{"id":68800,"date":"2025-06-17T09:58:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=68800"},"modified":"2025-06-24T08:40:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:40:51","slug":"encore-performance-for-42-years-teresa-mckinney-helped-utc-feel-like-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/encore-performance-for-42-years-teresa-mckinney-helped-utc-feel-like-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Encore performance: For 42 years, Teresa McKinney helped UTC feel like home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Teresa

Teresa McKinney spent 20 years working for Dr. Mary Poston Tanner, watching her supervisor rise from department head to dean of the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies. The two recently reunited at a June 11 Founders Hall retirement reception for McKinney. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

When Teresa McKinney walks out of her office at the end of June, she will close the book on a 42-year chapter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga that began when she was a student worker in the Department of Music.<\/p>\n

McKinney was in the process of completing her degree in vocal performance when she was hired as a full-time staff member to assist the department. Over the decades that followed, she has also worked in Curriculum and Instruction, the Graduate School, the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, Human Ecology, the Office of the Dean of the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies, the Office of the Provost, and\u2014since 2015\u2014the Office of the Chancellor, watching UTC grow from a commuter school to a metropolitan campus.<\/p>\n

Through it all, McKinney has earned a reputation for her loyalty, discretion and attention to detail as well as being the first line of defense for executive leadership.<\/p>\n

As she prepares for retirement, she reflected on the longevity of her career at UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I never expected to be here this long,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cI got married and had kids and this was a good place to be. We had great benefits and I had good people that I worked with that were very supportive of family.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruthfully, there wasn\u2019t any point in me going anywhere else. I was thinking about (my sons) Benjamin and Trey and the fee waivers because I wanted them both to go to college, which they did. I felt like that was really important for them. This campus has always been a good environment that has been good to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From

From left: Trey, Teresa and Benjamin McKinney<\/p><\/div>\n

Not long after graduating from Trinity Christian School in Chattanooga, McKinney read a newspaper article about Chattanooga State Technical Community College launching a new music program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll go there,\u2019 mainly because I didn\u2019t have any other plans at that point,\u201d she recalled. \u201cBy then, I was really hooked on singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody then talked to me about coming to UTC and set me up an audition with (music professor) Walker Breland. He offered me a scholarship for the Chamber Singers and I got a transfer scholarship. I was able to come here and receive a scholarship to do Opera Workshop. I also became a student worker in the music department.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinney\u2019s full-time career at UTC began in 1982. She recalled being summoned by Dr. Peter Gerschefski\u2014the longtime department head who played a pivotal role in UTC\u2019s partnership with the Cadek Conservatory of Music\u2014after a departmental clerk unexpectedly left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget the interview,\u201d she remembered. \u201cHe called me into his office and said, \u2018So, do you want the job?\u2019 I said, \u2018Yes, sir.\u2019 And he said, \u2018OK, can you start tomorrow?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like that, a 42-year career was launched.<\/p>\n

Two years later, McKinney graduated cum laude from UTC with a Bachelor of Music degree.<\/p>\n

Among the highlights of her time at UTC was performing the National Anthem at the 1995 opening of the UTC Challenger STEM Learning Center. Country singer Lee Greenwood was at the event, McKinney said, \u201cand I was scared to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of her colleagues didn\u2019t initially realize the depth of her musical talent. Her voice, she said, tended to catch people off guard\u2014especially those who had only known her in a professional setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d been together a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, and she said that she was going to be in a recital,\u201d said Dr. Mary Poston Tanner, her supervisor for 20 years. \u201cI knew she\u2019d worked in the music department. I knew she was a music major, but I didn\u2019t know what her area was.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe invited me, and I learned right away that she has a beautiful, beautiful voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christy

From left: Christy Waldrep, Joanna Stephanos and Teresa McKinney<\/p><\/div>\n

In the years McKinney spent working for Tanner, she watched her rise from department head to dean of the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 20 years I spent with her, my gosh, I learned a ton about people and how to deal with them,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cI think about the organization and the people skills. I used to hate to write, but I learned a lot about writing from her as far as drafting recommendation letters, drafting promotion and tenure letters, things like that. I wouldn\u2019t have made it this far without the training I received from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner, who also had a 42-year career at UTC, praised McKinney as someone whose administrative support elevated her own leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was totally honest. She was a great communicator. And she made me more efficient,\u201d said Tanner, who currently serves on the UC Foundation Board of Trustees. \u201cAs a leader, I tend to be a little bit big picture and she tended to the little details\u2014and that was a great combination. She represented the dean\u2019s office as I wanted it represented: accessible, honest, hardworking and friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody liked Teresa. Everybody respected her. And because they respected and liked her, they respected and liked me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner said that McKinney played a vital role during a period of significant academic growth at UTC. Their time together included the addition of nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy programs to the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies after the dissolution of the College of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was very central to keeping good, positive relationships,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cAnybody who came into the office or called the office was treated well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner completed her UTC tenure as interim provost. After Dr. Jerald Ainsworth was appointed as the new provost in 2013, Tanner suggested McKinney to fill a support role in that office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time in the Provost\u2019s Office was a good move. I loved working for Dr. Ainsworth,\u201d McKinney said.<\/p>\n

