The UTC Office of Alumni Affairs has been around for many years and has helped in the efforts of maintaining communication between the University and it’s alumni, who live across the globe. It has  helped to facilitate activities and programs to bring alumni back together for positive social networking, relationship building and reminiscing about the “college glory days.” And it has helped the University develop advocates to promote the benefits of an incredible and affordable education.

But is there a missing purpose? Is this all that Chattanooga’s alumni office can do? And more imporantly is this all Chattanooga’s alumni office has the resources to accomplish?

The relevance of university alumni offices and associations are often called into question, yet there is a very significant role they can play in helping to strengthen the University AND the alumni base the University produces year after year. (read Building the Case for an Alumni Program, an article by Paul J. Clifford, vice chancellor for alumni relations at East Carolina University, that he wrote for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education -CASE).

In order for us to strengthen the methods we use to serve our alumni AND our University, we’d like to hear from you.  Please help us by answering some of the questions below. Feel free to post a comment on them, or send us your thoughts via e-mail to letusknow@utc.edu. You, in many ways, are our “customers” and “family members” and who better to ask on how to improve our services!  And please, be HONEST yet considerately fair with your responses.

QUESTIONS

1. What should be the main focus of UTC’s office of Alumni Affairs?
2. What needs to change to meet the desires and needs of today’s alumni?
3. How often should the alumni office contact the alumni base?
4. What are the best methods of communication that you would want to receive from the alumni office? (magazine, e-newsletters, e-mails, etc.)
5. In what types of alumni programs would you most likely participate?
6. What are some University and alumni activities for which you would most likely volunteer to help organize and produce?
7. In your opinion, what are the most imporant functions of the UTC Office of Alumni Affairs, in order of importance?
8. Do you feel that it is important to have a separate alumni office for UTC/UC alumni in addition to the University of Tennessee (system) Alumni Association (UTAA)? Again, in your view, what are the most important reasons to have a separate office?
9. How can the University help to provide the resources needed for the UTC Office of Alumni Affairs to strengthen its efforts to serve UTC/UC alumni?
10. General feedback/comments:

Thank you for your time and thought in our effort in strengthening your alumni office.

423/425-4785 - 800/728-4882

OCT. 9, 2007 -
 

It is with a deep sense of loss that we announce the death of Ken Smith last evening. Ken had begun phased retirement last year, but was unable to teach this fall. Ken taught creative writing, particularly in the areas of fiction and creative non-fiction, as well as courses in American literature and Western humanities. He was the author of the story collections Decoys and Other Stories and Angels and Others, as well as dozens of short stories, essays, and works of creative non-fiction. His work has appeared in magazines such as The Atlantic, Crazyhorse, Sonora Review, and Tri-Quarterly, and has been featured in the collections Best American Short Stories and Best of the West. He was also a writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University.  

In honor of Ken Smith, his love of writing, and his commitment to students and his colleagues, the English Department is establishing the Kenneth Smith Fiction Prize to be awarded annually to an outstanding student writer.Those who would like to contribute to this memorial being established in Ken’s honor may do so through the Development Office. Contributions should be made to the UC Foundation and designated for the Ken Smith Fiction Prize.

For more information on the UTC English Department, please call Dr. Verbie Prevost at (423) 425-4238.

Dr. Debbie Ingram (UTC ‘84) shared a special University story when she addressed the UTNAA Alumni Leadership Conference induction banquet. Ingram, UC Foundation professor and director of clinical education for the UTC Department of Physical Therapy, is the first faculty member of any campus of the University of Tennessee System to become President of The University of Tennessee National Alumni Association. Ingram spoke lovingly of a promise she made to a cherished family member, a promise to pursue a University education.

Read Ingram’s speech.

Help us deliver a united message about the value of a UTC education. Start by sharing your University story.

Answer any of the questions…or just share your own thoughts about your University experience.

1. How did your college education prepare you for your career?
2. What are some of your favorite campus memories?
3. Looking back at your experience during your years at UTC and post-graduate, how have you changed?
4. How did you feel when you walked across the stage at graduation and received your diploma?
5. What’s been your greatest accomplishment since you’ve graduated?
6. What goals do you have for the future?

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Office of Alumni Affairs is in the process of looking for a major gifts contribution specified for the construction of a new UTC Alumni Center. A state-of-the-art alumni center would be used to house the alumni affairs staff, offer meeting spaces for alumni, student alumni groups and the community, showcase the traditions and history of  UC/UTC and serve as a major campus focus point. But most importantly, an Alumni Center would give alumni and friends of our University a sense that they are still welcomed and belong on campus.

Currently, drawings have been rendered to build a new center in the location of the South Stadium building along Chamberlain Field.

Please share with us how you feel about a proposed Alumni Center for UTC.
If you know someone you feel may be a good person to approach for a contribution to help construct the center, please contact the UTC Office of Alumni Affairs at 423/425-4785 or 800/728-4882.

What are your views on how UTC is marketed to the public? How well do we market the UTC Blue & Gold? How can we increase the public’s positive image of our campus and institution? What are UTC’s unique characteristics and accomplishments that distinguish us from other institutions?