“A Sort of Island”
Twenty Years of TYCAT
TYCAT 2025
November 14-15
Chattanooga
It’s been 20 years since TYCAT was founded, and we can’t wait to celebrate this milestone in style. We’ll again be meeting on the Chattanooga State Main Campus, but we’re planning to shake things up a bit this year; keep your eye on this page for updates. See below for information about our guest speaker and the tentative schedule. Registration is now live, and the Call for Proposals is forthcoming.
2025 featured speaker
We are excited to announce that our luncheon speaker will be bestselling author Bonnie Jo Campbell.
Campbell is the author of The Waters (W.W. Norton, 2024). Writing “with a ‘ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world’ (New York Times Book Review), Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity, celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life.”
Her bestselling novel Once Upon a River (2011) was adapted into a full-length feature film and released to international critical acclaim in 2020. She is also the author of Q Road, a Barnes & Noble Great New Writers novel. Her critically acclaimed short fiction collections include American Salvage, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award; Women and Other Animals, which won the AWP Prize for Short Fiction; and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters. She was a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow.
Campbell lives outside Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband and donkeys.
Call for Proposals
The 2025 conference theme and Call for Proposals draw inspiration from the language of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s The Waters. Envisioning our group’s history as an island refuge to which we retreat once a year, the CFP invites your proposal for one of three different types of sessions on any teaching topic you might like to explore. Click the button below to read the full CFP and submit your idea before the October 10 deadline. Our conference’s greatest strength is its sessions; we need your help in continuing this tradition of excellence.
Registration information
$115.00-Early Registration ends October 12
$150.00-Late Registration begins October 13
$65.oo-Adjuncts and Retired Faculty
Tentative Schedule
Friday, November 14
Registration, 1:30-5:30 pm, Health Science Center (HSC) Lobby
Pre-Conference Tour, 2:00-2:45 pm, Campus Art Gallery (Contact: Liza Blair)
Welcome, 3:00-3:15 pm, HSC 1083
Session 1, 3:30-4:30 pm, HSC 1083, 1085, 1087, 2029
Break, 4:30-4:45 pm, HSC Hallway
Session 2, 4:45-5:45 pm, HSC 1083, 1085, 1087, 2029
Dinner Party, 6:30-8:30 pm, The Daily Ration
Saturday, November 15
Registration, 8:00 am-12:30 pm, HSC Lobby
Session 3, 8:30-9:30 am, HSC 1083, 1085, 1087, 2029
Break, 9:30-9:40 am, HSC Hallway
Session 4, 9:40-10:40 am, HSC 1083, 1085, 1087, 2029
Break, 10:40-10:50 am, HSC Hallway
Session 5, 10:50-11:50 am, HSC 1083, 1085, 1087, 2029
Luncheon, 11:50 am-1:00 pm, HSC Lobby
directions to campus
The address for the main campus is 4501 Amnicola Highway; Chattanooga, TN 37406, but there are two entrances to campus, either of which will get you to the Health Science Building (HSC):
The main entrance is at the traffic light, and it will take you on a one-way loop around the small pond in the center of campus. The HSC is the last building on your right before you return to the exit to Amnicola Highway.
The "West Entrance" is a marked two-way road that will take you to the HSC on a more direct route.
Both of these routes are highlighted in yellow on the map below, and the HSC is designated with a yellow box around the building and parking lot. There is ample available parking in the HSC parking lot, P15.
Nearby hotels
Though there is no designated conference hotel, the following options are located in the Chattanooga suburb of Hixson, just across the Tennessee River from the Chattanooga State Community College main campus. Note that all prices are from hotel websites as of 04.02.25. Some may offer state employee rates that are lower than those posted.
Hampton Inn Chattanooga/Hixson (a Hilton hotel)
1920 Hamill Rd, Hixson, TN 37343 (A 6-minute drive to campus, 3.3 miles)
King from $126, 2 Queen from $131
Amenities: Free hot breakfast, Free parking, Free Wi-Fi, Outdoor pool, Fitness center, Business center
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chattanooga – Hixson
4820 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343 (A 7-minute drive to campus, 3.4 miles)
King Standard from $149, 2 Queen Standard from $149, King Suite from $162, 2 Queen Suite from $185
Amenities: Free hot breakfast, Complimentary coffee in lobby, Free parking, Wi-Fi included, Indoor pool (heated), Fitness center, Business center
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Chattanooga North – Hixson
5000 New Country Dr, Hixson, TN 37343 (An 8-minute drive to campus, 3.6 miles)
King from $118; 2 Queen from $128; 1 King, 1 Full, studio suite from $128; 2 Queen, 1 sofa bed, deluxe family suite from $158
Amenities: Free breakfast, Free parking, Free Wi-Fi, Mobile check-in, Indoor pool, Fitness center
TownePlace Suites by Marriott Hixson
5248 TN-153, Hixson, TN 37343 (An 8-minute drive to campus, 3.7 miles)
Studio, 1 King, sofa bed from $117; Studio, 2 Queens from $117
Amenities: Free buffet and hot breakfast, Free coffee/tea, Kitchen, Free parking with electric car charging station, Free Wi-Fi, Indoor pool, Fitness center
Nearby breakfast restaurants
The following restaurants offer affordable Saturday morning breakfast options in the Hixson area. Those marked with an asterisk are local eateries.
Brothers Bagel*
$10-20
3805 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37415
Opens at 6am
Drip Kitchen and Coffee*
$10-20
6018 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 7am
Dunkin’ Donuts
$1-10
5311 TN-153, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 5am
First Watch
$10-20
5207 TN-153 Suite 101, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 7am
IHOP
$10-20
5113 TN-153, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 6am
Mimis Deli*
$10-20
5023 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 8am
Panera
$10-20
562 Northgate Mall Dr. Suite 102, Chattanooga, TN 37415
Opens at 7am
Starbucks
$5-10
5238 TN-153, Hixson, TN 37343
Opens at 5am
Waffle House
$10-20
5466 TN-153, Hixson, TN 37343
Open 24 hours