Betsy Myers and Brandalyn Shropshire (photos by Angela Foster)
Dr. Betsy Myers and Brandalyn Shropshire from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga have been named to the 2025-2026 All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team.
Myers, a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, and Shropshire, associate director of engagement in Undergraduate Admissions, were selected as UTC’s representatives to the conference-wide recognition program. Each SoCon institution nominates one faculty member and one staff member whose work has made a measurable impact on their campus. While the nomination process differs by school, recipients share a record of meaningful contributions to teaching, service, student life and research.
Both honorees will be formally recognized later this academic year, when Southern Conference Commissioner Michael Cross presents them with engraved plaques during the Mocs men’s basketball game on Jan. 21, 2026, vs. ETSU.
“As is true every year, the nominee pool was strong—but this cycle brought us an incredibly deep and deserving pool of candidates reflecting the quality of faculty and staff across campus,” said Dr. Jerold Hale, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “The selections of Dr. Betsy Myers and Brandalyn Shropshire speak to the impact of their work and the esteem of their colleagues.”
Dr. Betsy Myers consults with physical therapy student Savanna Jernigan during a recent clinic at the Aquatic and Recreation Center.
Myers has spent the past decade building UTC’s Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic into one of the most distinctive student learning environments on campus. She directs the clinic, housed in University Health Services, where first- and third-year doctoral students treat members of the campus community under faculty supervision.
More than 1,500 patients have received care since the clinic opened, and students consistently describe the experience as the place where classroom concepts begin to feel real.
Out of the clinic grew the Mocs Wellness Initiative, a collaboration Myers helped launch that pairs physical therapy students with nutrition and health coaching graduate students to support faculty and staff pursuing healthier routines. The structure gives students an early look at interprofessional practice while delivering a service that benefits the UTC community.
Myers’ work stretches well beyond campus. Since 2016, she has served as a medical tent team captain at the Chattanooga Ironman, recruiting and training PT students to care for athletes on race day. She also regularly involves students in adaptive recreation through Sports, Arts and Recreation of Chattanooga (SPARC), where they assist participants with disabilities in activities such as tennis, cycling, basketball, water skiing and kayaking.
A former Northwestern University field hockey student-athlete, Myers grew up playing basketball, softball and soccer before switching to field hockey in high school. Athletics, she said, helped pay for her education and created international travel opportunities.
“Sports is my passion,” she said. “When I was 12, I wanted to be the physical therapist for the New York Giants.”
Myers teaches Advanced Sports Physical Therapy in the DPT program, linking classroom work to these hands-on experiences. Her scholarly work feeds directly back into that community engagement.
When her research identified high fall rates among senior pickleball players, Myers and her students designed and delivered a fall-prevention training program that improved strength, confidence and mobility.
To be selected to the All-Conference team, she said, was quite an honor.
“I’ve had athletic awards in the past, but I’ve never been recognized in this way. It’s nice to be thought of in the same vein,” Myers said. “I’m so proud to be able to represent UTC. I love supporting our teams, and I’m just excited that I can hopefully represent them well.”
In the nomination letter, Department of Physical Therapy head Nancy Fell wrote that Myers exemplifies the profession’s core value of social responsibility by intentionally building student experiences in real service settings.
“Dr. Myers’ leadership engagement and commitment to including and supporting PT students while engaging in community service has enhanced student learning, supported their understanding of the PT profession’s core value of social responsibility, and helped them to remain focused on their educational motivation,” Fell wrote. “Along for the ride, UTC and the DPT program’s reputations are also enhanced as we are regularly visible volunteering in the local community.”
Brandalyn Shropshire has been welcoming future Mocs to campus since her own days as an undergraduate.
Shropshire has spent nearly two decades shaping how future Mocs first experience UTC.
A University employee since 2006, Shropshire has introduced prospective students and their families to UTC—refining communications, improving campus visit experiences and removing barriers that can prevent students from enrolling. Her work is marked by responsiveness and care for individual students.
When notified of the All-Conference recognition, she said the news caught her off guard during “a very busy point in the admissions calendar.”
“It was a shock and a pleasant surprise,” she said. “This is our busy season right now in admissions and you’re so focused on, ‘I’ve got to get this done. I’ve got to get that done.’ Your head’s down because you’re just working. So yes, it was quite a surprise.”
Shropshire earned a bachelor’s degree from UTC in 2008 and completed a master’s degree in English this past May. Returning to the classroom gave her a new way to relate to the students she advises.
“It was nothing for them to be in the library at 10 o’clock at night and I’m right there with them with my backpack on,” she said.
Her own path through UTC—losing a scholarship, working to return, and ultimately completing two degrees—is something she regularly shares with prospective students who doubt whether they can make it.
“There are so many people on this campus that are here to support you and see things in you that they want to push you further,” she said. “It might lead to you being a two-time alum and working in the same University that you almost flunked out of.”
In nominating Shropshire for the Southern Conference honor, College of Health, Education and Professional Studies Dean Valerie Rutledge wrote that “it would be hard to find a more dedicated staff member who believes her role is to serve our students and help them access the college experience to improve their future.”
Rutledge also noted that Shropshire’s walking across the stage with a master’s degree “reminded her of the value of choosing a path to one’s future and finding the best fit, something she does in her daily interactions with students.”
Shropshire said earning a spot on the SoCon team is less about personal recognition and more about what it represents for others watching.
“It has been a pleasure working with so many wonderful people on campus who have the spirit of students and they want to put students first,” she said, “and I am so honored and thankful to Dr. Valerie Rutledge for nominating me.
“I hope it’s inspiring to someone else to keep going. Let the work that you do speak for you. You don’t have to make sure everything you do is put out on stage or in the paper … When it matters, you will be seen. The right person will see you.”
Outside of work, Shropshire serves on the board of the Children’s Academy for Education and Learning and is active in the Chattanooga arts community as a humorist, writer and actress.
Past UTC recipients of Southern Conference faculty and staff awards include:
- Mike Jones (2015-2016)
- Gretchen Potts and Lisa Tarr (2016-2017)
- Valerie Rutledge and Emily Quinn (2017-2018)
- Jamie Harvey and Melanie Ribaric (2018-2019)
- Debbie Ingram and Terry Denniston (2019-2020)
- Chris Smith and Endia Butler (2020-2021)
- Mark Schorr and Christopher Stokes (2021-2022)
- Michael Thompson and Will Watson (2022-2023)
- Liz Hathaway and Theresa Blackman (2023-2024)
- DeAnna Beasley and Terrence Banks (2024-2025)
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UTC Department of Physical Therapy
