![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Michael-D.-Thompson-History-Headshot-100421-692x1024.jpg\")
Dr. Michael Thompson<\/p><\/div>\n
Thompson, a member of the UTC faculty since 2009, is a UC Foundation associate professor of American History and head of the Department of History. He is a scholar and teacher of the American South and slavery and the early national and antebellum United States.<\/p>\n
Thompson\u2019s first book was an award-winning study of waterfront labor and laborers in Charleston, South Carolina, between the American Revolution and the Civil War. He is now working on a book that examines the historical relationship of essential labor, racial presumptions and disease in urban environments\u2014as well as a history of enslavement in and around Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Tennessee.<\/p>\n
As the history department\u2019s internship coordinator from 2015 to 2022, he cultivated approximately 25 partnerships through which more than 90 student interns served the community for more than 12,000 hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored and humbled to be selected for this year\u2019s All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI also am grateful for an amazing group of colleagues who work alongside me every day to serve our students, the UTC campus and the Chattanooga community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson trained and ran with the Ann Arbor Track Club during his freshman year at the University of Michigan, where he majored in history \u201cand developed a commitment to servant leadership.\u201d He made the Michigan track team during his sophomore year as a walk-on half-miler, but an injury prevented him from competing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy limited time and experience as a college athlete instilled a deep appreciation for student-athletes at UTC and across the Southern Conference,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt\u2019s such an honor to be associated through this award with so many hard-working and dedicated college students who also are playing competitive sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Watson-Will-18-772x1024.jpg\")
Will Watson<\/p><\/div>\n
Watson, who received bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees from UTC, is the workforce development specialist for the Center for Professional Education. In his role, Watson has developed health care certification programs and removed barriers to train and prepare adult learners to enter health care occupations such as certified nursing assistant and clinical medical assistant.<\/p>\n
Watson has overseen the training and certification of roughly 750 adult learners while providing them with direct pathways to meaningful employment through employer partnerships\u2014which cover the cost of tuition for students, provide them with pay while in training and guarantee full-time employment once they finish. Recent strains on the health care system and labor market make these training programs vital in supporting the health care field.<\/p>\n
He was recently selected to be a part of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce\u2019s Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Chattanooga 2022-23 cohort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to represent UTC as a two-time graduate\u2014and now a staff member\u2014and I\u2019m proud to be honored by the SoCon,\u201d Watson said. \u201cWhile this is an individual achievement, I could not have done it without the folks in my office. Without them, I certainly wouldn\u2019t have had the support and the ability to bounce ideas off and grow and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watson credited CPE Director John Freeze, in particular, with enabling his success.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, one reason I\u2019ve been successful is because of John,\u201d Watson said. \u201cHis leadership, guidance, servant heart; he\u2019s somebody I\u2019m very grateful for. He\u2019s given me the opportunity to do some of the things that I\u2019ve accomplished, and I have so much gratitude for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Past UTC recipients of Southern Conference faculty and staff awards include:<\/span><\/p>\n