Engineering for what’s next: Dean Kumar Yelamarthi connecting CECS to Chattanooga’s future

Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi is dean of the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. Photo by Angela Foster.

When Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi walked through the doors as dean of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Engineering and Computer Science on July 1, he wasn’t stepping into a role.

He was stepping into something bigger: a chance to make an impact.

“When people say this title of dean, it reminds me of the old Spider-Man quote, ‘With position comes responsibility. With title comes responsibility,’” Yelamarthi said. “The dean’s position comes with a lot of responsibility and requires making many decisions. The way I look at it is, any decision you make … put the students front and center and say, ‘What is right by them?’ And the answer comes out very simple.”

It’s a leadership principle he puts into practice every day, and those who have worked with him have seen it firsthand.

“Kumar is student-focused, action-oriented, and he brings a mindset that understands what it means to be a good partner,” said UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce, who spent four years working with Yelamarthi at Tennessee Tech. “He’s one of the most genuine and sincere people I’ve ever met.

“He’s high energy. He’s positive. He has a can-do attitude. He has a very, very positive spirit. And he’s that way 24/7. He’s going to be a fantastic leader for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.”

Yelamarthi’s leadership potential was evident during the search process, said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jerold Hale.

“He emerged from a rigorous national search and was embraced by every group he met with on campus and in the community,” Hale said. “Sometimes you cast a wide net only to find that the best person for the job is just a couple of hours up the road. We’re fortunate to have found that in Dr. Yelamarthi.”

Now, as dean, Yelamarthi sees an opportunity to build on the college’s strengths by leaning into partnerships, focusing on outcomes and keeping students at the center of it all.

“Industry engagement. Community focus. Urban scale. Natural beauty,” he explained. “There is an energy that pulls you to Chattanooga and a connectedness—on campus and off—that makes you feel like this is a place where you can grow something meaningful.

“We want to move fast but we want to advance everyone along with us, and if we keep the students at the center of everything the right decisions will follow.”

During his first few weeks on campus, Dean Kumar Yelamarthi has already begun deepening ties with regional stakeholders.

Yelamarthi’s connection to Tennessee higher education began in 2021 when he moved to Tennessee Tech after a 13-year stint at Central Michigan University, rising from assistant professor to director of the School of Engineering and Technology.

As associate dean of academic affairs in Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering, he helped support more than 3,100 students and 85 faculty members across seven departments and 18 programs. He led initiatives that increased first-year student enrollment by 35%, boosted retention and academic performance, expanded access to underserved communities and helped secure millions in external funding.

But even then, Chattanooga had caught his attention.

“I was trying to understand the geography of Tennessee, the key players, the strategic partners, the competitors, and UTC kept coming up again and again as a fierce competitor—a force to be reckoned with,” he noted.

The more he learned, the more he saw a university gaining momentum and a city growing right alongside it.

“Chattanooga is the land of opportunity in Tennessee,” he said. “People are migrating here. The community is strong, extremely connected and believes in collaborative success. That’s what drew me here—the interdependence, the mutual growth mindset.

“Everyone I talked to was passionate about student success and passionate about the success of the college. I wanted to be in the middle of that.”

Yelamarthi is quick to point out that UTC’s location provides distinct advantages, especially for engineering and computer science students.

“How many universities can say we have a quantum lab next door? That we’re located a mile or two from BlueCross BlueShield headquarters? That we’re deeply connected with an automotive company that manufactures right in the city?” he asked.

“If you walk the halls in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, you’ll see names like TVA, Volkswagen, Maytag, BlueCross BlueShield, Chattanooga Manufacturing Association. They’re outside our classrooms and labs. And when you look inside, you’ll see that these companies are actively involved—with training, with labs, with workforce development.”

During his first few weeks on campus, Yelamarthi has already begun deepening ties with regional stakeholders, including early outreach to the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.

It’s the kind of engagement that aligns closely with the University’s mission, Hale said.

“The economic vitality of the Tennessee Valley is going to depend on engineering and computer science,” Hale said, “and having those community connections is going to be absolutely essential. Dr. Yelamarthi is the kind of leader who can strengthen those connections across the board and he’s hit the ground running in that regard.

