Dr. Mathew Knowles joins Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement Stacy Lightfoot for a fireside chat in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall. Photo by Clara Paulson.
Dr. Mathew Knowles—music executive, educator and father of Beyoncé and Solange—spent Friday, Feb. 27, walking through pieces of his past at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and talking with students about their futures.
Knowles, who began his college career at UTC in the early 1970s, built a career spanning music, business and higher education. He is the founder and CEO of Music World Entertainment, has developed and managed global artists, authored multiple books and now serves in academic leadership roles, including teaching master classes in branding and entrepreneurship.
His return to campus included a full day of events, ending with a public fireside chat in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at the UTC Fine Arts Center. The event, sponsored by the UTC Division of Access and Engagement and WUTC 88.1, was moderated by Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement Stacy Lightfoot.
“This visit showed our students that UTC is a place where passions are formed and trajectories are shaped,” Lightfoot said. “When alumni return and pour back into the institution that shaped them, it creates a bridge for current students to see what is possible for themselves.”
Before the evening program, Knowles met with about 75 students for a candid conversation about leadership. He attended a Health and Wellness Luncheon at the Wolford Family Athletic Center and visited Maclellan Gym, where he once played basketball as a student.
The next day, Knowles—a part owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky—attended a Mocs men’s basketball game where he was recognized on the court.
Knowles said seeing former classmates and teammates again made the visit personal.
“It’s been a real humbling and motivational experience to see my classmates, my fraternity (Omega Psi Phi) brothers, the brothers I played basketball with,” Knowles said during the fireside chat. “I told my wife it’s a feeling I haven’t felt. It’s a joy. It’s something I can’t really put just in words just to embrace my brothers and see them again.
“When you are 74 years old and look back at your journey, you want to share it with people that were important and meaningful in that journey. So it’s been a delight for me to be here.”
Lightfoot said she noticed how Knowles connected with students, former teammates and campus leaders.
“He did not expect the depth of reconnection he experienced here, and that is a credit to the many campus partners who made this visit intentional and personal,” she said. “When he left asking, ‘When am I coming back?’—that told me everything. That is what authentic community feels like.”
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Mathew Knowles speaks to students about leadership in the Hall of Fame Room at McKenzie Arena. Photo by Angela Foster.
