UT Chattanooga was involved in the dedication of bronze sculptures honoring Ed Johnson, a Black man falsely accused of rape and lynched in 1906 on the Walnut Street Bridge.
LaFrederick Thirkill, a 1997 UTC graduate, advocated for telling Johnson’s story. While some memorials evoke emotion, Thirkill says, the Ed Johnson memorial educates.
“I know there are going to be people who might be upset about it, be it Black people who are upset that it happened or white people who are upset that it’s acknowledged; but those conversations are healthy because then you can examine why you have those feelings, and when conversations happen, it gives you the opportunity to see it from a different perspective,” he says.
Twelve UTC Honors College students captured Johnson’s story in a five-part serial podcast as part of a semester-long course, “Storytelling Through Podcasts.” Organizers with the Ed Johnson Project shared plans for the commemoration with listeners of WUTC-FM’s Scenic Roots with Ray Bassett.
Graduate Student Keeps Eyes on Local Bees
Caitlin Jarvis spent her summer researching whether bees in one part of Hamilton County were healthier than bees in another part of the county.
As a UT Chattanooga first-year environmental science graduate student, Jarvis and undergraduate researchers are studying backyard beehives throughout the county to see which environments and beekeeping practices are most successful.
“We’re generally trying to see how productive the hive is. How big it is. But mainly I’m looking for signs of disease,” Jarvis says.
Student Creates Ecology-Themed Board Game
Brandon Denney, who graduated in May with a master’s degree in public health, created “Run, Degu, Run!” an ecology-themed board game designed to interest middle and high school students in science.
Players try to survive as a group of degus, small mammals around the size of a hamster that live in central Chile.
“In their community, degus work together to ensure that their neighbors are safe and that their needs are met as a benefit for everybody,” Denney says.
Eight Degrees Receive Top 10 Rankings
Eight degree programs at UT Chattanooga have been ranked among the top 10 in the state and one of the best by the Collegefactual.com website.
The website ranked the UTC master’s in registered nursing as the No. 1 program out of 11 in the state.
Other rankings by Collegefactual.com are:
Bachelor’s degrees
- General Business Administration and Management: No. 3 out of 33
- Business Administration and Management: No. 3 out of 33
- Best Teacher Education Grade Specific: No. 3 out of 27
- Best Business, Management and Marketing: No. 4 out of 34
- Education: No. 4 out of 30
Master’s degrees
- Business Administration and Management: No. 4 out of 29
- General Business Administration and Management: No. 3 out of 26
- Nursing: No. 2 out of 17