Featured image:UT Martin engineering students test their aircraft’s design.
The UT Martin Department of Engineering has established a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree that began accepting students in the fall 2020 semester. Previously, the department only had a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree with a concentration in mechanical engineering. Shadow Robinson, dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, says the new degree program is a result of the mechanical engineering industry-required qualifications students need to find careers in the field after graduating from UT Martin.
UTM Breaks Ground on Latimer Engineering and Science Building
The UT Martin community, along with numerous notable Tennessee officials, gathered in front of the future site of the Latimer Engineering and Science Building to honor Bill and Carol Latimer for their $6.5 million gift to the university. The Latimers, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and UT President Randy Boyd were all in attendance to help break ground on the first academic building to be constructed at UT Martin in more than 40 years. The $65 million, 120,000-square-foot, three-story STEM building is scheduled to open fall 2022. Classes in the building will focus on science, technology, engineering and math.
UT Martin Earns Performance Funding
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has recommended that UT Martin receive $393,000 in additional outcomes-based formula funding in the next budget year based on established standards. The announcement was made by UT President Randy Boyd during the UT Board of Trustees fall meeting. Receiving performance funding reflects improvement in numerous areas related to recruitment and retention, especially in the marked improvement of UT Martin’s six-year graduation rate. Boyd also announced that THEC has moved UT Martin’s Innovation and Product Realization Facility, a $17.5 million, 50,000-square-foot center, to the commission’s Capital Projects Recommendation List.
McCloud Named Interim Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Mark McCloud (Martin, ’92) has been named UT Martin’s interim chief diversity and inclusion officer and will develop a comprehensive cultural competency plan for faculty, staff and students to promote institutional diversity and inclusion. McCloud also will be responsible for providing oversight to the Chancellor’s Cabinet concerning campus issues related to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, as well as partnering with the university community to implement programs, like the Multicultural Center for underrepresented student groups, to foster diversity and increase minority retention rates.
