Happy Anniversary: MCC, WaGE celebrate 15 years of providing UTC students a ‘sense of belonging’

For 15 years, the Multicultural Center and the Center for Women and Gender Equity have provided safe spaces for students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

To close out Black History Month and shepherd in March’s Women’s History Month, the organizations will jointly celebrate their 15th anniversaries with a reception from 2-4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, at Lupton Hall.

“The ultimate mission of the Multicultural Center is to provide a space for students to build community, build that sense of belonging at the University,” said Dr. Tara Mathis, associate dean of students and director of the Multicultural Center (MCC). “We are really student-focused. Our center is open to all students.”

Dr. Fred Peete, a Memphis chiropractor, doubts he would have met his wife, Chassidy, without the MCC.

Peete used to hang out, study and sleep at the center and one day overheard Chassidy, a stranger, on a phone call lamenting the lack of romantic dates. Peete said he “horned in” on the phone call and asked Chassidy for a date the following Saturday. She said yes.

“I said, ‘OK, I’ll pick you up on Saturday.’ And the rest is history,” he recalled.

MCC hosts numerous annual events, including the International Festival, Cultural Heritage Month celebrations, Welcome Back Cookout, International Student Welcome Reception, UTC MLK Day commemorative events, Homecoming Yard Show, and Multicultural Graduation Celebrations.

The Center for Women and Gender Equity (WaGE) also opened 15 years ago during the 2008-2009 academic year. It was in response to a significant sexual assault and led to annual observations of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.

WaGE Director Sara K. Peters said the center is about educating everybody, men included, about gender equity, patriarchy, pay inequity and other issues.

“I think that on a lot of college campuses, we don’t have those spaces where we’re centering women’s experiences,” Peters said, “and I think it can be incredibly useful to have that kind of shift in paradigm for people to experience that.

“We’re educating everybody. Patriarchy is this damaging construct that creates very rigid gender roles and creates a dynamic where men are supposed to behave a certain way and women are supposed to behave a certain way and makes no allowances for the reality that individuals are individuals.”

Emily Rosenquist has been assistant director of UTC’s Survivor Advocacy Services since 2020 and helps assault survivors with support in a safe space.

“They have put so much into the campus to create space where students feel welcomed while fostering their growth and development,” Rosenquist said.

Cassie Nice, WaGE former assistant director of programming and now community investments manager for United Way of Greater Chattanooga, remembers a 2013 trip to Washington for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

It was an experiential learning trip with student leaders of all backgrounds, interests and political beliefs. The students huddled together against below-freezing temperatures before sunrise.

“These spaces are vital safe spaces to help students of all identities feel seen, heard and cared for,” Nice said. “These spaces will continue to provide hope, advocacy and civil discourse–a hard space to find in our current climate. These spaces develop leadership skills and strengths.”

Not to mention courage, Nice said.

The MCC’s GUIDE Mentorship Program, started in fall 2011, encourages first-year students to get involved on campus and in Chattanooga—and has led 80% of first-year students to return to campus for their second years. Nearly 5,000 students attended MCC programs during the 2022-23 school year.

Former MCC graduate assistant Brittney King said the center will forever hold a special place in her heart and was “pivotal to my college and graduate experience. I became acquainted with Dean [Tara] Mathis as a sophomore in distress, and she gracefully took me under her wing and helped me to the finish line.”

King earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration in 2010 and a master’s in education in 2013. She is the owner of Memphis-based Imagination Beautiful, a private virtual counseling practice that serves clients in Tennessee and Georgia.

“I can still remember coming up to the MCC to take a breather between classes, catch up with friends, sit with Dean Mathis and enjoy the plethora of programs provided to students,” King said. “The innovative spirit embedded in the center’s culture truly pushed me to evolve in ways I wouldn’t have experienced elsewhere. I am forever grateful for every program, campus initiative and community collaboration that I was able to be part of during my time as GA.

“Being a UTC Moc was a steppingstone in my life far beyond my education, and the MCC played a monumental role in my development as a successful woman of color.”