The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will host three commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, in McKenzie Arena. More than 700 undergraduates and 100-plus graduate students are candidates for degrees.
The Graduate School, awarding all master’s, specialist’s and doctoral degree candidates, holds its commencement ceremony on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Undergraduate commencement ceremonies take place Saturday. The ceremony for graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Computer Science is at 9 a.m., while commencement for graduates of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies is at 1 p.m.
Event details, including parking and arena entrance information, can be found on the commencement ceremony information web page.
Guests and graduates are encouraged to use the #UTCGrad21 hashtag in social media posts for possible resharing from official UTC @utchattanooga accounts.
This will be the 258th overall commencement for the University, which was founded in 1886 as the then-private Chattanooga University. The first UTC graduation ceremony took place Aug. 23, 1969, in the Tivoli Theater in downtown Chattanooga.
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Graduate School Commencement
2:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 10
Livestream: https://livestream.com/utc/fallgradcommence
Speaker: Tyler Forrest, vice chancellor for finance and administration
Tyler Forrest began serving as UTC vice chancellor for finance and administration on Jan. 1, 2021.
He has advanced through the University’s financial and budget ranks since his days as a UTC undergraduate student worker, when he reconciled ledgers in Auxiliary Services.
Shortly after receiving a bachelor’s degree in finance, magna cum laude, from UTC, he began financial analyst duties for the University before moving to the Office of Budget and Finance, progressing from assistant director to associate director to director to executive director.
In 2016, he was named assistant vice chancellor for budget and financial services. He was named associate vice chancellor for administration and finance the following year.
Forrest also has earned an MBA from UTC and a doctorate of learning and leadership from the University, completing his dissertation defense this summer. His doctoral dissertation, titled “Tennessee’s Performance Funding Model: A Mixed Methods Study Designed to Predict Future Success,” examined how an institution such as UTC can effectively perform under the state appropriations funding formula that went into effect in 2010.
“As a three-time alumnus, I am both excited and honored to deliver the graduation charge during the Graduate School commencement ceremony,” said Forrest, who officially receives his Ph.D. as part of Friday’s commencement proceedings.
“I have given a great deal of thought as to what I will share with the graduates that have already accomplished so much in their personal and professional lives. Much of the advice I plan to share will be centered on great wisdom that mentors have shared with me through the years. I have found having close relationships with a handful of mentors to be incredibly helpful. I hope the same insight I have learned from them will be helpful to the other graduates.”
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Undergraduate Commencement: College of Arts and Sciences/College of Engineering and Computer Science
9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 11
Livestream: https://livestream.com/utc/FALL9amUndergradcommence
Speaker: Stacy Lightfoot, vice chancellor for diversity and engagement
Stacy Lightfoot began serving as the University’s first vice chancellor for diversity and engagement on July 1, 2021.
Lightfoot joined UTC after 12 years with the Public Education Foundation (PEF), most recently as the organization’s executive vice president. PEF is a nonprofit that provides training, research and resources to teachers, principals and schools in Hamilton County and surrounding areas.
A native of Chattanooga, Lightfoot began working at PEF as a lead college advisor in 2009. Prior to being named executive vice president, she oversaw college access and success programs.
Her career has included stints at Girls Inc. and College Access Center, serving as an adjunct instructor at UTC, mentoring many of the region’s college-bound students and collaborating with diversity and inclusion experts across the state.
Lightfoot received a bachelor’s degree in communication from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and a master’s in international service from the University of Roehampton in London, England. Her international experiences include studying abroad at Temple University’s campus in Rome, Italy, and at the University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica.
“I am so humbled in being asked to speak to our graduates,” Lightfoot said. “It is so important to impart the right words and let these graduates know they have the power to change the world in ways that matter despite having their collegiate experience disturbed by the pandemic. They achieved in the face of such an enormous obstacle.”
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Undergraduate Commencement: Gary W. Rollins College of Business/College of Health, Education and Professional Studies
1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11
Livestream: https://livestream.com/utc/fall1pmcommence
Speaker: Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, vice provost for academic outreach
Shewanee Howard-Baptiste began serving as vice provost for academic outreach in the Division of Academic Affairs on Aug. 1, 2021, and is a professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance.
She joined the UTC faculty in 2013, teaching courses related to health behavior change, sociology of sport, personal health and community, and environmental health. Her academic career began as an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University and Ithaca College in New York state. She has also taught and studied abroad in Denmark, Switzerland, France, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Howard-Baptiste spent the 2020-2021 academic year as interim director of the Master of Public Health in Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Program in the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies. The master’s program began admitting students in 2018 and, in fall 2021, received national accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health, an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health.
Howard-Baptiste received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Miami University in Ohio.
“Let me first say that I love attending graduations,” she said. “Having the opportunity to celebrate our graduates is the highlight of each year for me. I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams to have the opportunity to connect with students in such a powerful way.
“The classroom has been a magical space for me for more than 20 years and I am honored to expand my reach and share some insights and encouragement to the class of 2021.”
