Chattanooga: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE) is the largest employer in Chattanooga. HCDE was formed in 1997 upon the merger of Chattanooga Public Schools and Hamilton County Schools. The resulting Hamilton County School system has built upon the strengths of Chattanooga's Paideia active learning curriculum, the county's site-based management approach, and other recognized programs. Hamilton County's 15 magnet schools, focusing on such areas of study as math, science, and technology, fine arts, liberal arts, and classical studies, add to the diversity of the school system.

The following is a summary of data regarding Hamilton County public schools as of 2002-2003.

Total enrollment: 44,217

Number of facilities elementary schools: 47

junior high/middle schools: 15

senior high schools: 14

other: 15 magnet schools

Student/teacher ratio: 15.2:1

Teacher salaries average: $34,494

Funding per pupil: $7,229 Chattanooga has a strong tradition of private and parochial elementary and secondary education, including the nationally recognized Girls' Preparatory School, the McCallie School for Boys, and the coeducational Baylor School. More than 15,000 students attend 33 private and parochial schools.

Public Schools Information: Hamilton County Schools, 6703 Bonny Oaks Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37421; telephone (423)209-8400

Colleges and Universities

There are 17 junior colleges, colleges, and universities located in the Chattanooga region. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), a primary campus of the University of Tennessee system, is comprised of a College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business Administration, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies, schools of Nursing and Engineering, and a graduate school offering master's degrees in 22 subjects.

Chattanooga State Technical Community College, with more than 8,000 students, is a two-year college offering the following areas of study: arts and sciences; engineering, business, and information technologies; industrial technology; and nursing and allied health.

Three private colleges operate in the Chattanooga area: Tennessee Temple University, with more than 500 students; Southern Adventist University, in nearby Collegedale, TN, with nearly 2,300 students; and Covenant College, in Lookout Mountain, GA, with more than 1,200 students. Vocational education and training programs are also offered through continuing vocational education of the public school systems.

Libraries and Research Centers

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library consists of a main downtown library and four branches. The library has holdings of nearly 500,000 volumes, 1,382 periodical subscriptions, and 19,416 audio and video materials. Special collections include interviews on Chattanooga and Hamilton County history, Genealogy, and Tennesseana. The library also offers special events, concerts, and programs, including preschool story hours and film festivals.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT) makes the following research and testing resources available to business and industry: The Center for Excellence in Computer Applications, which provides resources associated with high technology; and The Center for Economic Education and its associated Probasco Chair of Free Enterprise, which designs and implements research projects and education programs about basic economic principles. At UT's SimCenter, established in fall of 2002, research professionals, UT faculty, and students serve government and industry through research in computational engineering. The Bass Research Foundation studies ways to increase the quantity of America's bass fishery resources. The Tennessee Valley Authority has several research centers in Chattanooga.

Public Library Information: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, 1001 Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2652; telephone (423)757-5310; email library@lib.chattanooga.gov

Chattanooga: Health Care

Among the health services available to Chattanooga residents are public and private mental health facilities, drug and alcohol abuse recovery facilities, rehabilitation centers, a sports medicine center, speech and hearing services, facilities for the handicapped, free standing emergency medical centers, and community hospitals. Erlanger Medical Center, the region's largest and oldest public hospital with 818 acute-care beds and 50 long-term beds, offers Miller Eye Center, T. C. Thompson Children's Hospital, Erlanger North Hospital, Regional Trauma Center, Regional Heart and Vascular Center, Regional Cancer Center, Regional Women's Center, Regional Burn Center, Kidney Transplant Center, the Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers, and Tennessee Craniofacial Center, and is the only medical center in the region offering LifeForce Air Ambulance. Memorial Hospital, a 365-bed affiliate of the Kentucky-based Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System, offers an ambulatory intensive care unit. North Park Hospital, an 83-bed acute-care facility, offers a 24-hour emergency room. The 109-bed Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation offers treatment programs in brain injury, amputation, stroke, spinal cord injury, orthopedics, and major multiple trauma. It is one of only two rehabilitation hospitals in the country specializing in treatment of lymphedema. Parkridge Medical Center, with 517 beds, is known for its strong open-heart and cardiac services program and bypass surgeries. Parkridge East Hospital (formerly East Ridge Hospital), provides specialty services including a women's center, a sleep disorder center, bariatric surgery services, neonatal intensive care, and a spine and orthopedic center. Parkridge Valley hospital specializes in behavioral health. Other Chattanooga health care facilities include HealthSouth Chattanooga Rehabilitation Hospital, which offers comprehensive physical rehabilitation services; Greenleaf Health Systems Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency Center; and Women's East Pavilion (a component of Erlanger Medical Center), the only area hospital exclusively for women.

