{"id":69796,"date":"2025-08-04T08:03:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T12:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=69796"},"modified":"2025-08-18T07:44:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:44:51","slug":"engineering-for-whats-next-dean-kumar-yelamarthi-connecting-cecs-to-chattanoogas-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/engineering-for-whats-next-dean-kumar-yelamarthi-connecting-cecs-to-chattanoogas-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering for what\u2019s next: Dean Kumar Yelamarthi connecting CECS to Chattanooga\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.

Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi is dean of the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

When Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi walked through the doors as dean of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Engineering and Computer Science on July 1, he wasn\u2019t stepping into a role.<\/p>\n

He was stepping into something bigger: a chance to make an impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people say this title of dean, it reminds me of the old Spider-Man quote, \u2018With position comes responsibility. With title comes responsibility,\u2019\u201d Yelamarthi said. \u201cThe dean\u2019s position comes with a lot of responsibility and requires making many decisions. The way I look at it is, any decision you make \u2026 put the students front and center and say, \u2018What is right by them?\u2019 And the answer comes out very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a leadership principle he puts into practice every day, and those who have worked with him have seen it firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cKumar is student-focused, action-oriented, and he brings a mindset that understands what it means to be a good partner,\u201d said UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce, who spent four years working with Yelamarthi at Tennessee Tech. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the most genuine and sincere people I\u2019ve ever met.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s high energy. He\u2019s positive. He has a can-do attitude. He has a very, very positive spirit. And he\u2019s that way 24\/7. He\u2019s going to be a fantastic leader for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yelamarthi\u2019s leadership potential was evident during the search process, said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jerold Hale.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe emerged from a rigorous national search and was embraced by every group he met with on campus and in the community,\u201d Hale said. \u201cSometimes you cast a wide net only to find that the best person for the job is just a couple of hours up the road. We\u2019re fortunate to have found that in Dr. Yelamarthi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as dean, Yelamarthi sees an opportunity to build on the college\u2019s strengths by leaning into partnerships, focusing on outcomes and keeping students at the center of it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry engagement. Community focus. Urban scale. Natural beauty,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere is an energy that pulls you to Chattanooga and a connectedness\u2014on campus and off\u2014that makes you feel like this is a place where you can grow something meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to move fast but we want to advance everyone along with us, and if we keep the students at the center of everything the right decisions will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"During

During his first few weeks on campus, Dean Kumar Yelamarthi has already begun deepening ties with regional stakeholders.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yelamarthi\u2019s connection to Tennessee higher education began in 2021 when he moved to Tennessee Tech after a 13-year stint at Central Michigan University, rising from assistant professor to director of the School of Engineering and Technology.<\/p>\n

As associate dean of academic affairs in Tennessee Tech\u2019s College of Engineering, he helped support more than 3,100 students and 85 faculty members across seven departments and 18 programs. He led initiatives that increased first-year student enrollment by 35%, boosted retention and academic performance, expanded access to underserved communities and helped secure millions in external funding.<\/p>\n

But even then, Chattanooga had caught his attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to understand the geography of Tennessee, the key players, the strategic partners, the competitors, and UTC kept coming up again and again as a fierce competitor\u2014a force to be reckoned with,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

The more he learned, the more he saw a university gaining momentum and a city growing right alongside it.<\/p>\n

\u201cChattanooga is the land of opportunity in Tennessee,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are migrating here. The community is strong, extremely connected and believes in collaborative success. That\u2019s what drew me here\u2014the interdependence, the mutual growth mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone I talked to was passionate about student success and passionate about the success of the college. I wanted to be in the middle of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yelamarthi is quick to point out that UTC\u2019s location provides distinct advantages, especially for engineering and computer science students.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many universities can say we have a quantum lab next door? That we\u2019re located a mile or two from BlueCross BlueShield headquarters? That we\u2019re deeply connected with an automotive company that manufactures right in the city?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you walk the halls in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, you\u2019ll see names like TVA, Volkswagen, Maytag, BlueCross BlueShield, Chattanooga Manufacturing Association. They\u2019re outside our classrooms and labs. And when you look inside, you\u2019ll see that these companies are actively involved\u2014with training, with labs, with workforce development.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his first few weeks on campus, Yelamarthi has already begun deepening ties with regional stakeholders, including early outreach to the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of engagement that aligns closely with the University\u2019s mission, Hale said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economic vitality of the Tennessee Valley is going to depend on engineering and computer science,\u201d Hale said, \u201cand having those community connections is going to be absolutely essential. Dr. Yelamarthi is the kind of leader who can strengthen those connections across the board and he\u2019s hit the ground running in that regard.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to develop talent, solve problems and be a good community partner, and we are developing talent for our community partners. We are solving problems related to cybersecurity, computer science and engineering issues that the region and country will face in the future. I am convinced that he is the person who can help us develop the talent pool that our community partners will need to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yelamarthi said he has already started crafting proposals with faculty for new projects at TVA and EPB, and he\u2019s prioritizing operational efficiency so he can spend more time externally representing the college.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody has to connect the community to the college,\u201d he explained. \u201cSomebody has to tell the stories of our faculty and students and staff and bring people in to see the greatness we have.<\/p>\n

\u201cFaculty need to focus on what they do best\u2014teaching and research. Department heads need to focus on programs and operations. As dean, I see myself taking on that external-facing responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s building those connections with a clear goal: To make the college not only more visible but indispensable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want our college to be recognized for developing such talented and connected engineers that employers are eager to hire our graduates\u2014so much so that the demand far exceeds the number of students we can provide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cThere

\u201cThere is an energy that pulls you to Chattanooga and a connectedness\u2014on campus and off\u2014that makes you feel like this is a place where you can grow something meaningful,” said Dean Kumar Yelamarthi.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yelamarthi, who earned a Ph.D. and master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering from Wright State University in Ohio, as well as a bachelor\u2019s degree in instrumentation and control engineering from the University of Madras in India, doesn\u2019t just see the College of Engineering and Computer Science as a place to learn.<\/p>\n

He views it as an essential part of Chattanooga\u2019s growth and a pipeline for regional talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, we\u2019re not just educating traditional students. We are serving the workforce of the state of Tennessee,\u201d he noted. \u201cWorkforce development is age-agnostic. It\u2019s position-agnostic. And we have the expertise here to meet that need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it places UTC in a unique situation of helping students build careers while shaping what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not simply interested in preparing students to be \u2018job-ready\u2019 on day one. We need to think beyond,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhat I mean by that is we need to think about students blazing the trail on day one. We need to think about how to train students to become leaders, go-getters, achievers and role models on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do that, he continued, students need more than just technical knowledge; they need a foundation of adaptable, transferable abilities to lead in a world that\u2019s moving faster than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are preparing engineers, engineering technology and computer science professionals for jobs that do not exist yet,\u201d Yelamarthi said. \u201cTechnical skills are absolutely necessary, but so are lifelong skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I ask, \u2018How do you instill an interest in lifelong learning? How do you instill critical thinking?\u2019 Those are the things we need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why Yelamarthi believes in the \u201cSix Cs,\u201d a framework essential to shaping well-rounded engineers and computer scientists for long-term impact. His \u201cSix Cs\u201d are comprised of:<\/p>\n