With more than 370 stories published in the UTC Newsroom during the 2024 calendar year, it’s easy to say that a lot of good things happened for UTC students, faculty and staff this year. Picking out the top highlights—not so easy. Here are some of our favorites.
UTC’s Megan McKnight honored by White House for leadership in opioid overdose prevention
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, UTC Center for Wellbeing Director Megan McKnight was invited to a Washington, D.C., summit hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose event honored McKnight and nearly 250 other stakeholders for expanding access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication and reducing preventable drug overdose deaths.
Champion for mental health: UTC’s Amy Kyriakidis recognized for suicide prevention efforts
Amy Kyriakidis, assistant director for suicide education and prevention in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Center for Wellbeing, has been recognized for her exceptional contributions to suicide prevention in Tennessee. She recently received the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN) Southeast Regional Suicide Prevention Award, an honor created by TSPN co-founders Madge and Ken Tullis “to acknowledge innovation and excellence in the state’s suicide prevention awareness efforts.”
Got your goat? UTC students relax with furry yoga buddies
Around 140 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students visited Chamberlain Field on Wednesday, Aug. 21, to unwind during the first week of classes, along with some four-legged friends—goats. Goat yoga, hosted by the Center for Wellbeing and the Office of Student and Family Engagement, is a Welcome Week tradition in which students attempt their best yoga poses while goats jump on their backs, bellies and shoulders.
Step into campus life: Welcome Week 2024 welcomes new Mocs to UTC
UTC is gearing up for another exciting Welcome Week, an annual tradition that introduces new students to campus life. This year’s festivities, which take place from Sunday, Aug. 18, through Saturday, Aug. 24, are set to kick off with the Oak Street Roast—marking the beginning of a week chockful of opportunities for students to connect, explore and immerse themselves in the UTC community.
UTC to receive Hamilton County funding for Clinical Addiction Studies Certificate Program
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has been awarded $114,344 from the Hamilton County Innovative Response to Opioids Grants to fund a clinical addiction studies certificate program to prepare students for the Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor Licensing Exam. This program will lower barriers to addiction treatment by increasing the number of addiction professionals in Hamilton County. The inaugural cohort will consist of 10 participants.
Mocs Recovery Program earns national accreditation
The Mocs Recovery Program, a collaboration between the Center for Wellbeing and the Counselor Education Program, has been fully accredited through the Association of Recovery in Higher Education’s Standardized Review for Collegiate Recovery Advancement. As a result of the ARHE review, the Mocs Recovery Program received the designation of a “fully reviewed program” with an overall score of 92%.
Mocs Recovery: Reducing harm in the student body
The mission of the UTC Center for Wellbeing is to support the personal and academic growth of our students by cultivating a well and safe campus community. The center encourages life-long wellbeing by promoting healthy coping skills, a culture of care, risk reduction and wellness.
First gen graduate gives back and pays forward
Juan Carlos Aponte Ortiz’s experiences at UTC led him to become deeply involved with student-oriented, peer-mentoring programs on campus. He has worked with Student Support Services, Student Success Programs, the Office of Student and Family Engagement, the Center for Women and Gender Equity, and the Center for Wellbeing.
Aim of UTC initiative is for everyone to ‘Be Well’
Katherine Hewitt, assistant director of health education and wellness promotion in the Center for Wellbeing, is chairperson for Be Well—a coalition working to support the UTC community’s personal, academic and social wellbeing.