A deep dive on MTSU’s oft-overlooked impact on the region’s health care services
Page 18
Wild Blue Yonder
A student pilot flies an MTSU Aerospace training airplane in the skies above Murfreesboro as the moon makes a daytime appearance. MTSU’s Professional Pilot program, encompassing about 900 of the 1,200 Aerospace majors, will relocate to a new aerospace education hub in nearby Shelbyville by 2027. This award-winning photo recently earned Gold honors in the Tennessee College Public Relations Association statewide competition.
Photo by J. Intintoli
Middle Tennessee State University
Summer 2024, Vol. 29, No. 1
University President
Sidney A. McPhee
University Provost
Mark Byrnes
Vice President for University Advancement
Joe Bales
Vice President for Marketing and Communications
Andrew Oppmann
Senior Editor
Drew Ruble
Associate Editor
Carol Stuart
Contributing Editor
Nancy Broden
Senior Director of Marketing
Kara Hooper
Art Director
Keith Dotson
Designers
Darrell Callis Burks, Brian Evans, Micah Loyed, Brittany Blair Stokes
Contributing Writers
Allison Gorman, Nancy DeGennaro, Jimmy Hart, DeAnn Hays, Stephanie Wagner, Randy Weiler
University Photographers
James Cessna, Andy Heidt, J. Intintoli, Cat Curtis Murphy
Special thanks to Lynn Adams, Brian Delaney, Ginger Freeman, Matt Posey
Cover photo by J. Intintoli
Address changes should be sent to Advancement Services, MTSU Box 109, Murfreesboro, TN 37132; alumni@mtsu.edu.
Other correspondence goes to MTSU magazine, Drew Ruble, 1301 E. Main St., MTSU Box 49, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. For online content, visit mtsunews.com. 133,520 copies printed at Courier Printing, Smyrna, Tennessee. Designed by MTSU Creative and Visual Services.
Mark your calendars and join your fellow alumni to celebrate your Blue Raiders for a memorable Homecoming weekend September 20–21 Golden Raiders Reunion (Class of 1974) Alumni Awards • Mixer on Middle • Homecoming Parade
Alumni Tailgate • MT Football vs Duke, 6 p.m.
You can find event listings, RSVP, and updated information at mtalumni.com , 615-898-2922, or alumni@mtsu.edu .
Aging Well
The Tennessee Whiskey Trail stretches from Memphis to Bristol, with 39 tasting rooms along the way. Each distillery has its own spirits and story to share. At any given stop, you might learn how a fabled whiskey survived Tennessee’s long prohibition, or how the state’s lush landscape provides the spring water or heirloom grain that makes what you’re sipping extra special.
In 2017, MTSU launched a Fermentation Science program with bachelor’s and master’s tracks. It was the first degree program of its kind in Tennessee and one of just a few in the U.S. Since the launch, MTSU graduates have been hired regularly by distillers across the state to share their love of chemistry, biology, physics, and hands-on work to bolster the state’s whiskey business.
Shelby Ziegler (pictured), among the first cohort of Fermentation Science majors, said her favorite part of the program was the hands-on aspect. In one class they made cheese and sausages. For another they tended a vineyard, then later harvested and crushed the grapes to make wine.
Ziegler now works at Tennessee Distilling Co., a larger-scale production facility in Columbia that bottles some of the biggest whiskey labels in the world. With another campus in Centerville, the distiller also supports Tennessee farming, with the vast majority of grains purchased from within 100 miles of the Columbia facility, including thousands and thousands of pounds of corn every year and some local rye.
Ziegler is one of several MTSU Fermentation Science majors Mike Williams has hired since he and his business partner launched Tennessee Distilling eight years ago. As master distiller, Williams said he values the skill set MTSU Fermentation Science graduates bring because, frankly, so many things can go wrong during fermentation.
Williams, a former member of the Tennessee General Assembly, is also a Blue Raider—former cheerleader and student government president, class of 1981 (Economics). His wife, Nancy Sloan Williams, served as editor of Sidelines. The press box at MTSU’s Floyd Stadium is named for her grandfather. So it’s natural that Williams would be quick to hire from MTSU.
The company’s additional investments in the Fermentation Science program, though, go beyond just hiring graduates. The company recently established a new endowed professorship in Fermentation Science. And it has begun reimbursing company distillers who decide to pursue the MTSU master’s degree.
That’s how Ziegler ended up back in school. She wanted to expand her knowledge, but not her student debt. An offer from Williams sealed the deal. The distillery runs 24/7, so Ziegler could attend class in the morning and work the evening shift.
According to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), giving to U.S. higher education institutions reached $58 billion in the 2022–23 fiscal year.
That so many individuals and organizations like Williams and Tennessee Distilling Co. support universities like MTSU indicates nationwide recognition of the immense value these institutions provide through transforming lives and society. Recent headlines too frequently cast a negative light on the value of institutions of higher education. The investment of Tennessee Distilling Co. tells a different story.
True Blue!
If you would like to make a gift to MTSU, please visit mtsu.edu/give Allison Gorman contributed heavily to this report.
by Drew Ruble
Demonstrating Value
A brief conversation on recent events with MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee
I have read a lot of recent headlines questioning the value of a four-year college degree. Things like “Americans Are Losing Faith in the Value of College” ( New York Times, Sept. 5, 2023), “Is College Worth It?” ( Forbes, Jan. 24, 2024), and “Gen Z doesn’t value higher education. Colleges should be in freakout mode” ( Business Insider, Dec. 23, 2023). Such sensational headlines grab public interest. But do they really reflect the truth about higher ed?
Author Mark Twain once famously stated that a newspaper report of his death was greatly exaggerated.
To answer your question, I think not. And here are some facts to bolster my case:
On an annual basis, median earnings for graduates of four-year public universities in Tennessee are $36,000
higher than those whose highest degree is a high school diploma—that’s 84% higher (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities).
A bachelor’s degree recipient is expected to earn $1.4 million more than a high school graduate over their career (Boyd Center).
Four decades ago, only 28% of jobs required postsecondary education. By 2021, 68% required it. In another decade, that percentage will increase to 72% (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce).
Such statistics don’t even touch upon the statistically measurable social and health benefits of a four-year degree.
You are now in your 23rd year as president of Middle Tennessee State University. What does your personal experience tell you about the value of a four-year degree?
I have personally witnessed the journeys of tens of thousands of students from wide-eyed freshmen to workforce-ready graduates.
I’ve also been around long enough to see with my own eyes how attainment of bachelor’s degrees not only increases the life trajectory of those who earn them, but also of their families, producing generational economic, social, and health benefits.
Tell me about the new statewide effort that MTSU is spearheading to change this narrative.
MTSU recently joined nine other state universities to launch a campaign to increase public awareness about the value of a four-year degree from a Tennessee public university. The message of the Four the Future campaign isn’t just that a four-year degree is good for prospective students—but that it’s good for all Tennesseans.
Public universities educate students in areas of need in Tennessee, including nurses, doctors, engineers, educators, and other professionals, according to the
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Meanwhile, more than 70% of Tennessee business leaders agree there is an insufficient supply of suitably trained workers, according to the Boyd Center.
It’s appropriate for MTSU to help lead this awareness campaign, since in so many ways, MTSU is Tennessee’s university, providing life-changing opportunities to a student body that best reflects the diversity of our state’s population. MTSU is Greater Nashville’s No. 1 choice for undergraduates, as well a leading choice for adult learners, military-connected students, and first-generation college students.
Any last thoughts on this topic?
More than 70% of our graduates remain in Tennessee, building our state’s economy and communities. The next time one of our graduates has a chance to say something about this debate, I encourage them to speak boldly about the value of their MTSU degree in their lives. And in their communities.
Sidney A. McPhee, president of MTSU since 2001, earned a bachelor’s degree from Prairie View A&M University in Texas, a master’s degree from the University of Miami, and a doctorate in Applied Behavioral Studies in Education from Oklahoma State University.
Jan. 15
Sliding into the semester with a snow day
Feb. 22
Black-ish star Marcus Scribner at Black History Month keynote
Feb. 21
Big Event service project preparing 15,000 meals
March 12
Day of panels celebrating “Women of True Grit”
March 1–2
Ropin’, rearin’, and racin’ in CFRC Rodeo
April 20
Fashion design students showcasing “Unstoppable Future”
April 24
Khalid performing special concert for students
April 19
Baby chicks up close at Ag Education Spring Fling
May 4
Alumnus and artist HARDY among Commencement speakers
Events Calendar
Mark your calendar for upcoming events around campus
Sept. 9–Dec. 12
Baldwin Photo Gallery
Ahndraya Parlato exhibit (reception date TBA)
Sept. 17, 3 p.m.
Tucker Theatre
Constitution Day speaker:
Former U.S. Vice President
Mike Pence
Sign up for Sept. 16–17
Constitution readings at mtsu.edu/amerdem
Sept. 26–29
Tucker Theatre
Eurydice, play by Sarah Ruhl
Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Hinton Hall
SOAL and TEBA Chorales
Nov. 9
Various locations
Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces: MTSU football vs. Liberty, noon
Aug. 24, 2 p.m.
Murphy Center
Convocation speaker: Firoozeh Dumas, author of Laughing Without an Accent
(Book signing at President’s Party, Aug. 23, 5–8 p.m., KUC Knoll)
Aug. 31, 6 p.m.
Floyd Stadium
MTSU football vs. Tennessee Tech, home opener
Sept. 14, 6 p.m.
Floyd Stadium
MTSU football vs. Western Kentucky, family weekend
Sept. 20–21
Various locations
Homecoming weekend: MTSU football vs. Duke, 6 p.m.
Oct. 3, 8 p.m.
Hinton Music Hall Jazz Artist Series
Nov. 7–10
Tucker Theatre
She Loves Me musical
Nov. 21–23, 7:30 p.m.
Tucker Theatre
Fall Dance Concert
Jan. 22, 2025
Location TBA
MLK Celebration and Candlelight Vigil
What are top memories in the RIM/Recording Industry program?
We asked alumni to share some of their best memories for MTSU’s unique Recording Industry Department, formerly known as RIM, as the program celebrates its 50th birthday.
Chandler Brown (’19)
I learned invaluable lessons about songwriting, musicianship, and the industry as a whole from the great Odie Blackmon. He is still to this day one of the most influential people in my life, 5 years after graduation. He single-handedly made my time at MTSU worth it, and helped shaped me into the writer/artist I am today. Forever grateful for my time in the Commercial Songwriting program.
Derek Harville (’16)
I learned so much from Professor Deborah Wagnon's courses. Her unlimited depth of knowledge and wisdom from her remarkable career in Entertainment Law made for the best resource during my studies in RIM. My business savvy/legal mind grew tremendously from taking her courses.
