Attendees at the open house for the Center for Student Accessibility signed flowers and posters, which will be used as art in the center. Photo by Angela Foster.
On Thursday, March 26, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Center for Student Accessibility (CFSA) hosted an open house for staff, faculty and students to learn about its new name and location.
Initially located on the third floor of the University Center, the CFSA—formerly known as the Disability Resource Center—showed off its new second-floor location, which added more space for student support.
CFSA Executive Director Kimele Carter started at UTC during the fall 2025 semester and described the experience of opening the center’s new space as exciting.
“I’m grateful that our friends and campus partners have come out to share with us as well,” Carter said. “It’s about helping the campus understand that we are a partner. We serve the same students that everybody else serves and help by giving them wings and helping them take flight, which is to be able to be whatever the student wants—and that’s graduation.”
CFSA Executive Director Kimele Carter talks to Assistant Director of Sports Programs Michael Johnson during the open house.
Carter’s birthday coincided with the CFSA open house, making it a perfect introduction to campus. She wants the UTC community to know she is ready to collaborate.
“I believe in the power of networking so that everybody’s able to work together,” she said. “I have always been the person who wants to connect people. I like puzzles, putting puzzle pieces together that people may not think fit together, but finding that connector so that people recognize we are all human beings and all want the same thing.”
Nicolas Maynard, the center’s access coordinator: testing and communication access, has been with the program throughout the transition and said it’s “fulfilling to see it actually come to fruition.”
“We went from about four offices and seven testing rooms to six offices, 18 testing rooms and a staff lounge,” Maynard said. “It’s space for us to grow into for our whole staff to be able to meet with students and support students, as well as accommodate the growth of the students with testing accommodation needs. There’s a quiet space for them.”
Carter explained that the new space will better enable the center to achieve its ultimate goal.
“The center’s purpose is to assist students who have varying levels of diagnosed disabilities,” she said. “Whether it’s a visible or an invisible disability, as long as there’s a diagnosis, we can work with them.”
Maynard hopes students take advantage of the CFSA if they need support, a quiet space or a place to be heard.
“They can come and talk to our staff, meet with us as just a touch point, a Grand Central Station of anything they need,” Maynard said. “If we can’t help, we can direct them to the space where they need to be.”
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