New Year, New Semester: Happy New Year! I hope the holiday break offered time to rest, reflect and enjoy meaningful moments with family and friends. As we step into 2026 together, I’m grateful for each of you and the care, commitment and pride you bring to UTC.
We officially begin the spring semester on Monday, and I’m looking forward to welcoming our campus community back for a new season of learning, teaching and discovery. For our students, it’s a chance to reset goals, lean into new opportunities and continue shaping your UTC story. For our faculty and staff, it’s a return to the important work that supports students, advances knowledge and strengthens our community.
I’m excited for what this semester holds and for all we will accomplish together.
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A New Chapter for Nursing Begins: On Jan. 1, UTC officially launched the College of Nursing, a significant step forward for our University and for the health of our region. Elevating nursing to college status recognizes the strength, scale and impact of a program that has been educating and serving nurses for decades, and it affirms UTC’s leadership in preparing the health care workforce Tennessee needs.
With nearly 1,000 students across undergraduate and graduate programs, the College of Nursing expands our capacity to educate, attract and retain exceptional nurses and advanced practice professionals. Under the leadership of Dean Chris Smith and through strong clinical and community partnerships, this new college positions UTC to deepen its impact and serve our communities in even more powerful ways.
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Building on a Strong Research Foundation: As the calendar turned to 2026, Dr. Mina Sartipi stepped into the role of interim vice chancellor for research, bringing deep institutional knowledge and a strong record of applied, collaborative research leadership. Through her work leading the UTC Research Institute and the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress, Mina has helped advance partnerships across government, industry and academia. I’m grateful for her leadership during this critical transition for our research enterprise.
I also want to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Reinhold Mann, who concluded his service as vice chancellor for research at the end of the year. Reinhold played a pivotal role in expanding UTC’s research capacity, increasing external funding and supporting faculty innovation across disciplines. His steady leadership helped position UTC for continued growth, and we are thankful for the strong foundation he leaves behind.
Please join me in thanking Reinhold for his service and in supporting Mina as she leads our research efforts forward.
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Investing in Students: I am pleased to share that the Sales Institute in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business has been named the John “Art” Phillips Sales Institute, honoring the life and legacy of a remarkable entrepreneur, salesman and community leader.
This naming was made possible through a generous contribution from his son, John Phillips, who wanted his father’s story to continue inspiring future generations. The gift will expand scholarships, enhance simulation labs, support student participation in national sales competitions, and strengthen our ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty.
This is a meaningful investment in our students and a tribute to a man whose integrity and care for others set an enduring example of leadership. Through this naming, Art Phillips’ legacy will continue to guide and inspire future sales leaders at UTC.
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Excellence in Writing Instruction: UTC’s Composition Program has received the 2025–26 Writing Program Certificate of Excellence from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)—the highest national honor in the field of rhetoric and composition. UTC is the only university in the nation to receive this recognition this academic year.
This distinction reflects the strength and professionalism of a program that reaches every UTC student. Under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Stewart and with the dedication of our composition faculty and instructors, the program has been recognized for its innovation and commitment to student learning and faculty support.
Congratulations to the entire Composition Program and the Department of English on this outstanding national achievement.
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Engineering Research with Global Reach: Our engineering faculty continue to advance research that reaches well beyond our campus.
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Murat Barisik’s “quantum-to-manufacturing” research was featured on the back cover of Nanoscale, a journal of the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry.
At the same time, Guerry Assistant Professor Rahul R. Bhosale and Associate Professor Bradley Harris, head of the Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering, recently co-authored a hydrogen energy research paper published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy—one of the leading journals in the field. Their work grew out of an NSF-funded Research Experience for Teachers program pairing UTC faculty with Hamilton County educators.
These accomplishments reflect UTC’s growing research profile, shaped by collaboration and mentorship.
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Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators: Right before winter break, UTC hosted the fourth annual Inventanooga competition, welcoming middle and high school students to campus to pitch creative solutions to real-world challenges.
The event brought together the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, showcasing how innovation, entrepreneurship and engineering intersect at UTC. Through lab tours, pitch coaching and hands-on feedback from faculty and community leaders, these future college students gained confidence in their ideas and a glimpse of what’s possible.
Inventanooga reflects our commitment to cultivating talent early, strengthening pathways to college and careers, and positioning UTC as a hub of innovation serving Chattanooga and beyond. My thanks to the event’s co-directors, George Lester Nation Professor of Marketing Subin Im and STEM School Chattanooga faculty member Kyle Carrasco; everyone involved who helped make this year’s event such a success; and to the students who reminded us that bold ideas can start at any age.