Every course I took had masters of their craft for Professors. Amy Macy, Matthew O'Brian, Beverly Keel, Paul Fischer, Melissa Wald all were excellent in teaching their respective areas of expertise with decades worth of experience. Every class helped shape my understanding of how the music business works as a whole.
Vic Larnerd (’83)
When I entered the RIM program at MTSU, I never figured I'd get to shake hands with Johnny Cash... … the first time I ever heard Stevie Ray Vaughan was hanging out at the Haynes House, if that counts. That, and being part of the first cpl of RIM Music albums. So many talented and creative classmates. Doc Hull was brilliant. He could get college kids like me to comprehend case study. That's borderline miraculous. Hal Newman always had the funniest stories in class. Then there was Student Programming/Special Events Committee....I'm not certain if some of those stories are printable.
Mike Defibaugh (’79, ’81)
OG: Geoff Hull and Christian Haseleu
Geoff Hull always made his classes relevant, personal, and often entertaining. Chris was the consummate audio professional. Whatever you needed to learn, he would teach you.
Matt Collins
It was Nathan E Adam hands down!
Tammy Baugh Gibson Bo’s motto for ARMS… if you have a head on your shoulders you have ARMS by your side and too many great Grammy watching party memories!
Doug Jernigan (’91)
While in the program, I worked at the Center for Popular Music. I also did an internship at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum research library. From that I became a Reference Librarian and had a wonderful 28year career at Meridian Community College. I enjoyed my time at MTSU and it means a lot to me. I met a lot of good folks while there, including entertainers like John Prine, by being involved in student organizations.
If you know someone like my son Joseph Jernigan, aka Shuqualak Slim, who is a musician and or interested in being in the entertainment industry, I recommend the MTSU College of Media and Entertainment. Not only will they get a good education but will have some good experiences as well. Always True Blue.
Old School
A look back at MTSU’s past from our photo archives—Started 50 years ago, the Recording Industry program opened a four-track studio in 1977, built the Haynes House eight-track recording studio in 1980, and installed a digital audio studio in 1986.
New School
Mixing and mastering —Now offering an Audio Production major and a Recording Arts and Technologies master’s, MTSU boasts 40-channel consoles in two Bragg studios for large sessions, a renovated James Union Building studio, two new instructional studios, and various labs.
by
Cat Curtis Murphy
Photo
Collage: A Journal of Creative Expression is a biannual publication of MTSU’s Honors College. Each semester a student-led committee receives entries of creative work, such as art, photography, short stories, essays, short plays, song lyrics, poetry, audio, and video from students and recent alumni. mtsu.edu/collage
Risk Art
Daisy Gonzalez
Eat
Photography
Thursday, in some other universe by
Megan Crowe
Dad and I are still baking cookies in the kitchen— Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Lovers slice ’n bake— and arranging them on the old pizza stone. There’s only three of us, but we bake six, and he sneaks me a chunk of raw dough when my mother isn’t looking.
He watches football on the big screen, and I sit in his warm lap reading a book, watching the clock tick, rolling my eyes as he teases me. His bald head is just a sign of age, his bruises are just another hard day’s work.
When the smell of sugar and warmth hits, I leap out of the leather recliner and pour two big glasses of milk. We eat them too hot, falling apart like we’re afraid of running out of time, and he wipes the chocolate from my nose.
Opposites
Photography
No Surprises
Eve Bennett
Music
Cassie Sistoso, Seth Gunther
The Sage Sculpture
Tyler Fitt
Jenna Anderson
Allison Gorman
A deep dive on MTSU’s oft-overlooked impact on the region’s health care services by
Middle Tennessee is a perfect microcosm of the American health care system. There’s metro Nashville, with its $67 billion health care industry— and then Nashville’s 13-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA), with its vast health care deserts.
MTSU offers dozens of degree programs to fill every niche in that massive ecosystem, from corporate suites to rural clinics.
Her Father’s Footsteps
Jacqueline Asamoah was just 3 when her father died, but she was raised on inspiring stories about his work as a rural doctor.
“I’ve always known that medicine was the field I wanted to end up in,” Asamoah said. “I was passionate about helping people and following in my father’s footsteps.”
She plans to do that not in her native Ghana, but in her adopted home of Tennessee. She’s in her seventh and final semester of the Physician Assistant Studies master’s program, one of several new professional-degree tracks designed to deliver skilled health care where it’s needed most. So far her passion is endocrinology.
PAs practice in collaboration with physicians. Trained as medical generalists, they’re the only clinicians that can easily switch from one specialty to another, said program director Marie Patterson. “You can do cardiothoracic surgery—OR work—and then pivot and go work in pediatrics without having to be retrained,” she said.
The PA program is intense: four semesters of didactic classes and eight clinical rotations taken over 27 continuous months. It’s also competitive.
“We received hundreds of applications from around the nation for our first cohort, which graduates this August,” MTSU Provost Mark Byrnes said. “The demand for PAs is incredibly strong. We expect our graduates to go straight into jobs with six-figure salaries.”
Last year’s 30-student cohort attracted 900 applicants, Patterson said.
“Every interview day we have people who’ve never even been to Tennessee. We’re not only selling this program and MTSU, but we’re selling this side of the country, trying to get the best candidates here,” she said.
MTSU is only the second public school in Tennessee to offer a master’s in PA Studies. The program has a
strong emphasis on ultrasound training for point-of-care diagnosis, Patterson said, and its graduates may be the only ones in the country who have their own handheld ultrasound devices. Students are placed in at least one clinical rotation in a rural area, with the hope that they’ll be inspired to practice there.
Asamoah said she’s ready to serve.
“If I end up in a place where I don’t get as many endocrinology cases as I want, but I know that I’m giving help to the people who need me, that’s OK,” she said. “That’s another thing I’m passionate about.”
Professional Passion
A heart for service is what Eric Miller looks for in applicants to the Medical School Early Acceptance Program, a collaboration with Meharry Medical College in Nashville.
Launched in 2019, the MSEAP fast-tracks students through college and medical school to fill Tennessee’s rural health care gaps. The program accepts up to 10 incoming freshmen a year—Tennessee residents only— with guaranteed admission to Meharry after their junior year if they meet the required academic benchmarks and Medical College Admission Test score. They earn their bachelor’s degree from MTSU upon completion of their first year at Meharry, and after graduation from medical school they complete a three-year residency in a general specialty like family medicine or OB-GYN.
MSEAP students pay no tuition or fees at MTSU and pay tuition for only two of four years at Meharry. In exchange they spend their first two years post-residency practicing medicine in rural Tennessee.
The ideal candidates don’t just have good grades and leadership skills, Miller said. They also have a passion for the MSEAP mission, which often comes from having lived or worked in a high-need area.
“That’s who I think will benefit most from the program,” he said. “That’s the kind of person who wants to give back and would thrive in that kind of environment.”
Bismah Aslam’s story is a little different. A Nashville native and third-year MSEAP student, she spent her high school years envisioning herself working as a doctor in a city.
“But when I learned about the program and their mission to bridge those health care disparities, especially in rural communities,” she said, “I did a little research and saw how threadbare their facilities were, and I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ ”
Building Reinforcements
The nursing crisis everyone heard about during the pandemic was nothing new to Jenny Sauls (Ph.D., M.S.N., RN, CNE). She’s seen shortages throughout her 43 years in the profession—COVID-19 simply made them worse.
She’s also witnessed the effects in the MTSU School of Nursing, where she serves as director. There’s been a dip in applications for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing since COVID exposed the stresses of the job and made those who were interested in nursing as a career question their choice.
But graduates of the program, which has an excellent reputation, almost always have jobs waiting, often in highly competitive specialties.
“Our graduates are heavily recruited by Vanderbilt, Ascension St. Thomas, HCA/TriStar, Mayo Clinic, Children's Hospital of Atlanta, and other wellknown organizations for positions that may not have been available to new graduates pre-COVID,” Sauls said, “such as trauma unit, burn unit, transplant unit, and myelosuppression/stem cell transplant unit as well as neonatal intensive care.”
Registered nurses also can become independent clinicians by earning a Nurse Practitioner master’s degree online at MTSU. NPs can fill some of the rural health care vacancies as midlevel providers, said Cathy Cooper, associate director of the graduate nursing program.
“Many of our students express their desire to open a clinic or be affiliated with an organization in the area where they live to provide care, because there’s a void there,” she said.
The program has unlimited slots and is open to Tennessee-licensed RNs who are residents of Tennessee. There are two concentrations, Family NP and Psychiatric Mental Health NP, both of which require 42 didactic and clinical hours and 630 direct patient care hours. Graduates of the program have a 100% pass rate on their national certification exams, Cooper said.
A family NP can also earn dual certification in psychiatric mental health by completing an additional 20-hour online program.
“That is very marketable,” Cooper said.
I’ve always known that medicine was the field I wanted to end up in. I was passionate about helping people and following in my father’s footsteps.
Jacqueline
Asamoah
1 2
Better health begins outside hospital walls.
MTSU’s new Master of Public Health was being planned before COVID-19, but it launched right in the thick of things, fall 2020. There’s been no need to sell the degree to potential students, said Kahler Stone, assistant professor of Public Health. “The pandemic itself sold our program.”
Every M.P.H. graduate so far is either working in the field or pursuing an additional degree, Stone said. Many are epidemiologists, combining applied work and research. Their healing work happens outside hospital walls. Some grads wind up at state or local health departments, improving lives in rural communities through programs focused on opioid use or diabetes or poor nutrition. Others are employed by nonprofits, coordinating grant-funded projects with similar goals.
The first three M.P.H. cohorts have been extremely diverse, with students of various ages, nationalities, and career experiences, Stone said. But there’s one common thread among them: “They all seem to be hardwired with a drive and a passion to help people and make a difference."
MTSU also offers a bachelor's in Public Health, a program designed as a platform degree for an M.P.H., a more clinical master’s, medical school, or doctoral-level research. Grads can also go straight into the workforce.
Mental health is important—for all ages.
The pandemic exposed the debilitating effects of stress on adults and children, and the impact of mental health on quality of life. The Clinical Psychology and School Psychology master’s degree concentrations are helping meet the critical need for mental health practitioners trained in science-based, evidence-based treatments.
Clinical psychology explores how mental health affects day-to-day function, as well as the interrelationship between physical and mental health and “what we can do on one side to prevent problems on the other,” Psychology Professor Kim Ujcich Ward said.
MTSU has the only master’s-level clinical psychology program in Tennessee. It partners with various treatment facilities in middle Tennessee to provide practicum hours and internships. Once graduates are state-certified, they can work under the supervision of a doctorate-level psychologist.