Chattanooga: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents

1980: 418,000

1990: 424,347

2000: 465,161

Percent change, 1990–2000: 9.7%

U.S. rank in 1980: 78th (MSA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 82nd(MSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 89th (MSA)

City Residents

1980: 169,514

1990: 152,393

2000: 155,554

2003 estimate: 154,887

Percent change, 1990–2000: 2.1%

U.S. rank in 1980: 87th

U.S. rank in 1990: 113th (State rank: 4th)

U.S. rank in 2000: 148th (State rank: 5th)

Density: 1,150.5 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 92,874

Black or African American: 56,086

American Indian and Alaska Native: 446

Asian: 2,396

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 164

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 3,281

Other: 3,588

Percent of residents born in state: 63.5% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Poplation under 5 years old: 9,449

Poplation 5 to 9 years old: 10,009

Poplation 10 to 14 years old: 9,811

Poplation 15 to 19 years old: 10,236

Poplation 20 to 24 years old: 12,114

Poplation 25 to 34 years old: 22,176

Poplation 35 to 44 years old: 22,610

Poplation 45 to 54 years old: 21,227

Poplation 55 to 59 years old: 7,673

Poplation 60 to 64 years old: 6,554

Poplation 65 to 74 years old: 12,203

Poplation 75 to 84 years old: 8,285

Poplation 85 years and older: 3,207

Median age: 36.8 years

Births (2003; Hamilton County)

Total number: 3,943

Deaths (2003; Hamilton County)

Total number: 3,166 (of which, 46 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $19,689 Median household income: $32,006 Total households: 65,513

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 10,010

$10,000 to $14,999: 5,124

$15,000 to $24,999: 10,913

$25,000 to $34,999: 8,977

$35,000 to $49,999: 10,569

$50,000 to $74,999: 10,615

$75,000 to $99,999: 4,348

$100,000 to $149,999: 2,881

$150,000 to $199,999: 929

$200,000 or more: 1,147

Percent of families below poverty level: 14.0% (25.5% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 15,867

Chattanooga: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is the city's daily morning paper. The Chattanoogan.com is a daily internet-only news source available at www.chattanoogan.com. There are several general and special weekly newspapers, among them the Chattanooga Courier, which serves the area's African American community, and The Pulse, which provides alternative news. Magazines covering Chattanooga include Commerce and Tennessee Business Journal, both published monthly; and Chattanooga CityScope and Chattanooga Magazine, published quarterly.

Television and Radio

Seven television stations and 15 radio stations serve the Chattanooga area.

Media Information: The Chattanooga Times/Chattanooga Free Press, 400 E. 11th St., PO Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37403; telephone (423)756-6900

Chattanooga Online

Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Available www.chattanooga-chamber.com

Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Available www.chattanoogafun.com

Chatanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library. Available www.lib.chattanooga.gov

Chattanooga Regional History Museum. Available www.chattanoogahistory.com

City of Chattanooga Home Page. Available www.chattanooga.gov

Free Press and Times. Available www.timesfreepress.com

Hamilton County School System. Available www.hcde.org

Virtual Chattanooga. Available www.chattanooga.net

Selected Bibliography

Burton, Linda L., Chattanooga Great Places (Chattanooga, TN: Phase II Publications, 1995).

Rodgers, June Scobee, Jack Makuch, and Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Chattanooga: River City Renaissance (Memphis, Tenn.: Towery Publishers, 1998)

Wann, Libby, Chattanooga: Delivering the Dream (Nashville, TN: Towery Publishing Co., 1991).

Chattanooga , city (1990 pop. 152,466), seat of Hamilton co., E Tenn., on both sides of the Tennessee River near the Georgia line; inc. 1839. It is an important industrial and marketing center. Foremost among its many manufactures are automobiles, metal and wood products, chemicals, machinery, and primary metals. It is also a resort destination, almost entirely surrounded by mountains, with many historical and tourist attractions on or near Lookout Mt., Missionary Ridge, and Signal Mt. To the west of the city, the Tennessee River cuts through the Cumberland Plateau in a magnificent gorge, c.1,000 ft (300 m) deep. South of the city lies Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (est. 1890; see National Parks and Monuments , table), part of which is in Georgia. Also of interest are Rock City Gardens, the Tennessee Aquarium, a wildlife sanctuary, historic cemeteries, and many old buildings. Cultural institutions include an opera, symphony orchestra, community theater, and art gallery. The city is the seat of the Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

A trading post was established in 1810; by 1835, regular steamship service began there. A center first of salt- and then cotton-shipping, the city expanded with the arrival of the railroads in the 1840s and 50s. It was of strategic importance in the Civil War (see Chattanooga campaign ). Northern industrialists developed the iron industry during the 1870s. Electric power, augmented by the Tennessee Valley Authority project after 1933, has played an important role in the city's development; Chickamauga Dam is nearby.

