Chancellor’s Update
The semester is over and we have a lot to celebrate!
On Saturday, December 13th we graduated more than 700 students! I had the privilege to shake the hand of every graduate and they are such an impressive group. All of our graduates are inspiring, but some have overcome hardship and adversity to realize their potential. Among Saturday’s graduates was a nursing doctoral candidate who was a former high school dropout, an Army Master Sergeant with 28 years of service and a doctoral candidate who moved with her family to the United States from Egypt at the age of 15. It was truly a celebration which served to focus us as a campus – these students are what it’s all about – changing lives and helping students to achieve their goals. Thank you to all of the faculty and staff who volunteered their time to assist and to those who attended.
UTC football played first-ranked University of New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs this past Friday, December 12th in Durham, New Hampshire. What a game! Although we did not leave the game victorious, we had an incredible, record-breaking season. We are all proud of the entire football program – they are winning on and off the field with eight players participating in commencement on Saturday morning.
Our Lady Mocs basketball team defeated Stanford last night. This is another huge win for the Lady Mocs- Stanford is ranked number 7 in the nation! Freshman Keiana Gilbert continues to demonstrate the skills that helped her earn two back-to-back SoCon Freshman of the Week honors late last month and an espnW National Player of the Week early this month. Men’s basketball continues its solid season as well with impressive wins against Montreat, The Citadel and Northern Kentucky. The Mocs play Middle Tennessee State University tomorrow in Murfreesboro. Mocs wrestling is also in the midst of a strong season and will compete against Old Dominion University this Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia. I am so proud of all of our athletic teams. Go Mocs!
We have some exciting news! At the end of this message you will find new UTC word marks that have been approved by the University of Tennessee system. These will be available in the near future and will be used on letterhead, business cards, et al., in place of our current UTC marks. The Power C and Blue/Gold allow us to express our pride in our campus and our community and still clearly show we are a campus of the University of Tennessee. The timing is perfect as we are finishing our strategic plan and developing a communication strategy to highlight the accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff.
Finally, thank you for all that you do. I wish everyone a restful and energizing winter break! I am looking forward to taking a break as well, and the next Chancellor’s Update email will be on January 15th.
Have a Joyous Holiday!
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