While the program attracts students from everywhere, she said, “many choose to stay and work in Tennessee because we have such a dearth of mental health-related services in our state. We can’t graduate enough students to meet the need.”
MTSU also offers Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling concentrations for the Ed.S. in Professional Counseling, with training opportunities at its Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. School Psychology master’s students
almost always continue for a third year at MTSU to earn their Ed.S., which is required to become a licensed school psychologist in many states, including Tennessee.
Practicum hours and internships are available through the Murfreesboro, Metro Nashville, Rutherford County, and Franklin County schools. Students from outside the area— including teachers sent to MTSU for training by their school districts—may choose to have their internship experience close to home.
MTSU also offers a Master of Social Work . Mental health and substance abuse social workers are among the hottest careers in the state requiring a master’s degree.
3
Good communication is everything.
The undergraduate Health Communication concentration was supposed to launch in fall 2019, but a few hiccups delayed the start for a year. By then the politicization of a public health crisis had proved the value of such a program.
“What the pandemic showed us was the importance of good communication in managing people’s behavior— because this whole pandemic was shaped by human behavior,” said Elizabeth Dalton, associate professor of Communication Studies.
What the pandemic showed us was the importance of good communication in managing people’s behavior.
Students learn about combating mis- and disinformation. They learn quantitative literacy so they can interpret statistics. They learn how to convey medical information to nonmedical people without talking down to them, and how to discuss uncomfortable subjects, from end-of-life planning to sex ed, in a comfortable way.
They’ll apply those skills through the soft side of the health industry: marketing, PR, media, nonprofit work. They’ll also focus on building better communication networks in the new post-pandemic world of telemedicine.
Dalton and her students are working with rural communities like Grundy County to create centralized access to the internet for residents who might not have it at home.
“There’s just so much need and so little opportunity in terms of health care delivery,” she said.
Health Care Hub: By the Numbers
170,702 health care employees in Nashville MSA
10,000 health service jobs added 2018–22
1 in 12 occupations are in health care
$92K health care core avg. annual wage 8% growth in health care employment 2018–22
Source: Health Care Industry Nashville MSA 2023, Business and Economic Research Center, MTSU
Two Health Professions Up Their Game
Athletic Trainer Training
When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed midgame in January 2023, the team’s athletic trainers helped resuscitate him and keep him stable until an ambulance arrived. That high-profile moment illustrated how these professionals can serve as “physician extenders,” and why they’re in demand on and off the playing field.
Athletics trainers are responsible for the prevention, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries in any physically active population, said Kristi Phillips, clinical coordinator for Athletic Training. They work in industry, in the military, even in the performing arts.
To attract more students and higher pay, the profession now requires a master’s degree, Phillips said. So MTSU is phasing out its three-year undergraduate program and replacing it with a two-year master’s track. The first cohort started last summer.
The graduate students will have clinical experiences with an athletic trainer and practicum hours with a physical or occupational therapist or chiropractor. Once their coursework is complete, they’ll have a full-immersion experience, which wasn’t available to undergraduates, Phillips said.
“They’ll see what it’s like to live a day in the life of the athletic trainer in all aspects, rather than just going to class all morning and then going to clinical in the afternoon,” she said.
Food as Medicine
Registered dieticians must also now meet higher academic standards. A 1,000-hour internship and a master’s degree are now required for national licensure, said Janet Colson, coordinator of Nutrition and Food Science. In response, MTSU created a Master of Professional Studies in nutrition, partnering with Murfreesboro-based National HealthCare as well as two out-of-state companies to provide in-person or distance internship opportunities.
Hospitals, nursing homes, and many private physician offices are required to have a registered dietician to work with patients with diabetes, renal disease, or other conditions requiring medical nutritional therapy, Colson said.
But a master’s degree isn’t necessary to get a good job improving lives through nutrition and wellness, she added. Between its five bachelor’s degree concentrations, graduates in Nutrition and Food Science are employed as health coaches and health inspectors, leading community weight-loss programs, developing restaurant menu items, and even working for pet food companies.
Graduates of the Family and Consumer Sciences Community Education concentration are in especially high demand, she said. Across the country, health departments and agricultural extension services hire them to teach nutrition classes and canning trainings and lead community wellness programs. A newly added fifth concentration expands on that by adding teacher licensure for secondary education.
Blue Raiders Behind the Scenes
Metro Nashville’s health care ecosystem is like the human body: Big things happen where we can’t see them. Blue Raiders are doing lifesaving work behind the scenes in medical labs, business startups, industrial settings, and corner offices.
Several Master of Science in Professional Science concentrations are springboards for these industry jobs, combining a foundational business education with healthrelated coursework. Rather than writing a thesis, students get real-world experience through an internship.
Charles Chusuei, advisor for the new Chemistry Analytics concentration for the degree, says it has three regional partners—Volunteer Botanicals, National HealthCare Corp., and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation—to provide those opportunities.
Health Care Informatics, Biostatistics, and Biotechnology are other Professional Science concentrations that do well in the industry. Biotech advisor James Robertson said his graduates typically stay local, working for a diagnostic or research lab, a biotech firm, or a cannabis/CBD startup.
The Occupational Health and Safety master’s program, in Engineering Technology, is popular with both working adults and full-time students, said coordinator Saleh Sbenaty. They apply their training in industry and government to prevent disease, injury, and environmental hazards in work settings.
Years of high-profile environmental disasters, like last year's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have driven international interest in the field, Sbenaty said.
MTSU’s degree is unusual—and unusually marketable—because the curriculum includes technical project management, Six Sigma, and other management courses.
Executives in training also can find flexible options with MTSU’s Health Care Management M.B.A. concentration. Ph.D. grads are making their mark on the health care sector too. Angela Bowman, a biostatistician who teaches in the Human Performance Ph.D. program, says graduates often wind up in upper management in Nashville, even C-suites. But they’re working on programs and policies designed to reach every corner of Tennessee.
Environmental disasters . . . have driven international interest in the field.
Amy Jetton, associate professor of Biology, says the Ph.D. in Molecular Biosciences is a good foundation for a variety of industry jobs, from conducting medical research to managing clinical trials. The Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research at MTSU, established to develop new drugs and nutritional supplements from plants, also is forging paths to new careers in the ancient industry of natural medicine.
But the pandemic showed that Biology majors in general are marketable, she said. Nashville’s Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducted COVID-19 testing, “was hiring anybody they could get—master’s, bachelor’s—but also taking people part time while they were still in school, so they could snap them up as soon as they were done.”
Online Health Program Boosts Professional Value
Earning a degree can be the key to career mobility. MTSU has a fully online program for working adults who want to boost their professional stock with a nonclinical health-related degree.
The B.S. in Professional Studies in Health Administration is a 120-hour degree-completion program combining business fundamentals with healthspecific coursework. It’s designed for people in the health care industry who need a bachelor’s to qualify for a raise or a management position.
The typical student is in their mid-to-late 20s, with an associate degree, said program coordinator Dianna Rust. Relevant work experience may also translate to credit hours.
MTSU’s College of Behavioral and Health Sciences welcomed Peter W. Grandjean as the new dean beginning July 1. Grandjean has spent more than 30 years in education, most recently as dean of the School of Applied Sciences and professor of Exercise Science at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.
An internationally recognized professor and researcher in the areas of lipid metabolism, transport, and vascular physiology, he has spoken extensively about his work. Grandjean has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and garnered millions in grant funding throughout his time in higher education. In addition, he’s been the recipient of numerous professional, academic, and faculty awards.
Prior to the University of Mississippi, Grandjean was associate dean of Graduate Studies and Research Collaborations, director of the Division of Health Professions, and professor of Exercise Physiology at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He also served on the faculty at Auburn University in Alabama.
Eyes on Professional School? How to Get There from Here
Aspiring doctors don’t have to major in pre-med. In fact, med schools might prefer that they don’t, said Eric Miller, advisor for MTSU’s Allied Health pre-professional programs.
“They all have the equalizer, certain benchmarks that [applicants] have to meet,” he said. “But they can create an incoming class with students from all walks of life, studying all kinds of things, and they love that.”
He encourages freshmen wanting to be doctors, dentists, pharmacists, or physical or occupational therapists to major in what they love. MTSU can design a curriculum around even non-STEM majors to meet professional program requirements.
MTSU also offers a competitive fast-track to medical school through the Early Acceptance Program with Meharry Medical College (see page 19 for details ). And through the University’s “three-plus-one” partnerships with select pharmacy and chiropractic schools, MTSU students can apply for admission after their junior year. If they’re accepted, they receive their bachelor’s degree from MTSU one year into their professional studies.
That bachelor’s is an important fallback, Miller said.
Other Allied Health three-plus-ones include Nuclear Medicine Technology and Radiation Therapy Technology— specialized degrees marketable in larger metro areas, like Nashville—as well as Diagnostic Medical Sonography, a degree marketable in both rural and urban areas, Miller said.
A master’s degree in biomedical sciences, proposed for 2025, would serve as a conduit to any health-related professional program, he said.
A A
true true BLUE BLUE
Thank you Thank you
Thank you to those who gave generously in the 7th Annual true Blue Give!
Thanks to TRUE BLUE SUPPORTERS, we raised over $780,000 in gifts—setting a new record and far surpassing the $700,000 goal to help empower students’ success.
• $300,000+ raised in support of student-athletes by MTSU Athletics
• $159,000 in gifts secured by the College of Liberal Arts in a record-setting year
• $63,000+ directed toward scholarships, student emergency needs, and various student-centric programs, including the James E. Walker Library and the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center YOU MAKE MTSU A FINER INSTITUTION DAY AFTER DAY, YEAR AFTER YEAR.
Sidney A. McPhee, President
Required Reading
The New Heretics: Skepticism, Secularism, and Progressive Christianity
Rebekka King, Professor of Religious Studies
ETHNOGRAPHY
King’s new book, published by New York University Press, explores the development of progressive Christianity, a movement of Christians who do not reject their identity as Christians, but who believe Christianity must be updated for today’s times and take into consideration modern science, historical criticism, and liberal humanism. She also introduces the concept of “lived secularity” as a category with which to examine the ways in which religiosity often is entangled with and subsumed by secular identities over and against religious ones. This theoretical framework provides insight into the study of religious and cultural hybridity, new emerging groups such as “the nones,” atheism, religious apostasy, and multi-religious identities.
A Leaf in the Stream
Stephan Foust, founding director of MTSU’s Center for Innovation in Media FICTION
Foust’s book tells the story of a young history teacher and coach from Indiana who, on a student’s dare, quits his job and walks across the country during the economic turmoil of the Carter years. The protagonist, in the face of numerous natural phenomena and riddled with self-doubt, ultimately confronts his demons and finds a hidden inner strength thanks to the love and support of the people he meets along the way.
