Arbor Day celebrates Professor Collins’s preservation of University’s natural heritage

Professor Collins (Left) pictured with Dr. Hill Craddock (Right)

This Arbor Day under the shade of an oak tree, the University honored the driving force behind saving trees and beautifying our landscape here on Campus. A surprise to her, the University dedicated our Arboretum the Linda T. Collins Arboretum.

Professor Linda T. Collins served as the founding chairperson to UTC’s Landscape Committee for 13 years. While serving as a faculty member, Collins was recognized with an impressive list of merit and service awards including two prestigious National Science Foundation awards that enhanced laboratory and curricula offerings for undergraduate students.

“When we started all of this, what we wanted was the outside of the Campus to reflect the excellence that goes on inside the classroom and the labs, the art studios, the music rooms, and even the UTC basketball teams, both men and women,” Collins explained.

The legacy she spearheaded dots along walkways, towers over Campus buildings, and has received multiple nods of recognition on a local and national level.

In addition to achieving certified Tennessee Arboretum status, UTC was awarded the School Grounds Award by the City of Chattanooga Tree Commission in 2012 and Designated a Tree Campus USA  in 2011.

Hear from Collins and view moments from this year’s Arbor Day below: