The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga broke ground on the future home of its School of Nursing – the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building – Nov. 4.
Located at the corner of Palmetto and East Third streets, the new building will be about 90,000 square feet in size and contain “state-of-the-art classrooms and a cutting-edge simulation lab,” UTC officials said during the ceremony.
The new facility will also allow for a 152% enrollment increase in the School of Nursing, which currently accepts 50% of applicants and turns down eligible students due to space and class size limitations.
“We’re here today because of the outstanding nursing program at UTC, which will provide a workforce badly needed in our community, state and region,” said UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle.
The project’s anticipated cost of $77 million will be funded through a combination of donations and state resources. UTC has a building campaign goal of $21 million.
Angle thanked Hamilton County legislators Sen. Bo Watson and Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, who serve as chairs of their respective Financial, Ways and Means committees.
“We wouldn’t be here without their hard work and commitment to see that this building competed for funding at a time that was challenging for capital projects in higher education.”
Watson, who received a bachelor’s degree in biology from UTC in 1983 and a physical therapy degree from UT Health Science Center in Memphis, began his talk by acknowledging that “all great science begins with a great academic facility and great academic faculty.
“That’s what we’re trying to create here today. It’s not that our faculty isn’t already great; it’s not that our facilities aren’t already adequate. It’s just that human science is moving forward at a pace that requires new facilities.”
Watson went on to say the facility will help to prepare Hamilton County for the next generation of nurses and health care delivery.
“I look forward to seeing this building in the ground and students working throughout our community to bring health care expertise no one will surpass.”
Over 70% of UTC Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates remain in the Chattanooga area upon completing their degree. That percentage jumps to 83% for family nurse practitioner graduates.
For over a decade, the U.S. has experienced a severe nursing shortage that increased because of the pandemic.
The Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building is projected to be completed in the fall of 2026.
Learn more about the project at give.utc.edu/kennedy-health-sciences-building.