The Farm
Randy O’Brien, B.A. in English and adjunct writing instructor FICTION
The newest book by O’Brien, former WMOT-FM news director, portrays a young woman from a rural middle Tennessee dairy farm who was raped by a Nazi prisoner of war who escaped from Camp Nathan Bedford Forrest. (The camp is based on a real camp for prisoners of war that was located outside Tullahoma.)
The Farm explores the choices the young woman makes once she discovers she is pregnant—a poignant topic given the recent repeal of Roe v. Wade
Princess of Horses
Warren Gill, retired chair of MTSU's School of Agriculture HISTORICAL FICTION
Gill’s latest book takes place in an imagined agrarian society and serves to remind people of the delicate balance of nature and how important it is for humans to recognize and nurture their relationships with other living things. His previous book, Cane Creek Days, a memoir of a boy growing up on a farm near Petersburg, preserves for modern readers the way of life he and his agricultural-based community experienced and how they survived without technological farming tools.
Photo
Armed with MTSU grant dollars, one Tennnesee county's battle against an insidious disease —and a lethal stigma— offers hope for recovering opioid addicts by Allison Gorman
In 2021, Leeanne Harris gave birth to a boy and gave him away. If he couldn’t go home with her, she thought, he could at least go home with his big brothers, ages 2 and 5. They’d been adopted by a family friend.
“That’s the major thing—I had to sign custody over of my oldest two,” Harris said. “When I had my third, I also gave him up, because I wanted them all together. I didn’t want them to be separated.”
Harris, who lives in Lebanon, lost custody of her three children because she’d lost battle after battle against meth and heroin. She’d tried rehab, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with suboxone, several times without success.
That’s the way addiction often looks, said Dr. Josh Wienczkowski, because addiction is a chronic disease. Wienczkowski is medical director at Lebanon-based Cedar Recovery, where Harris had tried and failed to get clean with MAT.
Just like cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure, substance use disorder (SUD) is characterized by periods of relapse and remission. It’s unrealistic to expect full recovery after a single course of treatment, Wienczkowski said. And with SUD, as with other chronic diseases, recovery can be complicated by depression, financial hardship, or any number of internal or external stressors. The important thing is to keep trying.
“What’s comforting is that current literature shows the vast majority of those with SUD will recover fully—over 70%,” he said. “And time in both treatment and recovery only increases that number.”
Harris can’t recall exactly how many times she tried MAT, and she’s not sure what made the last time different. All she knows is she was desperate to see her kids, including her baby, so she tried it again, and it stuck.
Over the next year, she got clean, got a job, got a car. Then she lost TennCare, her government health insurance. It had been paying for her medication and counseling at Cedar.
Photo by Andy Heidt
The forward momentum stopped.
“I wanted to be in my kids’ lives,” Harris said. “I wanted to watch them grow. But it seems like when one little bump comes up, and you’re in recovery, you want to give up.”
That’s where she was—about to give up—when she got the call from Wienczkowski. Thanks to MTSU and a volunteer group, DrugFree WilCo, he had grant funding to continue her treatment.
A STATE IN PERIL
Harris is convinced that the grant saved her life. Given how lethal opioid overdose is, that could very well be true.
Opioids, a class of drugs naturally derived from the opium plant, include prescription medications like hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and morphine; the illegal drug heroin; and synthetic medications like fentanyl.
It’s not uncommon for someone with substance use disorder to become addicted after being prescribed opioids for pain relief, and then turn to street drugs when their legal access dries up.
What makes opioid addiction uniquely dangerous is the high risk of death from a single use. Most drug-related
deaths result from the physiological damage caused by prolonged, heavy use, said Paul Trivette, chief strategy officer at Cedar Recovery. It’s rare for someone to die overnight from drinking alcohol, for example, or from ingesting stimulants like cocaine or methamphetamines.
But one overdose of opioids can cause potentially fatal respiratory depression. And for an opioid addict, the cravings are physically overwhelming.
The opioid epidemic has hit Tennessee hard. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks the state second for the rate of opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons. For people susceptible to SUD, an opioid prescription can lead to fatal addiction. Between 2011 and 2021, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, opioid overdose deaths increased by 240% in the nation overall and 350% in Tennessee. In 2021 alone, there were 63 opioid-related deaths in Wilson County, where Harris lives.
The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) grant from the Health Resources Services Administration offers a lifeline for people like Harris, who face financial or logistical barriers to MAT. Trivette said even if someone can’t afford inpatient rehab—the ideal first step for treatment—the grant provides continued
access to suboxone, which controls opioid cravings but is extremely expensive. Having that medication can keep people from sinking until they learn how to swim.
As Trivette put it, “You can’t treat dead people.”
It was the death of Thomas Tapley, a young Wilson County resident who appeared to have beaten addiction, that inspired the founding of MTSU’s grant partner, DrugFree WilCo. Tapley overdosed days before he was set to play a leading role in The Piano Lesson at Lebanon’s CenterStage Community Theatre.
When Tapley’s mother asked Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto to do more to address the opioid crisis locally, Hutto assembled a team of civic leaders to explore solutions. One of them was Michael Ayalon—then president of Lebanon’s Rotary Club and now a doctoral student at MTSU.
The solution they came up with was an innovative collaboration of 12 community sectors from Wilson County, including schools, businesses, faith-based organizations, the health care system, and courts and law enforcement.
DrugFree WilCo tackled the crisis from several angles. With an initial Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program grant of $532,000, they placed a reentry transition specialist inside the Wilson County Jail, to give inmates with SUD a better chance of staying clean after incarceration.
They established the Preventing Incarceration in Communities (PIC) Center, a prison-diversion program designed to decrease crime, reduce recidivism, and combat addiction. They raised public awareness about SUD through educational programs at businesses and schools. They distributed naloxone, the nasal spray that can reverse a potentially fatal overdose.
It was a lot, Ayalon said, but it wasn’t enough.
If they were going to solve the opioid crisis in Wilson County, they needed more funds. So, he teamed up with Cindy Chafin, director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services (CHHS). Chafin secured two RCORP grants—an initial $200,000 for 18 months of planning and then $1 million for three years of implementation—to break down more barriers to MAT, from lack of insurance to lack of transportation to treatment. Ayalon assumed the role of Wilson County RCORP coordinator, the liaison between MTSU and DrugFree WilCo.
The RCORP grant is what kept Leeanne Harris from giving up and going under. At press time, she was well on her way toward two years clean and sober and had taken a new job as a shift lead.
Cindy Chafin, director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services
I wanted to be in my kids’ lives. I wanted to watch them grow.
BATTLING MISCONCEPTIONS
Some barriers to treatment begin as misconceptions. MTSU and DrugFree WilCo are taking those on too.
Viewing addiction as a moral failure rather than a chronic disease can prevent people with SUD from seeking treatment. It can also prevent government investment in effective solutions. So, part of the RCORP grant has gone toward education, Ayalon said. It’s paid for a countywide billboard campaign promoting treatment and recovery. It’s funded MAT training for the county’s law enforcement officers. It’s paid for annual assessments of the effectiveness of DrugFree WilCo’s efforts to destigmatize SUD. They’re making a measurable difference, Ayalon said. But there’s more work to be done.
“I think there’s still some hesitation and concerns with medication-assisted treatment that need to be answered for the community,” he said.
He hopes to alleviate those concerns by offering educational programs at churches and hosting lunch ’n’ learns with community leaders.
One thing that’s hard to quibble with is the costeffectiveness of preventing and treating SUD.
“Investment of time, energy, resources, and money into substance use disorder treatment has one of the highest return rates to society of all diseases,” Wienczkowski said.
Every dollar spent on SUD treatment saves $4 in future health care costs and $7 in criminal justice costs, he said. Every dollar spent on evidencebased interventions—as opposed to “just say no” programs—saves up to $58 in future costs.
Then there’s the incalculable return on investment: lives saved, relationships repaired, families salvaged, trauma averted.
“Investing in substance use disorder treatment means not only helping an individual return to a fully functional member of society; it means generational change where we impact their entire family, support system, and community,” Wienczkowski said.
That can be a hard sell in a country that has historically treated addiction with ostracization and punishment, despite lack of results.
“If incarceration cured substance use disorder, the U.S. would be leading the world in recovery outcomes, not overdose deaths,” Wienczkowski said.
Leeanne Harris is now two years in recovery, moved into a management position, and gets to spend time with her young sons.
Photo by Andy Heidt
SEEING ADDICTION DIFFERENTLY
Trivette understands that view as well as anyone. Before he became an addiction-treatment professional, he was a registered lobbyist. His job was to convince lawmakers that addiction is a chronic disease and that MAT is worthy of public investment.
Before he was a lobbyist, he was a police officer in Bristol. Law enforcement works on the front lines of the opioid crisis. Trivette’s first day as a cop, he got a call from the Los Angeles Police Department. His dad had died of an overdose.
I don’t get to take the boys and leave with them, but I can visit them, spend time with them, go wherever they go.
Trivette’s dad had already served time in Tennessee for stealing from Paul and Paul’s mom. He’d fled to L.A. to avoid arrest after breaking into his brother’s house.
“Two weeks before he died,” Trivette said, “my father left me a voicemail that I still have to this day, telling me that he was sorry, that he loved me. I refused to call him back. I wish I hadn’t.”
It took nearly five years for Trivette to think about his dad, and addiction, in a new light. The change began when Matthew Hill, a state legislator at the time, asked him to work as an advocate for people with SUD.
Trivette initially declined, saying he didn’t accept the premise that addiction was a disease.
“I know what it’s like,” he said. “I see what it’s like on the streets.”
Hill pushed back, acknowledging that he once felt the same way. He invited Trivette to attend a discussion of SUD by clinical professionals, including Dr. Stephen Loyd, chief medical officer of Cedar Recovery.
Learning how opioid addiction rewires the brain was powerful medicine for Trivette. For the first time, he understood what his father had been up against.
“That’s why I want to be part of the change now,” he said. “To help other families and other people that have been
impacted by addiction maybe have another mindset, maybe not stigmatize their loved one that’s battling an unbelievably powerful illness—so much so that the very thing that your brain desires will be the thing that kills you.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Keeping people alive. For DrugFree WilCo, that’s the bottom line, and they’re always pursuing new strategies to do it.
At the top of Ayalon’s wish list is ODMap, a web-based tool that tracks overdoses in real time. A cluster would indicate the presence of a particularly lethal batch of drugs.
