Terry Ellis is a professor of practice in the UTC School of Nursing and a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army National Guard. Photo by Angela Foster.
When 1st Lt. Terry Ellis was asked how his time in the military influenced his life, his answer was simple: “How has it not?”
The work he does in hospitals, schools and his business all lean on his military experience.
Ellis, an assistant professor of practice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program—and the keynote speaker for the University’s annual Veterans Day Luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 11—initially joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 2014 in search of financial assistance to support his education.
Coming from a distinguished family lineage of service, Ellis didn’t believe the military was right for him.
Nursing was his first call to service.
“I didn’t want to go into the Army at all,” Ellis said. “I’ve been in a family that’s full of military history. We have lineage all the way back to the Revolutionary War. All the males and most of the females have served in some capacity for at least four years.
“I didn’t see that aligning with what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to go into nursing. I didn’t really understand that you could pair the two at that age until that opportunity presented itself.”
His father, Sgt. 1st Class Terry Ellis, has 36 years and counting of military service in the U.S. Army Reserve. He was deployed in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm and later to Kosovo as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
When Sgt. 1st Class Ellis heard that his son was interested in joining the armed forces, he was initially surprised.
“Back in 2004 … my boys were 5 and 7, in that age bracket, and I got orders to deploy,” he said. “I was gone for 15 months. That put a little bit of a sour taste in their mouth with the military realizing that their dad can be pulled away for more than a year and see him one time during that period.”
The elder Ellis, senior director of respiratory services, pulmonology and critical care at Erlanger, knew his son wanted to be a nurse and recommended the Georgia Military Scholarship.
The response was a swift no.
“By the second year, he was at school one day in the ROTC building and the recruiters were up there talking to the students,” Ellis recalled. “They had pamphlets out and Terry comes up and goes, ‘Dad, check this out. This is a really cool opportunity. This is a way for me to get my college education. I’d have to join the National Guard but they would pay for everything.’
“I’m looking at him like, ‘Yeah, I told you about this last year. It’s the exact same program that I told you about. It was a terrible idea when dad brought it up.’ But when he came across it on his own, it piqued his interest. He spent the next year and a half or so working toward graduation and pursuing that scholarship, which he ended up getting.”
Terry Ellis stands in the School of Nursing.
Attending the University of North Georgia at Dahlonega, Ellis earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Upon graduation, he reclassified as a medical services officer.
“I work with an amazing team,” Ellis said. “I work with some of the coolest people I’ve ever met, and also what I would consider true heroes. Being able to take care of some true heroes—I’ve never been actively deployed in a combat zone or anything, at least yet in my career—I’ve taken care of some of what I would consider America’s finest.
“There’s a lot of pride in being able to even just associate myself with people of that character, honor and duty.”
Ellis recalls a specific moment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio—the only Department of Defense Level 1 trauma center—where he served patients returning from combat.
One of his patients was a Purple Heart Recipient.
“That is something that you don’t see often,” Ellis explained. “Those are few and far between. To be able to medically provide care for a soldier who has not only met expectations but more exceedingly has given of themself to such a degree to be honored at that level, it is not the award but the action behind it.”
On the civilian side, Ellis began working in the trauma intensive care unit at Erlanger.
“I was drinking out of a fire hydrant when I got there,” he said. “It’s a lot to have taken in. Again, I would argue working beside heroes in a different capacity. I mean, just seeing those types of injuries continuously. Gunshots, stabbings and car wrecks, things that the general populace is very much shielded from.”
Later transitioning into management at Erlanger, Ellis worked as a clinical staff leader. He then moved to Erlanger East to teach critical care before moving into a clinical nurse manager position where he oversaw five call centers.
While in management, Ellis had a 2-year-old at home and his wife, Alaina, had recently given birth to their second child.
He said the experience was valuable because he learned how to lead in a different capacity, but wanted to be more present for his family.
After some convincing from his wife, he said UTC was the next door God opened.
“When the opportunity here at UTC opened up, I denied it right off the cuff,” he recalled. “Never thought I ever wanted to be in education; I liked teaching in the trenches at the bedside.
“Then reluctantly I thought about it, prayed about it and accepted the position. That was August of 2023. I started here and absolutely love it. I truly do.”
Ellis said teaching at UTC is the first time he has ever not needed a contingency plan.
“There are things that I want to do in conjunction with being here but I don’t feel like I need to have plan B,” he explained. “I’m content with what I’m providing for my students. I’m making a difference. I feel like my family also sees the benefits of that.”
Dr. Chris Smith, director of the UTC School of Nursing, said that Ellis’s personality and military background are what make him a special professor. She notes that being in leadership means having the ability to relate to everyone, regardless of age or gender.
Earlier this year, following a nomination from Ellis, Smith received the Patriot Award for her exceptional support for National Guard and Reserve employees through flexible schedules, time off before and after deployments, and a commitment to supporting military obligations beyond what the law requires.
“Terry is a wonderful example of someone who cares deeply about students,” Smith said. “It appears that nothing is too much trouble for Terry to do if it’s for a student or a coworker. He’s very generous. He’s very respectful. He is a great role model.
“He knows his path, he knows where he’s going and the students see that. It’s nice to have a role model who really tends to be the full package.”
Terry Ellis receiving an accommodation from his brother, Tyler Ellis. Photo courtesy of Terry Ellis.
On top of his roles as a father, serviceman and professor, Ellis is currently pursuing both a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a Master’s of Business Administration.
“He’s just an example of how you cannot have it all but work towards having it all,” Smith said.
While working on his postgraduate degrees, Ellis enrolled in a technology class in the School of Nursing—where he had the option to either record a video or build a project for his final assignment.
While most students decided to build something simple, he decided to develop a medical device.
“It didn’t matter what it was,” Ellis said. “I took it way too literally. I came up with a medical device. I ended up working with an engineer whom I knew from church and built this medical device. It helps with positioning extremities for procedures regarding radial access. We built an LLC around it.”
Although the initial prototype may have fallen apart in class, he now serves as CEO of Optimized Access—a business with a $3.3 million valuation.
“Thank God for an amazing wife,” Ellis said. “I look back at that one moment when I was pulling through this little stoplight out here on McCallie, telling her, ‘Heck no. I would never want to do that.’ For her to step back and put me in my place, that’s what a good marriage is.”
Smith credits Ellis with his ability to utilize the resources on campus.
“He is one who has had doors open, not that we opened the doors for him,” she said. “He realized there were other opportunities and he opened the door.”
His father echoed the sentiment.
“I’m a huge proponent of service in the military,” he said. “To see my son follow in that opportunity to serve—to see him not only serving his country but serving his community in the role as a professor at the school, having worked at Erlanger, worked in the trauma unit, he’s worked at Erlanger East and he’s been in the ICU, he’s overseeing the staff of the hospital there—it fills your heart.”
Ellis credits his relationship with God for the opportunities he’s received.
“Being a believer, I don’t see a world that I would’ve made these decisions,” he said. “To have lived the experience that I’ve lived in just less than 30 years, I feel very blessed. I am hoping for the ability to continue to serve both in the military as well as the students and patients. The work we’re doing now, I can go home knowing that there’s value added.
“Being here just over the two-year mark, I’m actually getting to see that fruit. Now, when I take my students into the hospitals, I see old students who are out there doing great things, saving lives and taking care of patients.
“I’m very, very blessed to be where I’m at and thankful for the opportunity.”
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