“Our mission is to develop talent, solve problems and be a good community partner, and we are developing talent for our community partners. We are solving problems related to cybersecurity, computer science and engineering issues that the region and country will face in the future. I am convinced that he is the person who can help us develop the talent pool that our community partners will need to move forward.”

Yelamarthi said he has already started crafting proposals with faculty for new projects at TVA and EPB, and he’s prioritizing operational efficiency so he can spend more time externally representing the college.

“Somebody has to connect the community to the college,” he explained. “Somebody has to tell the stories of our faculty and students and staff and bring people in to see the greatness we have.

“Faculty need to focus on what they do best—teaching and research. Department heads need to focus on programs and operations. As dean, I see myself taking on that external-facing responsibility.”

He’s building those connections with a clear goal: To make the college not only more visible but indispensable.

“I want our college to be recognized for developing such talented and connected engineers that employers are eager to hire our graduates—so much so that the demand far exceeds the number of students we can provide,” he said.

“There is an energy that pulls you to Chattanooga and a connectedness—on campus and off—that makes you feel like this is a place where you can grow something meaningful,” said Dean Kumar Yelamarthi.

Yelamarthi, who earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Wright State University in Ohio, as well as a bachelor’s degree in instrumentation and control engineering from the University of Madras in India, doesn’t just see the College of Engineering and Computer Science as a place to learn.

He views it as an essential part of Chattanooga’s growth and a pipeline for regional talent.

“In my mind, we’re not just educating traditional students. We are serving the workforce of the state of Tennessee,” he noted. “Workforce development is age-agnostic. It’s position-agnostic. And we have the expertise here to meet that need.”

He said it places UTC in a unique situation of helping students build careers while shaping what’s next.

“We’re not simply interested in preparing students to be ‘job-ready’ on day one. We need to think beyond,” he explained. “What I mean by that is we need to think about students blazing the trail on day one. We need to think about how to train students to become leaders, go-getters, achievers and role models on day one.”

To do that, he continued, students need more than just technical knowledge; they need a foundation of adaptable, transferable abilities to lead in a world that’s moving faster than ever.

“We are preparing engineers, engineering technology and computer science professionals for jobs that do not exist yet,” Yelamarthi said. “Technical skills are absolutely necessary, but so are lifelong skills.

“So I ask, ‘How do you instill an interest in lifelong learning? How do you instill critical thinking?’ Those are the things we need to work on.”

It’s why Yelamarthi believes in the “Six Cs,” a framework essential to shaping well-rounded engineers and computer scientists for long-term impact. His “Six Cs” are comprised of:

Curiosity: inspiring students to constantly ask “why” and “why not”
Critical thinking: encouraging students to think constructively, question assumptions and see beyond the obvious
Connection: building bridges between engineering, business, economics, environment and society
Creating value: designing solutions that add meaningful value to society.
Communication: empowering students to share ideas clearly across audiences—from peers to policymakers
Character: fostering integrity, empathy and a service mindset

Those six traits, he said, “form the DNA of a 21st-century engineering graduate.” He is working to make sure they’re embedded in every aspect of the UTC experience.

“Once we recruit new students, I want to ensure that they enjoy their experience at UTC and that they say, ‘This is where I belong,’” he explained. “When we call them back for homecoming, they should say, ‘That’s my home.’”

Yelamarthi spoke about reducing barriers to ensure every student feels seen and supported.

“Whether it’s tuition, scholarships, course scheduling, academic advising,” he said, “whatever it is, we need to simplify and improve it.”

The goal is to foster retention and a sense of belonging, which extends to faculty and staff as well.

“Everybody should be excited to be here,” he said. “I want people to try new things. I want them to fail and learn from it. That’s how innovation happens.”

To Yelamarthi, that’s not just permission to experiment. It’s part of how real progress happens—and it’s part of his leadership philosophy.

“As Thomas Edison once said when somebody asked him about inventing the light bulb, ‘I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,’” Yelamarthi said. “Greatness comes out of failure. Progress comes out of failure.

“Failing and making mistakes is how we learn. That is how you pivot to something new and achieve greatness.”