“If suddenly we see three or four overdoses on the same block, that tells us there’s a problem in that particular community,” he said. “So, we would dispatch a mobile unit to that area fully stocked with naloxone and fentanyl test strips.”
More help is already on the way to help others battle opioids, thanks to new grants awarded to CHHS. Another $2.92 million RCORP federal grant, awarded to the center in partnership with Cedar Recovery, will establish the first mobile unit providing MAT in Tennessee with access points in five rural counties—Giles, Hickman, Franklin, Lawrence, Marshall—plus a brick-and-mortar location in a sixth rural county, Claiborne.
The MTSU center also recently received $9.1 million from Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council in community grants funded by legal settlements with opioid producers, distributors, pharmacies, and marketers. This will help fund aftercare services and six respite centers across Tennessee providing housing to those waiting on beds in treatment facilities.
Ultimately the goal is to buy time. To give struggling people one more try at living.
Leeanne Harris got another try at motherhood, albeit on new terms.
“I don’t get to take the boys and leave with them,” she said, “but I can visit them, spend time with them, go wherever they go.”
Last Halloween when they went trick or treating, she went with them.
One more try, one more day, one more moment.
“It was amazing,” she said.
Dietetics director finds solace in educating others after son’s overdose
by DeAnn Hays
Dylan Smith was a brother and son, an uncle and grandson. He was a companion and loved. He was smart, funny, and athletic. He also dealt with personal struggles caused by a mental illness, diagnosed at a young age. Dylan died in fall 2022 from an accidental drug overdose. He was 29 years old.
“There was enough fentanyl in his body to have killed 6½ people,” said his mother, Liz Smith, an associate professor and director of MTSU’s Dietetics program.
Heartbroken, she decided to focus part of her grief on sharing the circumstances surrounding Dylan’s death as a way to educate others about drug addiction while leading an on-campus effort to train others how to use naloxone. Commonly known as Narcan, the nasal spray or injectable medication is used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency.
Smart and Talented
The MTSU professor wants the world to know there’s more to Dylan’s story than his addiction and untimely death.
She and her husband, Mark, adopted Dylan as a newborn in Florida after experiencing infertility. They later had two biological children, including a son eight months after they brought Dylan home.
“We talked to the lawyer on a Thursday, thinking it would be at least six months before we had a baby. On Monday of the next week, we got a call that a mother who was eight months pregnant had come in, and we were the first ones on the list. We really believe it was a God thing,” Smith said.
Described by his mom as extremely bright and stubborn, Dylan thrived at sports growing up.
“He was a really good teammate, and people loved playing with him,” she said. “He was just really talented. He was very intuitive, very logical, and things just came easy to him.” But, when he was around 10 years old, Dylan was diagnosed as bipolar.
“We started noticing things fairly young, but we thought he was just all boy,” Smith said. “We didn’t really give it a second thought. Then he started having some different behavior issues.”
Struggle Begins
Dylan worked with doctors to adjust his medication. He even spent some time at a residential facility, and “things went fairly well for a while,” his mother said. He continued playing sports throughout school, did his schoolwork, and stayed close to his siblings—a constant companion to his brother, Tyler, and a protector for his sister, Katelyn.
As he got older, though, it became a struggle to get Dylan to take his medicine, especially during high school.
“You could see him leveling out. But to him, that didn’t seem normal,” Smith said. “He told us the minute he turned 18, he would not take his medicine and would leave home. He left the day after he turned 18, and he never took his medications again.”
Dylan began self-medicating with marijuana and later Adderall and methamphetamine, his mother said. He went to rehab four times during his 11 years of using.
“We were always really hopeful, but he would always walk out after a few days,” Smith said. “The last thing I texted him is that he needed to go to a long-term rehab. I wanted him to do that so that he would still be here. I think my husband and I always knew we would get that call [if he didn’t get clean].”
Before his death, Dylan had a second interview scheduled at an Ohio fast-food restaurant, excited about earning $13 an hour and aiming to buy a car. “He had plans for the future,” his mom said.
From Sorrow to Support
In the summer of 2023, months after losing Dylan, Smith knew her son’s story could make a difference. She began organizing trainings on Narcan (naloxone) on MTSU’s campus with the administration’s support, including that of Amy Aldridge Sanford, vice provost for academic programs.
“She’s heartbroken over the loss of her son, and it did not surprise me that an educator would want to educate as their activism,” Aldridge Sanford said. “She wants to create systemic change; she wants to go out and make sure that we minimize the possibility of this ever happening again.”
Since June 2023, Smith has held around a dozen training sessions at MTSU and helped educate about 475 people on Narcan with the help of the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
“Her passion is unbelievable. Unless you’ve been through it, you can’t be that kind of messenger. She’s so brave,” Aldridge Sanford said.
“She wants to save lives. As a college educator, she knows education can do that.”
In the one-hour trainings, Smith tells her son’s story, and overdose prevention specialist Brittany Laborde goes over how to administer Narcan, what happens when a person overdoses, and how Narcan works.
Saving Lives
Fentanyl is the No. 1 killer of people ages 18–45 in the U.S., and a deadly dose can be as small as 2 milligrams, according to Laborde. It is nearly impossible to know if a drug contains fentanyl without testing it.
There were 3,814 fatal overdoses in Tennessee in 2021—a 26% increase over the previous year— and almost three in four overdoses in the state involved fentanyl.
“When in doubt, administer naloxone if it is available,” Laborde recommends. She says naloxone very rarely has negative side effects if no opioids are involved, but that breathing will temporarily be restored for 30–90 minutes if an opioid overdose is occurring. It’s important to stay with the person until emergency medical services arrive, she adds.
Tennessee, like many other states, has a Good Samaritan Act that provides protection for people or agencies who administer Narcan to someone believed to be overdosing. The state’s Tennessee Addiction Treatment Act also allows the use of Narcan and provides some legal protection for the person calling for medical attention and the person experiencing an overdose.
“If I can save one person, I feel like I am at least helping,” Smith said.
She wants to save lives. As a college educator, she knows education can do that.
compiled by Nancy DeGennaro, Jimmy Hart, Drew Ruble, Stephanie Wagner, and Randy Weiler
A look at recent awards, events, and accomplishments at MTSU Historic Upgrade
Two of MTSU’s original buildings are getting a $54.3 million upgrade through a significant renovation project. Construction on Kirksey Old Main and Rutledge Hall began in May, with completion expected by summer 2026. KOM was the first building on the campus founded in 1911. KOM will continue to be home to the Mathematics, Computer Science, and Data Science departments. Rutledge will transform from a dormitory to an academic building that houses the University Studies Department. The Midgett Building, an addition to KOM that once contained the business program, will be razed to make way for a new accessible lobby on the back of KOM. The building's iconic columns will be preserved on the front.
Hoop Dreams
The MTSU women’s basketball team secured the program’s first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2007 and then led defending national champion Louisiana State University at halftime in a second-round game. In the first-round 71-69 victory over the sixth-seeded University of Louisville, the Lady Raiders erased an 18-point first-half deficit to tie the fourth-largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history. Advancing against perennial power LSU, MTSU won the second quarter 21-12 to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room before falling to the Tigers on their home court, 83-56. The Lady Raiders finished with a 30-5 record.
New accessible lobby on back of KOM
Rutledge Hall renovation rendering
Repeat National Champion
For the second consecutive year, MTSU’s equestrian team earned the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Horse and Rider-sponsored Western discipline team national championship. Jordan Martin of Murfreesboro, after finishing second in 2023, won the coveted Back on Track USA-sponsored Western High Point honor in the May 3–5 competition in North Carolina. Martin also captured the American Paint Horse Association-sponsored Horse and Rider Team Open Horsemanship. Along with the team, the Blue Raider riders had an individual qualified in all seven Western divisions, a Western high point rider, and one hunter seat rider. MTSU riders won with 47 points. Team members also included Mackenzie Latimer, Simone Allen, Sadio Barnes, Monica Braunwalder, Kenlee West, Louann Braunwalder, Regan Black, Shelby Amanns, and Alyssa Davis.
Alumni Spring Showcase Success
An Alumni Spring Showcase hosted by the MTSU Office of Alumni Relations in April invited alums to reconnect with their alma mater by participating in events, classes, and more. The nine-day event included activities such as Alumni Family Fun Night; the return of the Blue and White football game (Coach Derek Mason’s first spring game); the Department of Theatre and Dance’s presentation of the play The Ruminants ; the School of Journalism and Strategic Media’s 50th anniversary kickoff celebration featuring a career retrospective by WTVF-TV reporter Phil Williams; a reception launching the new Department of Political and Global Affairs; a mock crime scene created by the Department of Criminal Justice Administration; and the solar eclipse event at the MTSU Observatory.
Eyes on the Future
MTSU’s Board of Trustees identified the pursuit of a professional school as the first of four objectives that it feels should be the institution’s top priorities. During the board’s March meeting, trustees put MTSU’s continued inclusion in the Princeton Review’s top colleges list, movement toward designation as a top research institution, and securing more funding to renovate the 51-year-old Murphy Center among other top priorities. The board was tasked with ranking the top four among 20-plus goals put forward in a survey as the University’s priorities for 2024.
New football coach Derek Mason
MTSU Board Chair Stephen B. Smith
A Half-Century in the Making
MTSU’s School of Journalism and Strategic Media and Recording Industry Department are each celebrating their 50th year of teaching students.
MTSU’s highly regarded Recording Industry program is consistently ranked among the world’s top music business programs by Billboard magazine. Alumni have produced an impressive haul of Grammy gold and many other accolades across all facets of the music industry.
Founded in 1973 with just two professors and one studio, the department has grown to more than two dozen professors, 1,400 students, several recording studios, multiple labs, and a songwriting center.
Composed of a Commercial Songwriting program, an Audio Production program, and a Music Business program, the department has graduated more than 7,500 industry-ready alumni. Some famous names who studied at MTSU include country artist Chris Young, songwriter and producer Tay Keith, Christian artists Brandon Heath and Lecrae, country artist Hillary Scott of Lady A, rap artist and songwriter
Daisha McBride, and Grammy-winning songwriter Josh Kear, among others. Alums have also written songs for Alan Jackson, George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Lady Gaga, Usher, Wiz Khalifa, and more.
The School of Journalism and Strategic Media in the John Bragg Media and Entertainment Building now offers two degrees and 10 concentrations. It has more than two dozen faculty and 300 students.
Notable alumni include morning anchor Holly Thompson (WSMV), chief investigative reporter Phil Williams (WTVF), Don Aaron (associate administrator/public affairs director for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department), Tracey Rogers (senior vice president and regional manager for Nexstar Media Group), and anchor Katie Inman (WBIR), among many others.
Graduates work for ESPN, NBC, the Hallmark Channel, USA Today Network, the Nashville Predators, NASA, TikTok, Nissan, and Delta Air Lines, among others.
Investigative reporter and MTSU alumnus Phil Williams (l) interviewed by retired professor Leon Alligood
More Grammy Gold
MTSU alumni captured several Grammys during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Julien Baker, a 2019 English graduate, captured three Grammys out of six nominations as a member of boygenius, an indie supergroup with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
Two-time winner and alumnus Lecrae won two more Grammys for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Your Power" and also for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for Church Clothes 4
Joining Lecrae in the album Grammy win is first-time winner Connor Back , a 2018 Audio Production graduate who earned a Grammy for his mixing engineering work on Church Clothes 4 and earned a certificate for his engineering work on the song “Your Power.” Back works for Reach Records, Lecrae’s independent record label.
Jason Hall, a 2000 Recording Industry graduate, and Jimmy Mansfield, a 2014 Audio Production graduate, won Grammys for engineering, mixing, and vocals work for Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottom Country, which won Best Country Album. Hall and Mansfield have been part of past Grammy nominations. While not singled out for a nomination, Josh Kear, a 1996 History graduate with a Recording Industry minor, co-wrote the song “Watermelon Moonshine” on Bell Bottom Country
Other MTSU alumni Grammy nominees for 2024 included:
• Two-time winner Brandon Bell, a 2004 Recording Industry graduate, was part of three Grammy-nominated efforts for his engineering work.
• Two-time winner Tony Castle, a 1995 Recording Industry graduate, was nominated for his engineering work as part of the team on Willie Nelson’s Bluegrass, up for Best Bluegrass Album.
• Tay Keith, who as Brytavious Chambers graduated MTSU in 2018 with a degree in Integrated Studies and Media Management, was nominated among the songwriters for “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage, which was nominated for Best Rap Song.
• Randy LeRoy, who attended MTSU through 1991, was nominated for Best Historical Album as part of the team that produced Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from The Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971
• Phillip Smith, a 2016 Recording Industry graduate, was honored for engineering work for Brandy Clark’s self-titled album, up for Best Americana Album.
The University recognized Keith and Bell at an event at the Mama Shelter hotel rooftop spot, where alumni, industry professionals, students, and faculty gathered to reconnect and wish the school’s nominees well. President Sidney A. McPhee and Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, presented special certificates.
McPhee also caught up with Baker in Los Angeles and conferred on her the title of honorary professor of Recording Industry.
MTSU students hit the Grammy red carpet and worked the Recording Academy’s black-tie charitable fundraising event honoring legendary rocker Jon Bon Jovi as MusiCares’ Person of the Year.
The six students from MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment represented the University’s ninth trip to the music industry’s biggest awards weekend. In addition to the MusiCares event, students toured recording studios and iconic music venues and met with recording industry professionals.
In Command
Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve, visited MTSU on May 21. While on campus, Daniels met with Army ROTC cadets, toured the MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, and presented a full Minuteman ROTC scholarship to incoming MTSU freshman Morgan Sheldon of Murfreesboro, who plans to major in Exercise Science. Daniels also attended the Grand Ole Opry for the Salute the Troops event sponsored by the Daniels Center. The first female to command the Reserve component, Daniels commands more than 200,000 soldiers and civilian employees who live and work in communities across the country.
575 assistantships awarded each semester
MTSUNEWS.COM
The Right Mix
New Recording Industry Department Chair Michelle Conceison brings a strong mix of real-world experience and heart of a teacher to lead an innovative department celebrating a half-century of existence. Conceison is a business owner and artist manager who has had artists sell out world tours and chart top albums and radio singles. But she’s always been an educator at heart, coming from a family of educators. Her dad spent almost four decades teaching in public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Khalilah T. Doss was appointed as vice president of student affairs, replacing Sarah Sudak, who held the job on an interim basis for the 2023–24 academic year. Doss, who started July 15, comes to MTSU from a similar role at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville and previous service at McPherson College in Kansas and Lincoln University of Missouri. The Division of Student Affairs provides essential programs and services which support the matriculation, academic achievement, personal development, and quality of life of all MTSU students.
mtsunews.com/board-of-trusteesrecap-june2024
Artistic Impact
The College of Liberal Arts contributions to the arts community have paid off, with a study detailing how the arts and culture sector generated a staggering $52.4 million in economic activity for Rutherford County in 2022–23. Aided by MTSU’s School of Music, Department of Theatre and Dance, and Center for Chinese Music and Culture, the Rutherford Arts Alliance collected data showing MTSU and community art events supported 915 jobs and yielded almost $9.5 million in tax revenue.
MTSU’s Animation undergraduate program was ranked tops in Tennessee for 2024 by Animation Career Review, an online national and international ranking resource for animation schools. MTSU also rated No. 8 in the Top 25 Animation B.S. Degree Programs in the U.S., No. 9 in the Top 25 Animation Schools and Colleges in the South, and No. 22 for the Top 40 Public Animation Schools and Colleges in the U.S. in categories comparing animation programs of 199 schools across the country.
The College of Education and its Center for Fairness, Justice, and Equity held a signing ceremony for three of 25 students in MTSU’s first group of Tennessee Teach Back Initiative Scholars, entering this fall. Launched with support of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), the initiative recruits high school and transfer students from within highneeds, rural areas and covers costs and provides extra supports in exchange for their returning to teach in their local communities.
Nine MTSU undergraduate STEMbased researchers showcased their talents, met Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and toured the halls of state government at the annual Posters at the Capitol event in the spring. The MTSU contingent joined students from other state universities to share their projects spanning from cancer treatment to local waterway pollution. Participating students were Eden Anderson, Tori Bascou, Rose Gutierrez, Cole Huddleston, Isaiah Kam, Audrey Lauerhass, Ariel Nicastro, Sydney Robbins, and Lindsey Tran.
Scholarship for students suffering parental loss created as a memorial to Trevor Hornsby, an MTSU alumnus and greatgrandson of a baseball legend
by Brian Delaney
In the heart of middle Tennessee, the legacy of Trevor William Hornsby (’15) lives on. More than just a son, a husband, a father, or a brother, he was a beacon of love, commitment, and compassion for all who knew him.
In the wake of his death last fall, his family, friends, and Blue Raider community have come together to eternalize his memory in the most touching of ways: by paving the path for others in his name.
The Trevor Hornsby Memorial Scholarship Fund at MTSU uniquely provides support for students who have experienced the loss of a parent. Trevor left a young family behind, and his widow said she wanted to assist families who faced similar situations.
“The impact of a father on children’s lives is huge. With Trevor not being here, he can still help another family and step into a place where he could help somebody,” said Taylor Adams Hornsby (’15), his high school and college sweetheart and mother of their sons, Liam, 4, and Brooks, 2.
True Blue Through and Through
Growing up in Murfreesboro, Trevor had a family with strong ties to MTSU, as many are proud alumni. Parents Brad (’78) and Karen (’79) Hornsby raised Trevor, twin brother Austin, and their other siblings, Aubrey, Allyson (’10), and “unofficial brother” Steve Carstensen, with unwavering devotion.
As he grew, Trevor's love for sports developed, particularly for St. Louis Cardinals baseball as the great-grandson of Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby. He excelled on fields of play himself, contributing to state championships in 2008 for the Oakland High School football team and the Murfreesboro Strikers ’92 soccer squad.
Trevor also was a scholar and earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from MTSU in 2015. For nearly 10 years, he served National HealthCare Corp. in Murfreesboro, rising to the role of regional accountant.
His greatest joy came from his family. Introduced to Taylor by sister Allyson, Trevor met his soulmate at age 15. Their
love story began at an Oakland football game and unfolded with adventures around the globe.
After Taylor graduated early from Oakland and enrolled at MTSU, Trevor ultimately followed his heart to MTSU as well.
From taking a speech class together to sharing quiet moments between classes, Taylor and Trevor cherished their time as a collegiate couple, sometimes even over a meal of Chick-Fil-A while sitting outside at the Quad. In 2015, they graduated from MTSU on the same day, with Taylor earning her degree in Textiles, Merchandising, and Design.
Exploring the World Together
Trevor always found his happiest moments with Taylor by his side. They loved exploring the world together and didn’t waste a moment.
“We road-tripped through Ireland after graduation. And took a trip to Italy and Greece,” Taylor remembered fondly. “We traveled a lot together. That was our No. 1 hobby we did together.”
The couple married in 2018 and delighted in weekends relaxing at the lake, embarking on family boat rides with their two young sons.
Tragically, Trevor's journey was cut short on Oct. 28, 2023. Amid the sorrow, his family found solace in the outpouring of love and support from their community. Taylor and her extended family established the scholarship fund to honor his legacy while helping others.
“We have a big chunk of memories here [at MTSU], and Trevor was a giver,” Taylor said. “He would have really liked the idea of helping somebody who didn’t have resources of their own. Just to get them a foot ahead.”
Paying It Forward
Trevor’s dedication to his education and diligence in his accounting career is perfectly encapsulated in this scholarship.
“He was brilliant,” Taylor recalled proudly. “I think it’s fitting for the money to go toward academics because he was so naturally good at it. He had an amazing work ethic.”
With an initial contribution of $10,000 and subsequent donations from the community, the scholarship fund quickly grew beyond $40,000, a testament to the impact Trevor had on those around him.
“The Hornsby family has been overwhelmed by the support we have been given,” said Brad Hornsby, an attorney in Murfreesboro. "Trevor's memory will extend for many decades and give many students who have lost a parent an opportunity for a college education at MTSU."
Mark Clark, executive director of MTSU’s Development Office, underscores that the Hornsby Memorial Scholarship is the first of its kind. It is open to any student who has lost a parent or parents.
“We urge every student to apply for scholarships, regardless of their financial situation," Clark said. “Our scholarship application system connects applicants with suitable opportunities based on their self-reported details. Prior to this, there were no scholarships specifically tailored for students grappling with parental loss, making this newfound availability truly remarkable.”
If you would like to learn more about the scholarship or how you can create a legacy of your own, contact Mark Clark at mark.clark@mtsu.edu or 615-904-8409.
Blue Raider connections run deep
Well-versed in the impact of scholarships, Trevor Hornsby’s father, Brad, had his own educational journey propelled by the Elizabeth Buford Shepherd scholarship. The scholarship not only covered his tuition, but also provided for most of his books from 1974 to his graduation with honors in 1978.
Brad’s future wife, Karen, embarked on her own educational path at MTSU in 1975, earning a degree in Criminal Justice by 1979. Both pursued further studies at the University of Tennessee Law School, where they eventually crossed paths, and then proudly served their country in the U.S. Air Force.
In 1987, the couple returned to Murfreesboro, where Brad Hornsby has held MTSU basketball tickets as a devoted fan ever since. Their intertwined journey not only exemplifies the impact of scholarships on individual lives but also emphasizes the enduring connection between education, service, and community.
On the other side of the family, Stephen Decker— the grandfather of Trevor’s widow, Taylor—is a Communication Studies faculty member at MTSU.
1970s
Anthony Taylor (’74), Fayetteville, was inducted into the African American Credit Union Hall of Fame. In 2003, Taylor became the first African American appointed to Ascend Federal Credit Union’s Board Development Committee. Since then, he has been instrumental in propelling growth in the credit union’s assets and membership, transforming it into middle Tennessee’s largest credit union and one of the largest in the state. In 2021, Taylor was named Volunteer of the Year by the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions for his contributions within the industry.
Ricky Carroll (’77), Center Point, Alabama, is Finn Nashville’s new production manager for the integrated marketing team, shepherding advertising and marketing collateral through the production process and serving as the communications liaison between Finn and its vendors and contractors. Carroll serves clients from all practice areas, including Jack Daniel’s, Nashville Electric Service, Tractor Supply, Bridgestone, and Wincup/phade.
Andy and Cherry Womack
A former three-term state senator and State Farm Insurance agent for over 40 years, Andy Womack (’70) was recognized as the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce 2023 Business Legend of the Year. He and his wife, Cherry Womack (’68), a high school teacher for more than 25 years, were also honored for their commitment to public education at the Murfreesboro City School Foundation Excellence in Education celebration this year. Andy Womack also was the inaugural inductee into the MTSU Arts Hall of Fame.
Clyde Hall
Hall (’75) had 27 cents in his pocket when he graduated as a nurse anesthetist. He doesn’t want other students to struggle like he did. So Hall set up a scholarship fund that helps pave the way for other MTSU School of Nursing students who have persevered through tough times. Since 2015, 30 graduating Nursing students have received the Marie Potts/Clyde Hall Personal Achievement Award. Hall has enjoyed a 30-year career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist working with Dr. Fred Lovelace at Murfreesboro Anesthesia Group.
Edd Hill, Collier Woods, and Stanley Murphy
Members of the MTSU Kool Club—which stands for Knowledge, Opportunity, Optimism, and Leadership—are celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding this year as it continues its mission to provide an annual scholarship to a worthy freshman minority student. Hill (’78), Woods, and Murphy (’77, ’80, ’00), who were among the MTSU students who formed the social service group on campus in 1974, were honored earlier this year as unsung heroes at the Unity Luncheon on campus. Club members continue hosting fundraisers to maintain the scholarship, named in honor of MTSU alumnus and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Kenneth Lebron Toney. Other co-founders included Andrew Simmons, Ben Scruggs, Freeman Dukes, and Joe Tucker.
1980s
Linda Laughlin (’82), Lascassas, was acknowledged as a Pinnacle Platinum Professional for her contributions to the nurse practitioner field. She is the director of occupational health and a practitioner with the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, where she manages more than 500 employees, as well as overseeing COVID-19 care, vaccine administration, and flu campaign management. Formerly she was a nurse practitioner in the U.S. Army with a rank of lieutenant. Laughlin is also an actress who established a nonprofit community theater company, and she authored Raising Influence Acceptance in Long-Term Care
Gregory D. Smith, (’85), Clarksville, the chief judge of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Court of Indian Appeals, recently spoke at a Native American tribal court training conference in Miami, Oklahoma.
Jeff McCann (’87, ’92), Smyrna, was named school choice coordinator for Rutherford County Schools. Previously, he was principal of Thurman Francis Arts Academy.
Beth Goodner (’88), Lebanon, was appointed first assistant commissioner for children and youth mental health services by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Lisa Nix (’89), Murfreesboro, was presented the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award. Nix is a CPA and shareholder at LBMC, a top accounting and business consulting firm.
1990s
Eddie Davidson, (’92), Mount Juliet, was promoted to managing director, state government affairs and community relations, for Piedmont Natural Gas. In this role, he leads the external affairs teams in multiple states for the natural gas subsidiary of Duke Energy. Prior to joining Piedmont, he served in the administrations of former Nashville mayors Karl Dean and Bill Purcell. He also was deputy chief clerk for the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Chris Bishop (’94), Brentwood, was appointed CEO of Veterinary Innovative Partners. Prior to joining VIP, he l ed Regent Surgical Health. Bishop is an active member of the Nashville Leadership Healthcare Council and the C12 Executive Leadership Program, a founding board member of not-for-profit Cul2vate, and board of directors member for Faith Family Medical.
Kay Martin (’99, ’05), Murfreesboro, was named deputy director for Rutherford County Schools. In this newly created position, Martin supports the director in a variety of daily managerial functions of the school district, the fourth largest in Tennessee.
Jeff Ballard
Ballard (’93), CPA, CGMA, was named the new president and CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee—the state’s largest independent dental benefits carrier with 1.4 million people covered. Ballard joined Delta in 2015 as chief financial officer and was elevated to president in 2022, leading the expansion of the company’s business offerings into vision insurance and overseeing accounting, finance, risk management, sales, and underwriting. Ballard was named a CFO of the Year by the Nashville Business Journal in 2020. A member of the MTSU Accounting Advisory Board, Ballard was recognized by MTSU’s Jones College of Business with its Spirit of America Award in 2022.
Wryan Bailey
Bailey (’07), a first officer, is a pilot for Atlas Air Worldwide. He started his aviation career as an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Army helicopter pilot. Bailey is also president of the Nashville Sportsman’s Club.
Shane Smith
Smith (’97), who is director of technology at LMG Inc. in Florida, a global touring and entertainment provider, recently donated lighting equipment worth more than $18,000 to the MTSU College of Media and Entertainment to help train students to properly set up stage and studio productions.
2000s
Kim Ellis Chaudoin (’00), Brentwood, was appointed vice president of marketing and communications at Lipscomb University, where she has worked for the past 32 years.
Nic Dugger (’00), Nashville, accepted the role of executive director for the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, following five years leading its board of directors.
Michael TenBrink (’01), Milan, Italy, recently completed his master’s in Photography from Raffles Milano Istituto Moda e Design. TenBrink moved abroad to pursue the degree after nearly 25 years in marketing, first in the music industry in Nashville and then for a variety of professional services firms in San Francisco. He now works as a writer, photographer, and consultant in Milan.
Gary Sanders (’03), Chattanooga, was promoted to area executive for Tennessee at McGriff, which is part of Truist Insurance Holdings, one of the 10 largest insurance brokers in the world. Sanders now leads McGriff’s four insurance offices in Tennessee.
L. Kasimu Harris (’04), New Orleans, was announced as a Prospect 6 Artist. Prospect 6, taking place from November 2 through February 2, 2025, is the longest-running, citywide contemporary art triennial. Co-curated by Miranda Lash and Ebony G. Patterson, the triennial’s theme this year is “Where the Harbinger Lives, The End Begins.” Harris, one of only 49 artists selected globally for this honor, will exhibit new work from his critically acclaimed Vanishing Black Bars and Lounges series.
Julie Drumm (’05), Murfreesboro, joined consulting firm GBQ Partners as a director within the tax practice. Drumm joins GBQ with more than a decade of industry experience, specializing in estate, gift, and trust taxation, as well as real estate taxation.
Daniel Stegall (’05), Raleigh, North Carolina, is the new assistant director for continuous improvement and customer service for the city of Raleigh’s Planning and Development Department. Stegall has been with the city since 2016 and formerly served as its land development manager.
Kayla Hawkins
Wilson Bank & Trust promoted Hawkins (’08, ’10) to executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Hawkins has been with the bank for more than 12 years and previously served in the role of senior vice president, reporting. Before coming to WBT, Hawkins worked in public accounting at Kraft CPAs.
Shane Curry (’06), Mount Vernon, Georgia, is the new executive director of the Vidalia Onion Committee, overseeing federal marketing order 955 and working to ensure the Vidalia onion industry’s growth and success. FMO 955 was established in 1989 to stipulate where the crop can be grown and to help with research and promotion of Vidalia onions. This federal program (along with Georgia state laws that protect the Vidalia trademark) have provided a legal framework for the industry. Farmers can try to grow a sweet onion elsewhere but cannot call it a “Vidalia” unless it is from Georgia.
B.J. Kerstiens (’06), Murfreesboro, was promoted to senior vice president of services at Vortex Companies. In his new role, he will draw on over 20 years of experience in construction, 15 of them spent in the trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation industry.
Kyle McConnell (’08), Chicago, was promoted to partnership at Kaufman Dolowich. McConnell focuses his law practice on complex insurance coverage and litigation, specifically in fidelity and commercial crime, cybercrime, and financial institution bonds.
Jeremy Shulman
Shulman (’03) was hired as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee–Martin after 14 seasons as head coach at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida. Shulman directed the Titans to 11 conference titles over his final 12 seasons. He was the youngest coach in Tennessee AAU history at 16 and founded the Midstate Ballerz Elite AAU program as a senior in high school.
Amber M. Williams
The Greater Indianapolis Chapter of the American Red Cross named Williams (’10) to its board of directors. Williams, who earned a master’s at MTSU in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, currently serves as vice president of diversity, equity, and belonging for the Ivy Tech Community College system in Indiana.
Heather Moulder
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a bluegrass-themed Forever postal stamp featuring the original art of Moulder (’11). The stamp, created in honor of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, was Moulder’s first project for the USPS. She works as a designer and printer at Hatch Show Print in Nashville.
2010s
Hollie Alexander (’10), Gallatin, teaches World History and Dance 1 at Gallatin High School. She served as the Miss Tennessee outstanding teen state director from 2018 to 2021 with the Miss America Organization. In 2010, while an MTSU student, Alexander represented the University as an intern at the Tennessee State Capitol with the House Agriculture Committee. She also competed at the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant as Miss Middle Tennessee Blue Raider.
Bob Squance (’11), Murfreesboro, joined Lady Luck Songs as creative director. Squance formerly served as senior creative designer for A&R at Round Hill Music.
Antwon Woods (’13), Brandon, Mississippi, was selected as one of the recipients of Mississippi’s Most Influential African Americans for 2023–24. Woods is dean of the Alcorn State University School of Business. Before arriving at Alcorn, he served as assistant to the president for special initiatives, associate dean of the School of Business, and associate professor of Business and Sports Management at Belhaven University. Woods also led the Southern Region Assembly of the International Accreditation Council for Business Education as its president.
Sam Featherstone (’14), Chapel Hill, was promoted to senior director, commercial and digital partnerships, at Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment (formerly BMLG Records). Featherstone joined the Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) imprint in 2023 as director of streaming and currently oversees its streaming initiatives.
