions this year.  The next one is Tuesday, February 28, from 8:15-9:30 a.m. in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business Joseph F. Decosimo Success Center Lounge (second floor).  For those who haven’t been to Coffee with the Chancellor, stop by to chat, grab a cup of coffee, and keep the mug!  The only agenda is a meaningful conversation, so bring ideas, questions and concerns.  I will take questions from 8:30-9:15 a.m. but plan to chat informally before and after.

The Blue and Gold Memorial, an annual service honoring UTC faculty, staff, students and alumni who have passed away over the last year, will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 27, at Patten Chapel.  The service will also be available via livestream.  The names of those we have lost are recited in a ceremony signifying that they will always be members of our family.  I hope you can attend to pay tribute.

Congratulations to junior Lake Best, a Brock Scholar and communication major from Nashville, on being accepted into the Fulbright Canada Mitacs Globalink program.  Lake will participate in a summer research opportunity at the University of Winnipeg.

More terrific news to share!  A school-record seven UTC students or recent graduates are semifinalists for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award.  The semifinalists include senior Brock Scholar and political science major Lola Oke, 2020 graduate Jared Steiman—who currently works for UTC as a GEAR UP program coordinator, Julie Goonetilleke, Sara Marc, Jessica Poe, Oleander Reagan-Artemis and Anna Yarbro.  Congratulations to the seven students and the faculty and staff who have helped them along the way—including a big round of applause for the work being done by Leslie Pusey, director of the UTC Office of National Scholarships.

Kudos to Chris Frishcosy, director of labs for the Department of Civil Engineering, for being nominated for the 2023 Young Engineer of the Year award from the Chattanooga chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  Chris is one of the newer members of the UTC faculty, and his rapport with students is infectious!

The successes of our students after graduation are a crucial indicator of the caliber of our programs.  Amanda Price, a third-grade teacher at Taylor Elementary School in Cleveland and a 2012 alumna of our School of Education, was one of 30 national selections—and the only one from Tennessee—selected as Extraordinary Educators by Curriculum Associates.

The Mocs women’s basketball team is sponsoring a “Play4Kay” game tonight (February 16) against Furman University (7 p.m. tipoff at McKenzie Arena).  The “Play4Kay” initiative was started by former North Carolina State Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow to honor cancer fighters and survivors in the fight against all cancers affecting women.

You might notice some extra activity on campus on February 23-24.  The 12-member UT Board of Trustees, the body that governs the statewide University of Tennessee System, will be holding its winter meeting at UTC.  We are proud to have the opportunity to host this meeting.  You can click here for the schedule of meetings.

It is time to call for nominations for the 2023 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, a program administered by THEC that honors the late Tennessee Representative Harold Love Sr.  The award recognizes higher education faculty, staff and students demonstrating exemplary public service.  As in years past, five students and five faculty/staff members from across the state of Tennessee will be selected by a representative task force to receive a $1,000 award check in honor of their service.  Please email your nomination form and supporting materials to alexis-hurley@utc.edu in the Chancellor’s Office no later than noon on Wednesday, March 1.