UTC spotlights Urban Vision Initiative
It is one of the programs offered by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
A recent news release from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) spotlighted the work of Mike Bradshaw and the team at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), specifically the Urban Vision Initiative.
Focused on linking entrepreneurs from underserved communities with UTC student consultants to support their journey toward economic success, the program is modeled after the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative at the University of Notre Dame. The program began in 2022, funded by support from the Chattanooga-based Jack and Charlotte Frost Family Foundation. Part of that support allows the program to recruit and pay student consultants to assist participating business owners.
As noted in the article that first appeared in the spring 2025 issue of Our Tennessee, a systemwide magazine for alumni of all UT campuses and institutes, Bradshaw, CIE Director, says that he finds it symbolic that one entrance to the James R. Mapp Building, which CIE is located, faces the UTC campus. The opposite entrance opens to downtown Chattanooga’s MLK Boulevard, a street sprawling with local businesses.
“I wanted people who were stressed and worried and felt out of control in their businesses to understand what their businesses were doing and to bring some clarity,” Bradshaw says. “So much is up to the entrepreneurs, and you’ve got to be humble approaching folks in the nuts and bolts of the business. I wanted to help. I wanted to be able to use what I believe is the strongest asset that the university has, which is our students.”
You can learn more about the Urban Vision Initiative here.
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