Dr. DeAnna Beasley and Terrence Banks
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Dr. DeAnna Beasley and Terrence Banks have been selected to the prestigious 2024-2025 All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team.
Dr. Beasley, a UC Foundation associate professor in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, and Mr. Banks, associate director of recruitment in Undergraduate Admissions, were chosen to represent UTC alongside faculty and staff members from each of the 10 SoCon institutions. Although selection criteria vary by school, all honorees are recognized for their significant contributions to service, campus life, teaching and research.
Award recipients will receive an engraved plaque presented by Southern Conference Commissioner Michael Cross at the Mocs men’s basketball game on Jan.
9, 2025, vs. the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Dr. Beasley, a UTC faculty member since 2016, is widely recognized for her dedication to both teaching and research. Since coming to the University, she has taught across all levels of the biology curriculum, including courses such as Principles of Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Ant Ecology and Urban Ecology. In her lab courses, she creates hands-on learning environments where students can engage in research and connect with the scientific community.
Her commitment to students extends beyond the classroom, as she actively mentors both undergraduate and graduate students in research focused on urban ecology and the effects of urbanization on insect populations and biodiversity. Dr. Beasley has garnered more than $1.8 million in external funding for her research, including leading a three-year National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program that aims to study the socio-ecological role of urban greenways.
She also has several citizen science projects that are ongoing throughout the city. As an example, visitors to four area parks—Renaissance, Heritage, Carver and Warner—will find camera traps documenting the change in native areas of the parks.
To date, Dr. Beasley has published 10 papers with student coauthors and interdisciplinary collaborators. In recognition of her teaching excellence, she was honored by her UTC colleagues with the Dr. John R. Freeman Award in September 2023.
She is also a dedicated campus leader—serving on both the Honors College Advisory Committee and the Africana Studies Advisory Committee—and manages the Biology, Geology and Environmental Science department’s Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Dr. Beasley attended Wofford University in South Carolina as an undergraduate—where she was a four-year letter winner on that SoCon institution’s soccer team and one of the team’s captains her senior year.
“Talk about coming full circle. My experience as an athlete shaped the way I approached my life; it gave me a sense of discipline and an ability to prioritize goals,” Dr. Beasley said. “Being a student-athlete really forces you to do that because you have to balance being a competitive athlete with performing well in the classroom, and that is an aspect of my life I’m very proud of—being able to play for four years, graduate with my biology degree, then go on and pursue my Ph.D.
“It certainly wasn’t planned this way, but I love that I’m still within the Southern Conference. I feel like it has nurtured and supported my career from undergrad through my faculty experience, and I’m very grateful.”
Mr. Banks, a first-generation college student who began working at UTC during his undergraduate days, is a two-time alumnus of the University—earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2013 and a Master of Public Administration degree in 2019.
After graduating from Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis in 2008—where he was a three-sport athlete participating in soccer, golf and tennis—Mr. Banks traveled across the state to come to UTC and quickly made Chattanooga his new home. During his freshman year, he began working as a counselor for the GEAR UP program—a federally funded initiative aimed at increasing college readiness and success for low-income middle and high school students by providing academic support, mentoring and resources—which became the launch point for his future career.
As an undergraduate, he worked in UTC Housing and Residence Life as a conference assistant and resident assistant. After working as a graduate assistant in the Office of Equity and Diversity for two years, he moved into Undergraduate Admissions in 2015—progressing from admissions counselor to senior counselor to diversity outreach coordinator to assistant director. He was named associate director of recruitment in 2022.
In his current role, Mr. Banks supervises a team of admissions counselors and leads the recruitment process, including tracking recruitment strategies.
“This University means everything to me. Honestly, it has changed my trajectory,” Mr. Banks said. “UTC has been instrumental in developing the man that stands before you in terms of being confident in my ability to speak, in terms of wanting to be a difference maker, because before I came to college—I just figured I’d get a college degree and go back home.
“Finding my space in Chattanooga meant a lot to me; it’s very different from what I was used to. So I just opened myself up to the city—and Chattanooga and UTC received me very well.”