News Summary
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will honor its graduates in a series of ceremonies, featuring around 1,600 students from both undergraduate and graduate programs. The commencement will highlight the achievements of the Class of 2025 and will be presided over by the interim chancellor. Attendance is open to the public, marking a tradition of academic excellence at UTC since its first graduation.
Chattanooga, TN – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) is set to celebrate its 265th commencement on May 2-3, 2025, with a series of ceremonies that will honor an estimated 1,300 undergraduate and 300 graduate students from the Class of 2025. The festivities will take place at McKenzie Arena, where attendees can witness the culmination of years of hard work and dedication from the university’s graduates.
The commencement activities begin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 2, with a ceremony dedicated to the Graduate School. Dr. Tyler Forrest, a three-time graduate of UTC and the president of Tennessee Wesleyan University, will deliver the graduation charge during this ceremony. Following the graduate ceremonies, two undergraduate ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday, May 3. The first ceremony at 9 a.m. will honor graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The second ceremony at 2 p.m. will recognize students from the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies.
These ceremonies will be presided over by Interim Chancellor Robert Dooley, a two-time UTC alumnus. This event marks a notable occasion for Dooley, as it is his first and only time serving as interim chancellor during commencement. He expressed enthusiasm about overseeing the proceedings, referring to the event as the “pinnacle moment” of the academic year at UTC.
This year’s commencement is particularly significant as it continues UTC’s long-standing tradition of academic excellence, which dates back to its inaugural graduation in 1969. The university aims to celebrate not only the achievements of its students but also the transformative experiences they have gained throughout their time at UTC.
Attendance at the commencement ceremonies is open to the public, with no tickets required, encouraging family, friends, and community members to join in the celebration. The distribution of degrees highlights the diversity of academic disciplines represented in this year’s graduating class. The College of Arts and Sciences awarded 553 undergraduate degrees, while the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies conferred 294. The Gary W. Rollins College of Business awarded 232 degrees, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science presented 178 degrees.
In terms of graduate studies, the Graduate School conferred a total of 308 advanced degrees and certificates, which include master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees. A breakdown of these degrees reveals that the College of Arts and Sciences awarded 57 master’s degrees, with 44 from the Rollins College of Business, 19 from the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and 98 from the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies. Additionally, doctoral degrees included 18 in Nursing Practice, 33 in Physical Therapy, and 21 in Occupational Therapy. Other doctoral programs, including seven PhDs in Learning and Leadership and two in Computational Science, were also awarded.
As a way to commemorate these special moments, videos of each ceremony will be made available online, along with a gallery of photographs taken by UTC photographer Angela Foster. Among those graduating this year are four editors from the Echo, UTC’s student-run newspaper, who have made significant contributions to student journalism.
As students prepare to walk across the stage and receive their degrees, UTC’s commencement is not just a celebration of academic success, but a recognition of the bright future that lies ahead for the Class of 2025.
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Additional Resources
- Chattanooga Pulse
- Wikipedia: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- UTC Echo
- Google Search: UTC commencement 2025
- Go Mocs
- Google Scholar: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- Chattanooga Pulse
- Encyclopedia Britannica: education in Tennessee
Author: STAFF HERE CHATTANOOGA WRITER
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