UTC History
When the Methodist Episcopal Church began to explore the possibilities of developing a central university in the South, Chattanoogans came forward to work with the church in this effort and became UTC. Since its founding as Chattanooga University in 1886, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has developed an institutional excellence on a blend of private and public traditions of higher education.
For 83 years, the University was private. Three years after its founding, the University consolidated with another religious church-related school, East Tennessee Wesleyan University at Athens, under the name of Grant University. In 1907, University of Chattanooga became the name.
In 1969, the University of Chattanooga and a junior college, Chattanooga City College, merged and affiliated with the University of Tennessee, one of the oldest land-grant universities and became UTC. Pledged to the service of the nation, the University of Tennessee has become a statewide system of higher education comprised of four primary campuses. UTC's mandate was to focus its resources on excellence in undergraduate education and in selected areas of graduate study.
Want to learn more?
Check out the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Moccasin Yearbooks collection, an online exhibit created by the Special Collections and University Archives of UTC Library.
Visit the Special Collections and University Archives of UTC Library for more information.