New Lupton Awards Announced

A hub for UTC's foreign students is being established on campus through the Lupton International House, one of the new projects announced in the latest round of awards from the Lupton Renaissance Fund. The one-time cost to establish the center is $500,000. A total of $4.4 million has been awarded to support 17 new endeavors.

The Lupton Renaissance Fund, the largest unrestricted cash gift to public higher education in Tennessee, was established in September 2001 with an initial gift of $25 million to the University from Chattanooga philanthropist John T. Lupton and his wife, Alice.

The Lupton International House will allow foreign students to hold receptions, lectures, and international holiday celebrations in a renovated and furnished house near campus.

Other major awards include the establishment of :

• The Information Technology Degree Program, Center of Excellence for Computer Applications, $1,000,000
• Visiting Scholars Program, for three years at $500,000 annually
• UTC Institute of Wildlife Rehabilitation and the UTC Biological Field Station, two years at $347,000
• Facilities transformation moves and space enhancements, $500,000

Smaller projects funded are:

• Scientific equipment for the UTC Chemistry Department, $124,000
• Lupton Library Special Collections renovation and storage project, $75,000
• Enhanced information perception through virtual reality, Computer Science, $70,000
• UTC user license for JSTOR scholarly journal archive, mathematics, $50,000
• New equipment for theatre labs, $50,000
• Setting up a network security laboratory, $30,000
• Addressing Communication Department accreditation deficiencies, $28,000
• Rolling, smart classrooms for Foreign Languages Department $28,000
• Tax resource room for Accounting and Finance, $24,000
• Matching grant funding for Alumni Commons conceptual floor plan design $18,000
• Journalism education in Hamilton County secondary schools $15,000
• Professional quality portfolio capabilities, Art Department, $10,000