UT System Connect Newsletter

January 02, 2024

In This Email:
1. Latest News
2. Upcoming Events of Interest
3. Employee Spotlight

LATEST NEWS

For something as seemingly innocuous as setting goals for yourself, New Year's resolutions can be pretty polarizing—and with good reason. That's because unlike other things you aim to achieve, those labeled "resolutions" come with cultural baggage: specifically, high expectations that some sort of noticeable transformation will take place.

The holiday and administrative closing schedule has been updated to reflect closings for calendar year 2025.

UT System 21st Century Campaign Scholarships will again be available during the 2024-25 academic year.

Students must be currently enrolled on any UT undergraduate campus (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Martin or Southern) or have been admitted as an upcoming freshman as of Dec. 1, 2023.

If your dependent child is eligible for consideration, please forward those names to Melissa Smith at msmith@utfi.org no later than Feb. 29, 2024.  Please include the following information:

The scholarship selection committee will choose the recipients in the spring of 2024, and the awards will be based upon the current endowment income.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please email or call Smith at 865-974-7544.

UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST

Make plans to attend a special DASH Town Hall event on Jan. 10, 2024. 

Three town hall sessions will be held in one day:

Pick any session that interests you and join at that time. You can join one or join all three! No registration is needed.

You can click the link for each session on the day of the event. There is also a link to download each invitation to your calendar. Visit the Friends of DASH site to access all the details for this exciting event!

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Assistant Director, Communications

Jason Moody joined the UT System on Jan. 2 with the Division of Communications and Marketing. Moody is originally from Lawrenceville, Georgia, and has a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing. His experience includes more than 10 years of working in the sports and higher education fields. Moody has previously held roles in special events, communications and marketing with the Tennessee Smokies minor league baseball team, along with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Outside of work he enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with his wife, Morgan. He also enjoys walking his two pups Shelby and Jenna, and watching and playing soccer. Moody also follows other sports such as college football and basketball.

Strategic Sourcing Manager

Douglas Andrew Remke, Jr. joined the UT System on Jan. 2 with Procurement Services. Remke is originally from Nashville, Tennessee, but relocated to Knoxville where he graduated from UT Knoxville with a Bachelor of Science in business aadministration, majoring in both supply chain management and marketing. His professional background includes holding the roles of demand chain management analyst and senior demand chain management analyst with the Dollar General Corporation. When he isn’t working, he enjoys hanging out with friends, playing golf and cheering on the Tennessee Volunteers.

Director of Federal Relations, Agency Engagement

David Visi joined the UT System on Jan. 2 as the director of federal relations and agency engagement with the UT System Office of Government Relations and Advocacy. David is from Washington D.C. and has a doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of North Texas. Visi has experience as a lead biotechnologist at the MITRE Corp, government relations firms and stints at the Department of Defense and U.S. House of Representatives. When not working, Visi enjoys traveling, going to concerts, playing tennis and visiting the many museums in Washington D.C.

Staff Attorney

CeCe Ging will be joining the UT System on Jan. 16 as the staff attorney with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation. Ging is from Lebanon, Tennessee, and has a juris doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Law. Ging has a professional background as an intellectual property attorney. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking and traveling.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski, Martin and Memphis; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service.