UTC Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist students Jackie Medina, front, and Melina Maple, under the watchful eye of Dr. Garrett Salmon, work on airway techniques. Photo by Angela Foster.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has officially launched the College of Nursing, elevating one of the University’s longest-standing and most impactful academic programs to college status. The designation took effect Jan. 1.
The launch follows approvals by the UT Board of Trustees and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and formalizes the role nursing plays at UTC and across the region’s health care workforce. With nearly 1,000 students enrolled across undergraduate and doctoral programs, the College of Nursing becomes UTC’s fifth academic college.
“Elevating the nursing program to a college reflects the impact this program has had—and will continue to have—on our region and our state,” UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce said. “UTC nurses show up every day in hospitals, clinics and communities across Tennessee, and this designation recognizes the importance of that work.
“With nearly 1,000 students preparing for nursing careers, becoming a college strengthens our ability to educate, attract and retain the next generation of health care professionals. It sends a clear signal about our commitment to meeting Tennessee’s most pressing workforce needs.”
Dr. Chris Smith, who has led the nursing program since 2014, serves as the inaugural dean.
“The most important thing for us is that people in the general public will understand that UTC has an excellent nursing program—and the elevation to a college will give us more visibility,” Smith said. “We will continue to have the excellent programming that we have always had and we will continue to support the excellent faculty that we have always had.”
UTC’s nursing portfolio spans the workforce continuum: the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and accelerated BSN programs; RN-to-BSN (Gateway); the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with nurse practitioner concentrations in adult gerontology acute care, psychiatric mental health and family practice; and the nationally recognized nurse anesthesia program, which transitioned to UTC in 1994 after operating as a certificate program through Erlanger starting in 1972—and reports a 100% employment rate for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist graduates. Nursing also offers a DNP in Nursing Administration Systems for those seeking leadership roles and a post-master’s DNP for advanced practice registered nurses who wish to earn the doctoral degree.
The program reports a five-year average National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate of 97%, fulfilling the requirement for licensure as a registered nurse, and reports a 100% employment rate for its nursing graduates. Over 70% of BSN graduates remain in the greater Chattanooga area after licensure, and 83% of Family Nurse Practitioner graduates stay in Tennessee.
Launched in 1973 and shaped by more than five decades of regional need, UTC’s nursing program has grown into a cornerstone of Chattanooga’s health care corridor. Smith said the college designation strengthens employer awareness of UTC nursing graduates across clinical settings where students train alongside peers from institutions nationwide.
Administratively, the transition reflects a structure that has long functioned at a college scale. Dr. Brooke Epperson has been named associate dean and undergraduate program director, and Dr. Christi Denton has been named assistant dean for graduate education while continuing as program director for the adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program.
Existing program coordinators have been retitled as program directors to align with national norms for colleges of nursing.
Smith said additional positions, including future development support aligned with other UTC colleges, will be phased in over time as the College of Nursing continues to grow.
The launch also comes as UTC continues construction of the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building at the corner of Palmetto and East 3rd streets. The 90,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open for classroom instruction in fall 2027, will allow for a 152% enrollment increase and expanded simulation, clinical training and interprofessional learning space.
The new facility will accommodate more than 400 students daily and feature eight classrooms, five task-training spaces, eight standardized patient-actor exam rooms, a specialized space for labor and delivery experiences, and a simulated intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency room. A dedicated hall of patient care rooms—similar to those in acute care facilities—will feature a simulated nurse’s station and a medication room.
Smith said the expanded space will allow the College of Nursing to admit more qualified applicants while strengthening hands-on clinical preparation. Beyond infrastructure, the elevation to a college creates capacity for strategic growth.
“I will rely more on Doctors Epperson and Denton for the day-to-day operation,” Smith said. “That will allow me to spend time helping support some of those programs like the MobileMOC.”
MobileMOC is a mobile health outreach clinic that delivers preventative care and interprofessional training in rural counties across Southeast Tennessee.
Smith said that the College of Nursing is developing an Interprofessional Center of Excellence for Health that would bring together nursing, social work, nutrition, physical therapy, occupational therapy and other partners to support collaborative education, research and community engagement.
“The purpose of the center is to catalyze collaboration across UTC’s academic programs,” Smith said. “It is intended to serve as a hub for community-focused collaboration, particularly in areas related to aging populations and integrated health care delivery, while also supporting interprofessional education required by nursing accrediting bodies.”
Smith described the college designation as external validation of work that has been underway for decades.
“The recognition by the Board of Trustees at UT and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission—recognizing the excellence of the program and that it is worthy of being its own college—is icing on the cake,” she said. “We’re going to continue to do what we do.”
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DNP acute care student Alexis Murray works with Dr. Chris Doneski during an AI simulation.
