UT Chattanooga received an $8 million gift from the Kennedy Foundation to name the forthcoming home of the UTC School of Nursing the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building. The gift is the largest in UTC School of Nursing history.
Named after the parents of the current Kennedy Foundation trustees—Jim Kennedy III, Elizabeth Kennedy Spratlin and Molly Kennedy (Chattanooga ’82)—the building will be the first at UTC to be named after an alumna. Dorothy Kennedy (Chattanooga ’82) received a bachelor’s degree in English while attending UTC at the same time as her daughter, Molly.
“This new building will help us dramatically increase the number of students in our nursing program and help meet the critical need for nurses in our community,” UTC Chancellor Steven Angle says. “We are thankful for the generosity of the Kennedy Foundation and appreciate the support of UT President Randy Boyd and the UT Board of Trustees.”
Record-Setting Mocs Give Day
UTC raised a school-record $1.7 million from more than 2,100 donors during its fourth annual Mocs Give Day on Oct. 3. The day’s original fundraising goals were to raise $1 million from 1,500 donors, which were exceeded by nearly 73 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
“Mocs Give Day is all about the collective power of giving. Almost 80 percent of all gifts were $100 or less,” says UTC Vice Chancellor of Advancement Kim White. “From supporting scholarships and athletics to study abroad opportunities and student support services, alumni and friends of UTC came together to support the areas on campus they are passionate about.”
UTC Divine Nine Heritage Park Opens
On Oct. 6, a grand opening ceremony was held to introduce UTC Divine Nine Heritage Park, a long-awaited tribute to the legacy of UTC’s pioneering African American Greek-letter fraternities and sororities.
The UTC Divine Nine Heritage Park plaza, adjacent to the University Center, includes pedestals with plaques commemorating the “Divine Nine” National Panhellenic Council organizations, cast-in-place benches and a stone veneer.
Robotics Program Earns First International Award
In September, a UTC robotics team traveled to the 15th International MoNe Robotic Competition in Bursa, Turkey, and returned home with its first international award.
Mechatronics student Juan Pena, a senior from Spring Hill, won Best Design and Jury Special Award for robots in health care for “Pneumatic Actuated Wearable Soft Robotics System for Mirror Hand Rehabilitation.” The design focused on a wearable hand rehabilitation system that supports both mirror and task-oriented therapy for patients who have suffered from a stroke and lost motor function. Pena worked on the design with May 2023 UTC mechatronics graduate Christopher Winters.
