Chancellor Steve Angle
When Dr. Steve Angle assumed the role of chancellor of UTC on July 1, 2013, he set two priorities. One was to insure student success and the other was to strengthen community relations. At the meeting of the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club Thursday afternoon, he told the group the ways that these goals are being implemented.
He said that the relationship between students and the community is symbiotic.
Chattanooga is considered to be both a laboratory and a classroom for the students at the university. “Chattanooga is the place to be,” he said.
The college is viewed as a way to fulfill needs in the area. He hopes that by establishing collaborations between the students and local entities with programs such as internships that graduates will be encouraged and choose to stay in the area and use their talents here. To help with that goal and to provide a direct point to UTC Ann Yoachim has been hired as the Director of Community Partnerships. It will be her job to forge alliances with the government, businesses and students.
Regional priorities become priorities of the university, he said. Vice Chancellor for Research, Joanne Romagni helps to align research and scholarships with what is needed in the area. One important objective of UTC is to produce excellent teachers and it is striving to have an outstanding teacher’s education department. Dr. Angle said the university would like for Chattanooga to be known as “teacher town.”
Physical connections are also being created between the university and the surrounding areas with $300 million in capital investments being made since 2000. A new library has recently opened, a new residence hall to house 600 students will open in fall of 2018 and the university has acquired the Mapp Building. A parking structure is planned below the new housing with 650 parking spaces. Dr. Angle said in the future, the area between Vine Street and Georgia Avenue will be a hub of activity. This will create connectivity to Chattanooga’s “innovation district.”The school is also partnering with Erlanger, the school of medicine and Siskin.
Sports will play a part in joining the school to the community as well. UTC owns 27 acres surrounding Engel Stadium that will be used for intramural sports activities. Intercollegiate athletic successes have also contributed to the relationship. In the works too, is a plan to renovate 50,000 square feet of McKenzie Arena and build a four story addition that will be adjacent to it. This will be funded with gifts. He said the school needs to raise $8 million of a total $16 million for this project. He is hoping for ground breaking to take place in 24 months.
The Tennessee Promise will have a tremendous and positive effect on college students in the state, the speaker said. Enrollment this year at UTC is 11,388, with 1,300 being in graduate school. The number of students is down this year, as expected, because of the new state program that provides scholarships for community colleges or technical schools. Dr. Angle said this reduction was planned into the 2016 budget. He said he hopes to see the freshmen this year become students at UTC two years from now. This program sets the stage for an affordable baccalaureate degree, which is attainable now for less than $8,000.
Graduates of UTC will add diversity to the community and diversity is the clear path to excellence, he said. The school is working to expand international opportunities. "We hope to bring the world to Chattanooga," said Dr. Angle. A new Director of International Programs, Takeo Suzuki, has been hired to help implement that goal.
To smooth the transition into a university, UTC has signed dual admission agreements with Chattanooga State and Dalton State. This partnership, he said, will assure that a clear path has been laid out.
The school is looking to the future, said Dr. Angle, and those who work at UTC “get to touch the future every day because our students are the future.”