Rick Dierenfeldt, Ph.D., is a U.C. Foundation Professor and Head of the Department of Criminal Justice at UTC. Since 2024, he has also served as the Director of the UTC Violence Reduction Initiative, a research center dedicated to the study and reduction of violent crime through community-based partnerships with criminal justice agencies, service providers, and…
UT at Chattanooga holds two pitch competitions on the same day
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hosted two distinct pitch competitions in one afternoon: the Graduate Student “Three Minute Thesis” (3MT) contest and the Undergraduate Research Elevator Pitch event. First-year doctoral student Maheshi Walawwe won the 3MT by purposefully omitting equations to make her computational science work accessible. Meanwhile undergraduates used two minutes and just two…
Dr. Rick Dierenfeldt Discusses the Drop in Crime Across the US on Jed & JR Mornings
Rick Dierenfeldt highlighted the recent decline in U.S. crime rates, attributing much of the progress to strong partnerships between UTC and local law enforcement. He spoke about UTC’s Violence Reduction Initiative, developed in collaboration with Chattanooga Police, which employs data‑driven strategies—like reopening cases, tracking crime guns, and using trauma‑informed interventions. These efforts have been instrumental in…