UTC’s Strategic Plan

Message from Chancellor Steve Angle

Since arriving in 2013, I have witnessed the planets being aligned for success.  What a great time to come here and be an active player in the next chapters of the Chattanooga story. 

As we develop our new strategic plan, we will address some key questions.  Let me share a few, and ask you to share your thoughts with me and our planning team. 

We will focus on student success and how that translates into a successful community.  We will strive for excellence in all we do. 

We will revisit  our Mission, Vision and Values: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is an engaged, metropolitan university committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service, and dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of the region through strategic partnerships and community involvement.

And we will answer these questions: Where are students in our Mission Statement?  How do we put meaning into being an Engaged Metropolitan University; how do we “feel” it, “see” it and “live” it?

While our mission may remain the same, how do we clearly and boldly share the passion for what we do — we change lives, we transform communities?  And how do we all join together in the passion for excellence?

We need to look at the Values that drive us each and every day — Excellence, Diversity and Inclusion, Sustainability, Ethics and Integrity, Service to our community.  Is there more? Are there other values that aspire all of us to greatness?   

How should we look at numbers over the next ten to 20 years? Should the student population be 15,000? Should it be held at 12,000? Should it grow to 18,000?

The answer is about more than a number; it is about the quality of the educational experience, and equipping our graduates to meet the challenges here and elsewhere in the years to come.

The question is: "Who are we, and who do we want to be?"  I think we know some of the answers, but by reaching out to you, soliciting your opinions and advice, we will do a much better job in being your true partner in achieving excellence in every thing we do as a university and as a community. Together, we will define who and what we are — and focus on a few things that we can do well.