UTC’s Dorothy And Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building Breaks Ground
The future home of the UTC School of Nursing, the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building, broke ground on Monday.
Chancellor Angle thanked the entire Hamilton County legislative delegation, saying, “We moved forward in the state capital queue for funding” and wouldn’t be at this point in the process without the delegation “making sure that we were staying true to what our public university should do with a project like this.
“I want to particularly call out the hard work of Senator Watson and Rep. Hazlewood as chair of the Finance and Budget Committees. They just did an incredible job. I know we would not be here without their hard work and commitment to see that this building actually competed for funding at a time that was really challenging for higher education with capital projects.”
Senator 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 the School of Nursing faculty and staff wearing white lab coats.
“I am at heart a human scientist just as you," said Senator Watson. "I am at heart a clinician—and clinicians know 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 great already. It’s not that our facilities aren’t adequate already. It’s just that human science is moving forward at a pace and level of technology that requires new facilities. I have been a strong advocate for this building for the last five years.