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Alumni Awards
Introducing the 2023–24 honorees
From military service, music, and media to education and nursing, MTSU’s outstanding alumni for 2023–24 represent distinction through their careers.
Retired Lt. Gen William “Bill” Phillips, the latest Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, made the successful transition to the civilian world after reaching the rank of three-star general. Television producer Justin Hart earned the Young Alumni Achievement Award, while True Blue Citations of Distinction were awarded to William “Bill” Crabtree, Christian Ketel, Lauren Rhae, and retired Col. Rickey Smith.
“Their accomplishments show the breadth of personal and professional success of our graduates,” said Ginger Freeman, director of the Office of Alumni Relations.
View the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony here.
Distinguished Alumnus
Retired Lt. Gen William “Bill” Phillips
A GENTLEMAN AND AN OFFICER: Retired Lt. Gen. Bill Phillips credits his mother, Muriel, an elementary school teacher in Bell Buckle, with instilling in him the ethos that would help him rise through the ranks of the U.S. Army to become a three-star general. Muriel died suddenly when Phillips was 13 years old. Agriculture, which Phillips called “the first love of my life,” became his next great teacher. Phillips’ father, Kenneth, a World War II veteran, left his mark on him as well. Upon enrollment at MTSU, Phillips signed up for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and a guaranteed postcollege career. The lessons Phillips learned under Col. Roy Plaster and Jay Hendrix (later promoted to four-star general) would become the bedrock for a distinguished career. Click to read full article.
Young Alumni Achievement
Justin Hart
An NAACP Image Award-winning television producer from Memphis, Hart (’11) is honored as an MTSU graduate age 35 or younger making a positive impact in the world. He supervises original programming on the streaming platform Fox Soul, overseeing programs including Fox Soul’s Black Report, which won the New York Association of Black Journalists’ 2021 Rhonesha Byng Award.
Hart also helped launch an entertainment talk show called Cocktails with Queens, featuring Claudia Jordan, LisaRaye McCoy, Vivica A. Fox, and Syleena Johnson. He additionally has worked on Iyanla: Fix My Life, E! News’ Daily Pop, and The Real
Hart recently developed a nonprofit organization in his hometown called Black Men Crowned, which is devoted to honoring, uplifting, and celebrating Black men in Memphis. He was honored with a proclamation from the state of Tennessee for his work. Hart discussed the nonprofit on the nationally syndicated Kelly Clarkson Show, and Clarkson honored him as a “Rad Human” for his continuous commitment to serving his community.
Hart has spoken to classes in MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment, created a short video for new students, was part of Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir, and received a Grammy for lending background vocals to West’s Jesus is King album.
Achievement in Education (non-MTSU Faculty)
Lauren Rhae
Passionate about educational access and student success, Rhae (’09) is an advocate and leading proponent for assuring all Tennesseans have access to the benefits of education.
Representing the Tennessee Board of Regents in the Correctional Education Initiative, Rhae is coordinator of special programs and created a first-of-its-kind statewide system of postsecondary education in the Tennessee prison system. She also assisted in creating a sister project with county jails and wrote the Correctional Education Initiative catalog. Now pursuing her doctorate, Rhae previously worked at MTSU as an advisor and adjunct professor and assisted in the Advisor Mastery Program. She also worked in the nonprofit sector with the Workforce Investment Act and worked as a K–12 educator.
Achievement in Education (MTSU Faculty)
William “Bill” Crabtree
Crabtree (’90), a Recording Industry professor and director of the Recording Arts and Technologies M.F.A. program, has been a large part of the nationally ranked Audio Production program’s student success.
Known for high-quality instruction, the Crossville native has spent 17 years at MTSU and 30 years in higher education overall, including at the Berklee College of Music. Crabtree remains involved in the latest trends and issues in audio production and utilizes those trends in his courses, including multitrack recording and studio production.
A freelance musician, producer, recording engineer, and technical writer, Crabtree has engineered a wide scope of studio productions for many artists and corporate clients. He also has organized several Audio Engineering Society education conferences on campus.
Military Service
Retired Col. Rickey Smith
A retired U.S. Army colonel, Smith (’78) has earned 19 military and other civilian decorations and awards after graduating with the No. 1 ROTC class nationwide while at MTSU.
A field artillery officer for 28 of his 41 years with the Army, his service involved leadership positions from platoon to department levels. Before retiring, Smith served as a Department of Defense coordinating officer for disaster relief and homeland security in California, Arizona, and Nevada following 9/11.
Smith, who holds a B.B.A. from MTSU and two master’s degrees, was appointed Army senior professional for capabilities development after his military retirement. He later was chief of staff for the Army’s Modularity Focus Area that led to the most extensive reorganization of Army combat forces since World War II.
Service to Community
Christian Ketel
Ketel (’99), an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University’s School of Nursing who holds master’s and doctoral degrees, has served numerous vulnerable communities in Nashville. His work has focused on creating and leading integrated primary care and behavioral health practices serving low-income, uninsured, homeless, and non-English-speaking communities. He has served on the Nashville Homelessness Coalition for more than 10 years and has led communitywide health service clinics.
During the pandemic, Ketel developed and led a door-to-door COVID-19 vaccine program that reached more than 7,500 vulnerable middle Tennesseans. Seeing the devastation left by COVID, Ketel in 2020 founded the Mercury Courts Resiliency Hub with Urban Housing Solutions, which has provided thousands of meals, transportation, and daily living supplies to the community.
