Room Service

Study spaces named for donors who help library students thrive

Walker Library is one of the busiest academic buildings on campus on a given day, and a number of the library’s biggest supporters have pledged to help the MTSU library keep pace with the needs and demands of today’s college students. In recognition of those commitments, Walker Library has been naming study rooms throughout the building.

“This program is a great support resource to help fund multiple projects in the library, from private donations from alumni and friends of the University,” said Paul Wydra, who serves as MTSU’s director of development initiatives. “There’s also a legacy aspect to it in getting a room named after them or a loved one, and then the donor can target their donation to specific aspects of the library, such as a scholarship or department.”

One of the difficult aspects of fundraising for the library is that it doesn’t have its own graduates. Alumni who become donors later in life tend to support their MTSU colleges or departments rather than the library, regardless of the role it played in their educations.

“One of the hopes we have from this program is that students will see names attached to these rooms and over time develop an understanding of the role that some of these donors are playing in their education,” Wydra said. “And then perhaps down the line at some point, after they’ve graduated and entered into another phase of their life, they may be willing to join in giving to the library.”

The most recent gift was made by Jamell Walker and Jabrina Robinson, daughters of the late James E. Walker, whose name the library bears. Walker was president of MTSU from 1991 to 2000. One of his final major projects was the completion of the library, which opened in the spring of 1999 and was later named in his honor, in November 2001.

James E. Walker family

Joining them in the library’s room-naming program this past spring was Judy Powell, who graduated from MTSU with a Master of Arts in Sociology. A former senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Murfreesboro-based National HealthCare Corp., Powell has been a supporter of the University for a long time, and she recently committed to the creation of a scholarship for Honors College students.

The room will be named for her late husband, Joe, and her donation will go directly toward the further development of the Distilling, Fermenting, and Brewing Collection that is housed by Special Collections.

In recent years, similar major gifts have been made by fellow longtime supporters Michael Humnicky and Don and Hanna Witherspoon.

Proceeds from these commitments have helped the library establish several scholarships for student workers and create a student emergency fund that proved extremely important when services were shortened or suspended as the University dealt with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each study room is adorned with a plaque bearing the name of the donor, leaving a legacy to help students succeed through assistance from the library and its supporters.