News
From the Nest to the Skillet: UTC Design Alumni Shape Lodge Cast Iron’s Creative Legacy
As the National Cornbread Festival returns to South Pittsburg, UTC design alumni at Lodge Cast Iron are working behind the scenes to bring tradition, creativity and community together.
The Echo Effect: Three Alumni, One Proving Ground
On the second floor of UTC’s University Center, down a hallway that once buzzed late into the night with deadline adrenaline, three alumni found the place that would shape how they think, write and lead: The University Echo newsroom. For Chloé Morrison, the journey began with hesitation. “I was so anxiety-ridden that I just stood …
Brewing Curiosity and Community
On a chilly winter day in 1998, long before Tiny Bomb became a Memphis staple or Wiseacre Brewing Co. emerged as one of the South’s most celebrated craft breweries, Davin (’02) and Rachael (’02) Bartosch met on a grassy field at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. There were no helmets and no expectation that …
Two Paths, One Foundation: How UTC Interior Architecture and Design Shaped the Careers of Kacie Baker and Rachel Shannon
Interior architecture and design careers rarely follow a single, straight line. For UTC alumnae Kacie Baker (’17) and Rachel Shannon (’04,’19), their professional journeys reflect two distinct but complementary paths—both grounded in creativity, rigor and a shared foundation built at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Though their careers unfolded at different times and in …
From Belgium to Blue and Gold
When Emma Van Hee (’21, ’23) arrived in Chattanooga in August 2017, she had never set foot on campus. Coming from Belgium, she relied on conversations over Skype, a tennis scholarship and a belief that the opportunity ahead was worth the leap. Eight years later, Van Hee is a two-time graduate of the University of …
From an Oak Tree to a Lifetime of Giving
Ken Harpe (’71) and his late wife, Cary (Graham ’69), have long been devoted supporters of UTC. Ken’s journey began when he arrived at the University of Chattanooga on a football scholarship. He jokes that at 17, “life began at 3 p.m. each day with football practice.” With Cary’s encouragement and the opportunities he found …
Audacious by Design: Marty McDonald (’07)
From UTC’s design studios to national stages, Marty McDonald built a career — and a movement — on courage, creativity and the belief that representation changes everything. When Marty McDonald (’07) walked onto the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus for the first time, she saw possibility. “I just felt like I could be that …
A Family in Harmony: The Smith Legacy
If music is the universal language, then Lee Lane Smith (’89) and her family speak it fluently. A lifelong educator and current Gifted Education Teacher in Hamilton County Schools, Lee’s journey to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) began with music and a scholarship. “I took lessons at Cadek with Christine Taussig Sasse and …
How Five Mocs Are Shaping Chattanooga’s Future
At the City of Chattanooga, a five-member team of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alumni are working behind the scenes to turn funding opportunities into community impact. Together, they form the Office of Grants and Opportunities, a division created in 2022 to expand grant funding capacity, strengthen compliance and help city departments and nonprofit partners …