Violinist Sarah Whitney is not a stranger to college campuses, but during her visit to UTC, she added a new experience: coaching business students.
During her three-day residency—hosted through a partnership with Dr. Jonathan McNair, the Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music at UTC—the internationally recognized performer, educator and career coach guided students through workshops, classes and performances designed to reshape their thinking about creative careers.
UTC theatre students take center stage in national social venture competition
A social entrepreneurship team comprised of two UTC theatre students has been selected to compete in the Hult Prize 2025 United States National Competition—a contest challenging students to develop innovative business solutions for global issues. Senior Pearson Smith—UTC’s first theatre entrepreneurship major—and junior Harrison Faulkner, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in theatre, will represent the University at the Hult International Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 21-22.
Inspiring students to inspire others: Urban Vision Initiative providing community impact
Providing aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed, UTC’s Urban Vision Initiative gives students the chance to work with, help and learn from local entrepreneurs self-identified as low-income. Launched in 2022, the initiative connects entrepreneurs from underserved communities with UTC student consultants to support their journey toward economic success.
Students make their pitches at Fly! competition
The annual Fly! Mocs Business Competition for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students, a spring pitch competition “where a good idea and a strong pitch can earn you some cash and startup resources to move your business forward,” took place on Thursday, April 4, before a standing-room-only audience at the UTC Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Mike Bradshaw named director of UTC Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Mike Bradshaw is the new director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship after serving as the CIE’s first Entrepreneur-in-Residence since 2021.
UTC CIE is a Top Five finalist in worldwide competition
The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a finalist for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team of the Year in the Triple E Awards, which focus on university programs that involve and benefit students and the local community.
Student dissects song lyrics to win Fly! Pitch Contest
Senior Sami Belcher’s idea caught the attention of judges who selected her poster-making business—Halfway Down Design Co.—as the winner of the recent Student Fly! Pitch Contest, held in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Ideas continue to spring to life in ‘Hatch It!’ Lab’s second year
Now celebrating its second year in operation, the Hatch It! Lab is far more than just a place to make 3D-printed defense weapons. Students in 41 courses such as botany, literature, psychology, Afrofuturism, education and criminal justice have used the lab.
Urban Vision Initiative moves past boot camp and closer to goal of empowering successful entrepreneurs
Veatrice Conley and eight other would-be entrepreneurs recently completed their first milestone, graduating from the six-week Urban Vision Initiative boot camp consisting of six four-hour sessions on Saturday mornings to stabilize their new businesses or tweak business plans.
Vision quest: Innovative entrepreneurial initiative eyes takeoff
The philosophy behind the Urban Vision Initiative is that “anyone can be an entrepreneur and that entrepreneurship can be a pathway out of poverty.”