Welcome to MTSU

We at Middle Tennessee State University embrace our role as the destination of choice for Tennessee undergraduates while expanding our reach nationally and internationally through signature programs and select master’s and doctoral programs.

We have a wide variety of nationally recognized academic degree programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels. The University has eight undergraduate colleges, offering more than 40 departments and more than 140 degree programs. Our College of Graduate Studies offers more than 100 degree programs.

When we say, “I am True Blue,” it affirms that we are part of a tight-knit community of fellow students, professors, staff, and supporters, all working for your student’s progress and success.

We offer terrific opportunities, exceptional value, and a beautiful campus. Our undergraduates get real-world experiences that other universities offer only to graduate students.

Your student’s classroom may be behind a camera at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, combing an archeological dig site, helping patients on an underwater treadmill, or adjusting a robot just like those used at state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities.

MTSU is the No. 1 choice for our state’s transfer students, the No. 1 provider of graduates to the Greater Nashville economy (second largest producer of graduates in the state), and the No. 1 choice of adults (ages 25 and up) seeking a four-year degree.

An example of our student-first commitment is our $147 million, state-ofthe-art Science Building, the crown jewel of our three-building Science Corridor of Innovation. We have completed almost $1 billion in new construction and improvements on our campus.

We’ve recently broken ground on a cuttingedge, $39.6-million building to house three disciplines in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences — criminal justice administration, psychology, and social work.

These investments have provided a remarkable combination of top-notch classroom, research, laboratory, study, and gathering spaces designed to encourage faculty and student interaction.

We are extremely grateful and honored to be entrusted with something as important as the education of your student. On behalf of our University, we are pleased to welcome you as new members of our True Blue community.

Sincerely,

Sidney A. McPhee President

Welcome

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Middle Tennessee State University community. We look forward to your student’s arrival on our campus and will have a variety of activities planned to help ease their transition during the first days and weeks.

I hope that you, too, will take advantage of all that MTSU has to offer the families of our students. As a special project of the office of New Student and Family Programs, this guide is meant to supplement your knowledge of the Murfreesboro area and help facilitate your visits to campus. We have a host of family activities that we believe will interest you, including exciting athletic events, musical concerts, theatrical programs, and worldclass speakers. Many of these carry very low ticket prices or are free and open to the public. I hope you’ll join us!

Of particular interest to you for 2020–21 will be the events during our opening weekend, August 21–23. Parents and family members are welcome to join new students in attending these important activities and getting to know new friends and new campus traditions.

I hope you will join your student in reading our summer book selection, “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,” by Mona HannaAttisha. Each year MTSU faculty select one book that they believe will create an exceptional shared academic experience for the entering class of freshmen, and all of our new students are expected to have completed their reading of the book during the summer, prior to the first day of classes. This year’s book, “What the Eyes Don’t See,” tells the story of the Flint Michigan water crisis through the eyes of one of the researchers who helped discover the presence of deadly lead in the water supply. The book is truly a scientific thriller, demonstrating the role of science in the fight for justice.

If your student and family are arriving to the campus on our opening day, Friday, August 21, please plan to join us for an opening picnic and carnival, held at the Student Union. Food and games are free, and the whole family is welcome. Festivities generally begin around 6:00 p.m. and will last until it gets dark. All students and families are welcome, whether the student will be living on campus, off campus or at home.

I also invite your whole family to attend our opening-of-the-year Convocation, held on Saturday afternoon, August 22, in the Murphy Center, as we celebrate the arrival of our newest students. All new students are expected to attend Convocation to begin their MTSU academic experience. During the Convocation ceremony, students will join in our tradition of taking the True Blue Pledge. Among other things, students affirm that, as Blue Raiders, they will engage in the life of this community and

contribute to its progress and success. The author of our summer reading book, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, will be the keynote speaker at Convocation. Parents and family members will sit with their students, and then we’ll all join President McPhee for his annual picnic immediately after Convocation. Most families will then depart campus, and students will have Sunday to settle in and get ready for classes to begin on Monday, August 24.

The Friday night Picnic and the Saturday Convocation are two of our “Connection Point” activities. During the first several weeks of the semester, new students are encouraged to complete a variety of Connection Point activities as we work to integrate them into the out-of-classroom life of the MTSU campus. Events will include everything from football games to a huge dance party out on the Student Union Commons, as well as events to help introduce students to volunteer opportunities, student organizations, and student employment options.

We know that students who are most successful at MTSU balance hard work in the classroom with an active campus life, whether through athletics, band, living and working on campus, or joining a variety of clubs and organizations. You can help model the importance of campus involvement and encourage your student’s participation by joining us for those activities that are of interest and fit into your calendar. We welcome your presence on campus. Watch for activities throughout the year by bookmarking our webpage at mtsu.edu. Sports fans will also want to keep an eye on the official website for MTSU Athletics, goblueraiders.com. When your student wants to take a break from studying, they can log on to My MT Connection Point (mtsu.edu/connection) for information about campus programs and events ranging from service projects to concerts to leadership development workshops.

I’m excited for the arrival of our Blue Raider Class of 2024, and I look forward to working with your student. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of assistance in the coming year. I may be reached in Room 212 of the Keathley University Center or by calling (615) 898-2440.

Best wishes to you and yours for a safe and productive year.

TRUE BLUE!