The move to Founders Hall also gave her the opportunity to converse regularly with Dr. Steve Angle, chancellor of UTC from 2013 to 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got here early and I was always here early,\u201d she said, \u201cand he would come talk to me almost every morning. I like to think that built a relationship between us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it came time for this position to be filled [in 2015], I really did not plan on applying for it\u2014and then thought about it a little more before I decided to. I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity to work for the chancellor expanded McKinney\u2019s role to include direct engagement with congressional groups, advisory boards and the UT System.<\/p>\n

She also talked about seeing and hearing the interactions Angle had with students. The Office of the Chancellor is the final appeal for students who have been dismissed or suspended from UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hear him talking to these kids,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cHe would pick up the phone and talk to them. Most people wouldn\u2019t do that. It allowed me to see a side of him that most people didn\u2019t get to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa compiled and organized the information for each appeal,\u201d Angle explained, \u201cand many of these cases turned out positive. Teresa and I both enjoyed seeing these students come in and hearing about how life was going for them. We both felt good about having provided an opportunity for these students to find their way and graduate from UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Teresa McKinney. She is efficient and always gets the job done with a smile. She truly cares about UTC, the students, faculty and staff. Her kindness and compassion define how she does her job. Some days were crazy busy, and Teresa\u2019s calm approach helped us navigate the path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.

From left: Dr. Steve Angle, Ian Angle, Teresa McKinney, Dominique Belanger and Zo\u00eb Angle<\/p><\/div>\n

McKinney\u2019s behind-the-scenes role often meant managing traffic in both a literal and figurative sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the faculty, when I was still in Education, basically said, \u2018She\u2019s just a gatekeeper,\u2019\u201d McKinney recalled, \u201cand Mary was very quick to correct that person and say, \u2018Yes, that is her job\u2014to protect me so I can get work done.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we are gatekeepers. That is a big part of our job, trying to keep people from just walking in off the street. Or somebody is upset about something; part of our job is to help diffuse that situation. Another big part of this job is that you have to manage their calendar. You have to keep them on time. My goal was always to do whatever made it easier for them to do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, McKinney said, one of the trickier aspects was figuring out how to frame messages going up the chain to the people she worked for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may or may not want to do something based on how it\u2019s presented,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Over the last six months, she has worked closely with Interim Chancellor Robert Dooley, whom she first met in 2011 when he was a candidate for dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. Tanner was chair of the search committee, \u201cand when he was interviewed,\u201d McKinney recalled, \u201cwe had airport interviews in Atlanta and she took me with her. I\u2019ve enjoyed working with him since the first time we met.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa has been a cherished member of the UTC family whose impact has touched all parts of campus and will be deeply missed,\u201d Dooley said. \u201cI personally want to thank her for her help during my role as interim chancellor. She made the transition to the role smooth and kept me focused and on track. I am forever grateful for her support.\u201d<\/p>\n

After June 30, McKinney said she looks forward to a break from the daily commute from Ooltewah, especially the rainy and cold days.<\/p>\n

The hard part, she said, is saying goodbye to the people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to miss the people very badly; these are my friends. But the people that I\u2019m friends with, we\u2019re going to stay in touch,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had student workers who became like family. One is like an adopted daughter. Another works here on campus. I\u2019m still in touch with all of them. That\u2019s what\u2019s important about the family part of this place\u2014the friends you will still have a good relationship with.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said her hope is to be remembered simply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I\u2019m leaving everybody with fond memories and that I was helpful,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cI think I\u2019ve done some good. I feel content knowing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the campus should always remember Teresa as sort of the perfect blend of expertise and caring,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cShe knows her stuff. She\u2019s very, very quick. But she also knows that unless people feel accepted and cared for, they\u2019re not going to do good work. That\u2019s what we need to remember about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retirement reception photo gallery by Angela Foster<\/h4>\n
\"Teresa <\/a>
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Teresa McKinney retirement party, Wednesday, June 11, 2025 in Founders Hall. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Teresa McKinney walks out of her office at the end of June, she will close the book on a 42-year chapter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga that began when she was a student worker in the Department of Music.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":68827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8293,70,123864,15,61,56,3,7712,52,12777,64,8288,8325],"tags":[125679,123528,47995,122305,4990,7279,117155,124776,125677,123829,125678,12896,99074,815,125676],"class_list":{"0":"post-68800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-advancement-and-alumni","9":"category-campus","10":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","11":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","12":"category-community","13":"category-faculty-and-staff","14":"category-graduate-school","15":"category-music-college-of-arts-sciences","16":"category-news","17":"category-office-of-the-chancellor","18":"category-school-of-education","19":"category-service","20":"tag-cadek-conservatory-of-music","21":"tag-challenger-stem-learning-center","22":"tag-chancellor-steven-angle","23":"tag-chattanooga-state-community-college","24":"tag-dr-jerald-ainsworth","25":"tag-dr-mary-tanner","26":"tag-lee-greenwood","27":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","28":"tag-opera-workshop","29":"tag-operating-with-excellence","30":"tag-peter-gerschefski","31":"tag-robert-dooley","32":"tag-teresa-mckinney","33":"tag-utc-chamber-singers","34":"tag-walker-breland","35":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nEncore performance: For 42 years, Teresa McKinney helped UTC feel like home | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - 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