“Future is bright,” Chancellor says in annual State of the University address 2018

 

With the backdrop of a ribbon-cutting to recognize the completion of UTC’s new West Campus Residence Hall, Chancellor Steven Angle said the building is a metaphor for the school’s strategic goal: Constructing a great university.

At his State of the University address on Friday, Sept. 14, Angle said an essential element of that goal focuses on students.

“Our definition of student success is a UTC graduate who has the knowledge required to succeed in the workplace, and the personal development to know you show up on time, how to collaborate and work with others, and to execute the steps to complete a project,” he said. “This is applying knowledge and demonstrating the values that come with a four-year degree.”

During his remarks, Angle also pointed out several other points of pride for UTC that occurred over the past year.

“My message today is one of optimism, hope and a call to action,” he said.

Four years in a row, UTC has been the best-performing university in the state on measures used under the Complete College Tennessee Act, which awards public funding according to student retention and graduation rates. UTC’s top performance resulted in an additional $3.6 million coming to UTC for fiscal 2019, he said.

Although there is ongoing discussion on whether a college degree is a valuable asset, UTC’s approach to education is about more than a diploma, Angle said.

“How should we assess a history major as either being prepared to get a job or being prepared to engage in the world’s challenges? The answer is that a student who excels in the classroom must also engage and contribute in the larger community. A UTC degree prepares a graduate for a career and to be fulfilled as a citizen, wherever they choose to live.”

Optimistic about the future and keeping up with changing needs in higher education, UTC also is forging ahead with almost a half-billion dollars invested in 12 building renovations and new construction projects on campus. More than $325 million in construction has recently been completed or is still in progress, and another $148 million is in the planning stages.

Following three years of self-limiting tuition increases to record lows, UTC is operating on no tuition increase for 2018-2019, the fiscal year just ended was a record year for fundraising. It included a $40 million gift from Gary W. and Kathleen Rollins to the College of Business, the largest private gift in UTC history. To commemorate the gift, the college’s official name is now the Gary W. Rollins College of Business.

In addition to the Rollins’ generosity, the University of Chattanooga Foundation hit all-time highs of $135.5 million in endowments and $57.1 million in donations, pledges and gifts in fiscal 2017-2018.

Despite the strides UTC has made over the past several years, “we face challenges,” Angle said. Four-year institutions must move more quickly when change is needed in such areas as curriculum, cutting through “bureaucratic red tape” and thinking beyond the traditional degree.

“Disruptions are already the norm,” he said. “Our goal is to be on the cutting edge of delivering outcomes that are geared toward where we are going and not to hold on to where we have been.

“As we engage the disruptions we know there will be speed bumps along the way. By aligning recourses and sharing publicly the value of a UTC graduate with the skills for a job and for contributing to the community, the future is bright.”