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Sent on behalf of Provost Jerold Hale:
Dear UTC faculty, staff and students,
I’m reaching out to share that Dr. Linda Frost, founding dean of the UTC Honors College, has decided to return to the faculty after more than a decade of leadership. She will continue in her role through the end of the 2025-26 academic year and, after that time, will rejoin the Department of English faculty.
Dr. Frost came to UTC in 2013 as the first dean of the Honors College. From the outset, she worked with colleagues across campus to develop a strong structure and clear purpose for honors at UTC. Over the past 12 years, she has overseen extraordinary growth in size, scope and impact, as the Honors College has become a signature part of the UTC experience for students across all majors and a nationally recognized model of interdisciplinary learning.
The Honors College emphasizes high-impact practices that make a difference for students. Under Dr. Frost’s tenure, the College launched the University’s first office of undergraduate research as well as the first Office of National Scholarships, providing essential support for students pursuing mentored research, creative activity and prestigious awards. She has supported community-engaged learning that ties classroom work to real needs in the Chattanooga area.
Dr. Frost has been a consistent advocate for the academic depth that distinguishes honors education. She has maintained the requirement of an honors thesis to ensure students complete substantial, mentored scholarship or creative work. She also oversaw the creation of the High Achieving Mocs residential learning community—one of UTC’s first intentional living-learning communities—which helped establish a model later adopted across campus. She has encouraged collaborative, interdisciplinary teaching and expanded faculty opportunities to reimagine their teaching through honors seminars.
Through sustained philanthropic support and engagement with alumni and donors, Dr. Frost has guided the Honors College to financial stability and programmatic strength. The Brock Scholars program has been expanded and secured with guaranteed scholarships, and the Innovations in Honors program now provides comparable support for transfer and continuing students. Together, these efforts have more than doubled the number of students served by the College.
Partnerships have been a hallmark of her tenure as dean, including some of the high-profile variety. The Innovations in Honors program has collaborated with the City of Chattanooga on projects that challenge students to propose solutions to real problems. The student-run UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity is managed by a student and faculty team at UTC and is the most selective undergraduate journal in the nation, as well as the only one published by a national organization—the National Collegiate Honors Council. As an active board member, committee co-chair, conference chair and honors researcher with both NCHC and the Southern Regional Honors Council, she has helped position UTC as a leader nationally, with honors students regularly presenting at regional and national conferences and serving in elected leadership roles in professional organizations.
Across more than a decade, Dr. Frost has been a steady, visible and student-centered leader. She advises, teaches, mentors and champions the resources that allow students to flourish. The Honors College today attracts outstanding students, supports their ambitions and contributes to recruitment, retention and graduation outcomes that benefit the University as a whole. She leaves the Honors College financially secure, academically strong and well prepared for the future.
A national search for the next dean of the Honors College will begin later this fall. As we prepare for this transition, there will be opportunities for the campus community to recognize her leadership and to celebrate the accomplishments of the college during her tenure.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Frost on her extraordinary service, thanking her for the foundation she has built, and welcoming her continued contributions as a valued faculty colleague.
