Division Accomplishments
The Facilities team in Housing and Residence Life were the first recipients of the EMSA Brilliant Award, a division-wide honor recognizing exceptional work. Patrice Stargell, Sharon Lindsey, Shanon Boyd, Terry Dallas, Jerry Fox, Keshuntay Dillard, Gwendolyn Thomas and Juliet Watkins were recognized for their dedication to their on-campus work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Multiple EMSA offices and departments took a leading role in introducing Cohort 2025. Starting this fall, Cohort 2025 will vastly expand UTC’s residential learning communities, academic learning communities and “connections” communities built around shared interests in recreational, extracurricular or service activities. Read more about this initiative.
Thanks to the hard work of the EMSA division, and especially Veteran Student Services, UTC was designated as a Military Friendly School and Military Spouse Friendly School for 2021-2022.
Scrappy’s Cupboard, UTC’s student food pantry managed by the Office of Student Outreach and Support, received a $6,000 grant to purchase several refrigerator and freezer units as well as funding to partner with the YMCA of Greater Chattanooga’s Mobile Market program for the 2021-2022 academic year. Tish Hubbard, Assistant Director for Student Outreach & Support, played a large role in securing this funding.
University Health Services (UHS) organized UTC’s routine COVID-19 testing program this past semester. The newly hired testing team has completed more than 8,000 routine tests so far. UHS also led UTC’s COVID-19 vaccine clinics, administering vaccines to more than 1,200 campus community members.
The hard work of the Disability Resource Center has ranked UTC among the country’s best schools for its programs and accommodations to help students with disabilities. Collegeconsensus.com, using information compiled by various publishers—including U.S. News and World Report—ranked UTC No. 22 in the nation.
Endia Butler, Student Employment Coordinator in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and Dr. Chris Smith, Chief Health Affairs Officer, were recently named to the All-Southern Conference team of distinguished faculty and staff. Endia and Chris were selected for demonstrating the common characteristics of dedicated service to this institution and contributions to both campus life and the local region.
Jennifer Buckles, EMSA Director of Business Affairs, hosted monthly training throughout the semester on topics ranging from procurement card procedures to payment reconciliation to personnel changes. She will offer more training this summer. Please contact Jennifer at Jennifer-Buckles@utc.edu for more information.
Jamie Booth, the Study Abroad Advisor in the Center for Global Education, revamped the Study Abroad session curriculum by adding the Study Abroad 101 to Canvas and making Study Abroad 102 more interactive. Jamie also assisted UTC student Delali Gadzekpo in applying for the prestigious CIEE Frederick Douglass Global Fellows Program. Delali was accepted into the program and will study abroad in Ireland.
The Office of New Student and Family Programs has hired new Orientation leaders to help with welcoming new students and assist with summer programming. The students are: Alexa Clements, Alex Vadil, Allen Towry, Carmela Depaz, Carter Easley, Christopher Rivera, Daniel Taylor, Mallary Quaderer, Hannah Mccullough, Isaiah Owens, Julia Stranahan, Kaci Landham, Kiyanna West, Reggie Marshall and Travis Smith.
Staff Spotlight
Anna Smartt had a big task when she joined the staff at University Health Services this past semester. She was hired as the University’s Routine Testing Coordinator and her goal was leading and managing a successful campus-wide routine testing center.
“She is integrating seamlessly into campus operations and is running an incredibly efficient testing center,” Dr. Yasmine Key, Director of University Health Services, said. “On top of the thousands of COVID tests completed by her team, Anna has also taken on the bulk of leading the COVID immunization efforts for the campus. Her team has helped vaccinate over 1,200 UTC community members thus far.”
Anna is a two-time UTC alumna with degrees in nursing.
Appointments, Promotions and Retirements
- Monica Watson is the new Administrative Specialist in the Counseling Center.
- Antoine Carson joined Student Support Services as a Student Success Specialist.
- Laura Petrus was promoted to Director of Student and Family Engagement.
- Jason Linville is a new Access Coordinator in the Disability Resource Center.
- Sarah Anne Perry joined International Student and Scholar Services as a Credential Evaluator and Immigration Specialist.
- Maurice Dorsey was promoted to Assistant Director of the University Center.
- Anna Smartt, Melissa Ebel, Nikki Goddard, and Harriett Whitaker joined University Health Services to lead and assist with COVID-19 routine testing and vaccinations.
- Teresa Harrison is the new Administrative Support Assistant in the Center for Academic Support and Advisement.
- Christian Henderson joined the Center for Academic Support and Advisement as an Academic Exploration Advisor.
- Vanessa Schieble is the new Supplemental Instruction Program Coordinator in the Center for Academic Support and Advisement.
- Anna Kholod joined Housing and Residence Life as a Building Assistant for Walker & UC Foundation Apartments.
- Makenzie Tompkins is the new Coordinator of Student Conduct/Student Conduct Investigator in the Office of the Dean of Students.
- Tish Hubbard was promoted to Assistant Director for Student Outreach & Support in the Office of the Dean of Students.
Campus and Virtual Events
Summer Orientation
The Office of New Student & Family Programs will host virtual orientations for incoming freshmen and transfer students in May, June and July. You can find more info on orientation on their website.
Moc to Moc
In cooperation with several EMSA offices, the Office of New Student & Family Programs will host small groups of incoming students for a half-day visit to campus this summer. Students will tour campus, see select residence halls, browse the UTC bookstore and connect with current students, campus offices and departments and more. Multiple dates will be available in May, June and July.
Moc Up
Groups of incoming students will have a multi-day campus residential experience with Moc Up this summer. Hosted by Student Success Programs, Moc Up is designed to familiarize students with campus, student resources and current students, faculty and staff. Learn more about Moc Up.
Read to Achieve
After a year’s hiatus, the Read to Achieve program is back and reimagined for 2021. Read to Achieve provides a positive reading experience for students, faculty, and staff through classroom discussions, book clubs and more. Everyone is encouraged to participate in reading this year’s book selection, So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.
First Flight
Student Success Programs will host a pre-welcome week experience this August called First Flight. First Flight will connect students with campus resources, host a departmental fair, offer school supply give-aways and more.
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