Strengthening Our Partnership with EPB: I want to thank EPB for its continued investment in UTC and in Chattanooga’s quantum future. Through this collaboration, we are enhancing our community’s ability to prepare people across our region for the jobs of the future while expanding access to education and research opportunities in quantum technology.
UTC and EPB have built a strong, longstanding partnership focused on the research and development of emerging quantum technologies. Together, we have helped advance commercially viable quantum networking, quantum computing and quantum sensing. That progress reflects years of shared vision, collaboration and commitment to positioning Chattanooga as a leader in this rapidly evolving field. This latest investment strengthens that momentum and helps carry the partnership forward.
We are already well into an important chapter of this work, and I am excited about what comes next for our University, our city and our state. I am grateful to EPB for its leadership and for the many ways it continues to partner with UTC to shape opportunity for our students, our community and the future of Tennessee.
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Advancing Transportation Innovation on a National Stage: I want to congratulate the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress and the UTC Research Institute on being selected as one of only four finalists nationwide in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ARPA-I Ideas and Innovation Challenge. Chosen from a field of 448 submissions, UTC is the only university-led team in the Final Four—an outstanding distinction that reflects the strength of our research enterprise and the collaborative spirit that defines both our campus and our community.
UTC’s proposal, PRISM: AI-Powered Platform for Real-Time Intelligence in Shared Mobility, builds on Chattanooga’s nationally recognized smart mobility ecosystem and the partnerships that make innovation possible. This recognition highlights the important work our researchers are doing to develop technologies that can strengthen transportation systems, improve mobility and support safer, more efficient infrastructure.
The UTC team will present PRISM at the ARPA-I Ideas and Innovation Challenge Finals on June 24 at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, D.C., where finalists will pitch their concepts before a panel of transportation, industry and government leaders.
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Helping Shape What Comes Next: It was an honor to make the opening presentation at the Tennessee Valley Corridor national summit and to join leaders from government, industry, higher education and national laboratories as we gathered to discuss the future of our region.
The Tennessee Valley Corridor is a long-standing regional partnership that stretches from Huntsville through Chattanooga to Knoxville, bringing together public universities, national laboratories, industry and government around shared priorities in research, workforce development and economic growth. It provides an important framework for collaboration in fields critical to our region and nation—including artificial intelligence, quantum, nuclear energy, cybersecurity, space and defense—and helps ensure that innovation across the corridor is matched by the talent and partnerships needed to move that work forward.
A clear theme throughout the summit was that the future of the Tennessee Valley Corridor will be shaped not only by the technologies we advance, but by the partnerships we build and the talent we prepare to lead what comes next. The message was consistent: innovation moves forward when institutions across this corridor work together with shared purpose.
At UTC, we are proud to be part of that work. Our University is helping connect education to opportunity and preparing students to lead in transformative fields. This summit was a meaningful reminder that the work ahead is shared work, and I am grateful to be part of the partnerships helping shape that future.
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Expanding Access: I am excited that Chattanooga Preparatory School and Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence have become the first charter schools to partner with UTC for dual enrollment. Through this new partnership, students will have the opportunity to take UTC courses both online and in person on our campus, creating flexible pathways to begin their college experience while still in high school.
Dual enrollment is an important part of UTC’s commitment to expanding its educational footprint. Programs like these support our strategic vision of reaching 15,000 students by 2030 while also deepening relationships across our community. Most importantly, they help students imagine what is possible for their future, and we hope many of them will continue their educational journeys with us after high school and ultimately become Mocs.
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Welcoming Dr. Lee Williams Weldon: I am pleased to share that Dr. Lee Williams Weldon will join UTC on July 16 as our next vice chancellor for advancement and executive director of the UC Foundation.
Dr. Weldon brings more than 15 years of leadership experience in higher education advancement, fundraising strategy and foundation governance, and she has demonstrated throughout her career how philanthropy can expand opportunities for students, strengthen academic excellence and build meaningful partnerships with communities.
What stood out throughout the search process was Dr. Weldon’s thoughtful and collaborative leadership style, as well as her clear passion for institutions like UTC that are deeply connected to their communities and committed to student success. We look forward to welcoming her to UTC.
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Celebrating Student-Athlete Academic Success: Congratulations to our Mocs student-athletes, coaches, academic support staff and athletics administrators on another outstanding semester in the classroom. With a department-wide GPA of 3.45, UTC Athletics set a record for the third consecutive semester—an extraordinary achievement that shows a deep commitment to excellence in every part of the student-athlete experience.
This success was broad and consistent across the department, with 84% of student-athletes earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher, 215 making the dean’s list and 73 recording perfect 4.0 GPAs. I also want to recognize women’s soccer for once again leading the way in team GPA.
Thank you to Assistant Vice Chancellor Emily Blackman and her staff, along with our coaches and athletics leadership, for the support and encouragement they provide to help our student-athletes thrive in competition and in the classroom.
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Teeing Up a National Championship Appearance: Congratulations to Coach Blaine Woodruff and the Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team on earning a trip to the NCAA Championships. It was the program’s sixth appearance in the national tournament and the fourth as a team.
The Mocs’ roster—junior Camden Braidech, sophomores Ward Harris and Ethan Whitaker, and freshmen Griffin Law and Evan Rogers—was the youngest among NCAA postseason teams, making their run all the more impressive. This group has already accomplished something special, and the future is very bright for Mocs men’s golf.
This nationally competitive award, which marks the second renewal of the iCompBio REU site at UTC, will bring undergraduate students from across the country to campus for faculty-mentored summer research at the intersection of biology, data science, machine learning and computational tools.
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Expanding Global Opportunities for STEM Students: I want to congratulate the Center for Global Education and its campus partners on UTC’s selection as one of 10 institutions nationwide to receive a Gilman Pioneering Institution Grant. This national recognition will help UTC strengthen the connection between study abroad and career readiness for STEM students, creating new opportunities for them to see how global experiences can shape their academic and professional paths.
This award reflects UTC’s commitment to expanding access to global learning in ways that are practical, career-focused and aligned with the future of work.
Dr. Takeo Suzuki’s leadership has played an important role in advancing UTC’s global engagement efforts over the past decade. Under his guidance, the Center for Global Education expanded international partnerships and exchange opportunities, supported international students and faculty, and helped more students see global learning as part of their academic and professional future. As we celebrate this recognition, I also want to thank Dr. Suzuki for his many contributions to the University and wish him the very best in his next chapter.
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Supporting Conservation Through Applied Research: Congratulations to recent UTC graduate Alex Garretson on receiving the Best Spatial Analysis Award from the Tennessee Geographic Information Council for her conservation decision-support work with Lula Lake Land Trust. Alex, who earned degrees in environmental science and mathematics in 2025, has already distinguished herself through thoughtful applied research that connects technical expertise with environmental stewardship.
I am especially pleased that Alex will continue her educational journey at UTC this fall as she returns to campus to begin her master’s program in environmental science. Her success shows the kind of hands-on learning and community-engaged scholarship that define the UTC experience, and we are proud to see her continue building on that strong foundation at the University.