Chattanooga

The City in Brief

Founded: 1838 (chartered 1839)

Head Official: Mayor Bob Corker (R) (since 2001)

City Population

1980: 169,514

1990: 152,393

2000: 155,554

2003 estimate: 154,887

Percent change, 1990–2000: 2.1%

U.S. rank in 1980: 87th

U.S. rank in 1990: 113th (State rank: 4th)

U.S. rank in 2000: 148th (State rank: 4th)

Metropolitan Area Population

1980: 418,000

1990: 424,000

2000: 465,161

Percent change, 1990–2000: 9.7%

U.S. rank in 1980: 78th (MSA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 82nd (MSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 89th (MSA)

Area: 135.2 square miles (2000)

Elevation: Ranges from 675 feet above sea level in city to 2,391 feet at Lookout Mountain

Average Annual Temperature: 60.5° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 54.5 inches

Major Economic Sectors: wholesale and retail trade, services, manufacturing

Unemployment rate: 3.6% (December 2004)

Per Capita Income: $19,689 (1999)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 15,867

Major Colleges and Universities: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Daily Newspaper: The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Chattanooga: Transportation

Approaching the City

Three interstate highways, I-75, I-24, and I-59 converge near the city. I-75 runs southwest toward the city from Knoxville, and north-northwest from Atlanta; I-59 runs north, then east from Birmingham; and I-24 runs south, then east from Nashville. The city is a convenient stop en route to cities such as New Orleans, Orlando, and many other deep south destinations. Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport/Lovell Field, just 15 minutes from downtown, offers 52 flights daily, including direct flights to New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Charlotte. Greyhound/Trailways Bus Lines provides interstate service.

Traveling in the City

The three Interstate Highways, I-75, I-24 and I-59, are particularly busy during the rush hour to and from work. Major thoroughfares include Hixson Pike, which runs north-south, and Brainerd Road, which runs east-west then turns north into Lee Highway. Ringgold Road is another important east-west route. Riverside Drive curves around many major downtown sites. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) provides regularly scheduled public bus transportation for the area. CARTA also offers free downtown electric shuttle service for visitors, residents, and downtown workers.

Chattanooga: Convention Facilities

Chattanooga offers several facilities designed to hold such diverse events as trade shows, conventions, meetings, banquets, or any other special event. The Chattanooga/Hamilton Convention Center and Trade Center underwent a $56 million renovation completed in the summer of 2002. Located in the heart of downtown, the 298,000 square-foot trade center offers 180,000 square feet of exhibit space and has a seating capacity of 8,500. The Tivoli Theatre, which is listed on the National Register of Historic places and was once known as "The Jewel Box of the South," can host meetings and conventions for more than 1,700 people. Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium features two theaters, the larger of which seats 3,866, and an exhibit hall providing 9,600 square feet of display space, suitable for small trade shows. For larger groups, McKenzie Arena at the University of Tennessee seats 12,000 people, and can provide 27,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Convention Information: Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors' Bureau, 2 Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402; telephone (423)756-8687; toll-free (800)964-8600

Chattanooga: Introduction

Located in the heart of the beautiful Tennessee Valley, Chattanooga is a small industrial city rich in history. It is becoming well known today for its commitment to sustainable economic growth and quality of life. Perhaps nowhere in the country has a city undergone as dramatic an improvement as that experienced by Chattanooga, a city named America's most polluted by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1980. The privately-funded Vision 2000 program was initiated in 1982 to revitalize the city's riverfront and downtown by the year 2000 and change its grimy image. And change it did; by the twenty-first century Chattanooga is now one of the cleanest U.S. cities, known especially for its breathtaking beauty and natural attractions. Pride in this change is evident in more recent downtown revitalization projects, including the citywide 21st Century Waterfront Plan. Today's Chattanooga boasts a vital and diverse economy, rich cultural history, and gleaming new downtown attractions loved by residents and visitors alike.

Chattanooga: Geography and Climate

Chattanooga is located at the juncture of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, in a valley in southeastern Tennessee between the Appalachian and the Cumberland mountain ranges. The city lies on both banks of the Tennessee River at Moccasin Bend and is bordered by Signal Mountain on the north and Lookout Mountain to the south, with Missionary Ridge running through the eastern section of the city. The mountains shelter the city from major weather systems.

The city has a moderate climate, with cool winters and hot summers, and springs and falls characterized by plentiful sunshine and rainfall, mild temperatures, and lush foliage. Extreme cold is rare, and the annual average snowfall is only 2.8 inches.

Area: 135.2 square miles (2000)

Elevation: Ranges from 675 feet above sea level in city to 2,391 feet at Lookout Mountain

Average Temperatures: January, 39.4° F; July, 79.6° F; annual average, 60.5° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 54.5 inches

Chattanooga: Municipal Government

The city of Chattanooga government consists of a full-time mayor elected at-large and a nine-member city council elected by districts. The mayor and council serve four-year terms.

Head Official: Mayor Bob Corker (R) (since 2001; current term expires 2005)

Total Number of City Employees: 2,363 (2000)

City Information: Chattanooga City Hall, Chattanooga, TN 37402; telephone (423)757-5152

Chattanooga City on the Tennessee River, se Tennessee, USA. Founded as a trading post in the early 19th century, it was an important strategic centre in the American Civil War. Since 1935 it has been the headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Industries: iron and steel, food processing, synthetic fibres, tourism. Pop. (2000) 155,554.