Sarah Poss (’14), Watertown, was promoted to director of retail banking at First Freedom Bank. Poss began her career with First Freedom as a financial service representative in 2015.
Lucas Watson (’14), Franklin, was appointed chief sales officer for Parcel Logistics North America, within the Körber Business Area Supply Chain, which offers a broad range of supply chain software and intralogistics automation solutions. Watson will lead all
business development and marketing functions for the region.
Emily Peoples (’15), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, joined Chernoff Newman, an integrated marketing communications agency, as media supervisor and digital lead, based in its Charleston office.
Ryan B. Case (’16), Hermitage, announced that his first book, Mr. Bojangles, Dance: Jerry Jeff Walker, Sammy Davis Jr., and the Song That Made Nixon Cry, was published by McFarland Books. Three men’s lives are told through the story of one song. Jerry Jeff Walker, the singer and writer behind the classic hit “Mr. Bojangles,” never would have expected that his song, inspired by an experience in a New Orleans jail cell, would make President Richard Nixon cry, or that it would be covered by Sammy Davis Jr., a supporter of Nixon.
Caleb Powell (’17), Murfreesboro, was named president of the Tennessee Recycling Coalition. Serving a three-year term, he will be responsible for overseeing the organization’s mission and goals, working with the board to grow the organization. Powell is an environmental scientist with the Office of Sustainable Practices at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Reggie Coleman (’18), Murfreesboro, was named Outstanding Middle School Music Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Music Education Association. He currently is the band director at Rocky Fork Middle School.
Catie Adams Motlow (’19), Elkmont, Alabama, was promoted to game development specialist at SAIC, a technology integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation.
2020s
Brittney Johnson, (’20), Martin, is the first MTSU alum awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. This international award will fully fund her postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge in England.
Bill Lickman
Lickman (’24), a U.S. Air Force veteran, not only survived the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., but his actions led thousands of Pentagon staff members to safety. He later received a Purple Heart for his injuries from that day.
Nearly 23 years later, the Murfreesboro resident graduated from MTSU with a bachelor’s degree in Video and Film Production and received the Veteran Leadership Award during the spring Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony. Lickman, 45, has been totally immersed at MTSU: production manager and highlight camera operator for MTSU’s ESPN+ sports broadcasts, a photographer for the Sidelines student news outlet, social media manager for MTSU’s student-run television production company, and Student Government Association veteran senator. He and his wife, Tracy, also have a son attending MTSU, Drew, who is a Computer Science major.
Serving in the Air Force for 23 years before retirement, Lickman was one of four USAF Joint Staff Military Security Forces members on duty when terrorists crashed an airliner into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. After helping people evacuate, he returned to the smoke-filled, burning building to protect critical facilities and senior Department of Defense leadership including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
1940s
Pearl Robinson Dennis (’48)
Marvin Stepp (’48)
Ruth Willis (’42)
L. Quentin Lane
Lane (’54), president emeritus of Cleveland State Community College, died peacefully at the age of 88 at his home in Fleming Island, Florida, on June 5, 2023. He graduated from MTSU at the age of 19. Named an MTSU Distinguished Alumnus in 1979, Lane was one of the founders of Cleveland State Community College, where the L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium is named after him. He also served as president of the MTSU National Alumni Association
1950s
Frank Atchley II (’51)
Phyllis Nichols Baker (’50, ’73)
Richard Brown (’56)
Phillip Davis (’59)
Jack Duggin (’57, ’58)
Frank Edwards (’52, ’71)
Anita Turner Fields (’57)
Thurman Gregg (’58)
Mary Hayes (’57)
Gladys Shadow King (’50)
Dorothy Richardson Lee (’55)
June Lenz McBride (’50, ’72)
Jimmie Juanita Merrell (’59)
James Mullins (’55, ’62)
Billy Wayne Pyle (’59, ’61)
James “Jim” Robinson (‘56, ’58)
Jo Ann Young Sharber (’58, ’72)
Mary Jane Ray Shelton (’55)
Ira W. Simmons III (’59)
Mary Trumphour (’59)
William Woodfin Sr. (’52)
1960s
Randall Armsbury (’68)
Billie Smelley Bain (’69)
Paul Barnett (’68)
Richard Beasley (’69, ’73)
Annette Woodmore Cothron (’61)
Larry Cox (’68)
Joe Don Delay (’60)
Robert “Bobby” Hall Duffey (’69)
Walter “Kim” Foster (’63)
Carl Gadsey Jr. (’63, ’74)
Phillip Harper (’60, ’69)
David Hester (’67, ’72)
Ralph Jackson (’63)
Bobby Jernigan (’64)
Norman Kaylor (’60)
Don Keaton (’61)
Cammie Carl Mangrum (’63, ’70)
Robert Mayes (’60, ’65)
Ronnie Murphy (’69)
Cynthia Wilkerson Oliphant (’63)
Albert “Chuck” Pearce (’65, ’70)
Danny Shedd (’69)
Elizabeth “Betty” Campbell Skogman (’68)
Ruth Garner Stewart (’66)
Michael Sweeney (’67)
Josh Tenpenny (’68)
Anne Dark Underhill (’67, ’71)
1970s
William “Fred” Bradley (’75)
Gary Brewer (’73)
Lois Gilling Brown (’75)
Jame Burkhalter (’70)
James Chadwell (’79)
Shirley Maxwell Clark (’76)
Katherine Dunham (’78)
Keithlin Durkee (’72, ’78)
J.W. Harper (’72)
Patricia Clifton Harwood (’70)
Brenda Bernstel Heberling (’78)
Thomas Fowler Jackson (’74)
Donna Rowlette Keene (’70)
John “Jack” McDonald (’78)
Thomas McGaugh (’73)
John Murray Jr. (’75)
Jim Powers (’72, ’73)
Martha Ann Simmons (’76)
Ronald Stansell (’71)
Roy L. Stephens (’76)
Jerome Taylor Jr. (’78)
Sandra Werth (’72)
Janet George White (’78)
Douglas Woodlee (’78)
Dimples Davis Zipperer (’75)
1980s
Paul Babcock (’83)
Donald Beck (’89)
Jeffrey Binegar (’83)
Barbara Ledbetter Daughtry (’80)
Edmond “Eddie” Deeb (’81)
David Hale (’85)
Donald Holland (’83)
Daniel Jackson (’86)
Timothy Merrell (’80)
Emily Pegg (’89)
Kathy Wright Sarno (’80)
1990s
Timothy James Brown (’99)
Meredith Moss Collier (’96)
Katherine Walls Colvin (’94)
John Davenport (’92, ’94, ’96)
Lars Leif Hall (’92)
Lucy Utt (’97)
Sandra Melson Williams (’90)
2000s
Aaron Carver (’04)
Lori Farney (’03, ’06)
Tavares Jones (’08)
Lori Pyles Lockmiller (’01)
Robert “Chris” Norton (’05)
Amy Dedrick Peterson (’02)
James “Jim” Sales (’01)
William “Franky” Sims (’02)
Deanna Hagan Thigpen (’08)
2010s
Trevor Hornsby (’15)
Michael Maren (’13)
Meghan Taylor McGuire (’10)
Michael Morrison (’10)
Davin T’Rell Sharp (’16)
John Sivilaylack (’16)
2020s
Brandon Austin Mayo (’20)
Tanner Spalding (’20)
Eddie Gossage
Gossage (’82), one of the motorsports world’s leading executives, died on May 16 at age 65. The president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway, Gossage was the 2017–18 MTSU Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and a member of the College of Media and Entertainment’s Wall of Fame. After graduating with a communications degree, Gossage worked at The Tennessean sports department, then the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in public relations before joining Speedway Motorsports in 1989. Considered a legendary racing promoter with colorful and memorable promotions and an innovator on the business side of the sport, Gossage formerly served on the board of professional advisors for the College of Media and Entertainment.
01 Raven Sage Boehms born March 29, 2023 to Sid (’13) and Charlotte Smith Boehms (’11) of Dickson
02 Stetson Alexander Smith born July 7, 2023 to Garrett and Carly Bruce Smith (’07) of Murfreesboro
03 Zayden Keith Wallace born Aug. 25, 2023 to Xavier and Kristyona Lashae Wallace (’20) of Memphis
04 Jack Vaden Freels born Oct. 26, 2023 to Michael (’08) and Clair Freels of Murfreesboro
05 Amelia Jane Shaw born Nov. 24, 2023 to Garrett (’09), and Amy Powers Shaw (’09) of Murfreesboro
06 Essie Jo Haynes born Jan. 4, 2024 to William and Caroline Taylor Haynes (’21) of Lebanon
07 Lyle Joseph Miller born Feb. 20, 2024 to Zac and Emma Sanders Miller (’20) of Greeneville
08 Riley Wren Goins born March 4, 2024 to Destin (’13) and Briana Tapp Goins (’15) of Murfreesboro
Engineering the Future
New
equipment and building to help students excel in ever-evolving landscape
by Randy Weiler
MTSU’s engineering and technology students can’t wait for their $74.8 million Applied Engineering Building to open next year, providing custom space, equipment, and hands-on experience to prepare them for ever-changing careers. They’re equally excited about more than $1 million in automation equipment that could be available as early as this fall.
Rising on the east side of campus next to the $40.1 million Concrete and Construction Management building, the 89,000-square-foot facility will house the renowned Mechatronics Engineering program and Engineering Technology. The engineering building also will provide enhanced student opportunities for faculty-led research and labs for student teams, including the Experimental Vehicles Program and robotics competitions.
The building’s opening by fall 2025 “will be the finishing touch to what we’ve named the Science Corridor of Innovation,” MTSU President Sidney McPhee said. The centerpiece of the corridor is the 250,000-square-foot Science Building, which opened in 2014 as the single largest investment by the state for an academic facility.
The engineering building “signifies a bridge across generations that is represented in the lives of current students and recent graduates—a bridge that is being forged by an active advisory board that is supporting stateof-the-art technology to ensure students can navigate a changing technological landscape,” said Ken Currie,
of the Engineering Technology Department.
chair
Even before the new building opens, students will soon utilize 10 FLEXBASE automation work centers transferred from Dexcom that are valued at $920,000. Automation Nth, based in La Vergne, has committed more than $100,000 in supplies and services to upgrade the units.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for engineering students to develop their skills with robotics for real-world industry experience and hands-on educational opportunities,” said Daniel Wetter, a rising junior Mechatronics Engineering major.
“I’m looking forward to the capabilities of our new building and the equipment that will allow us to further understand real-world robotics applications.”
Currie said this new equipment involves “totally integrated work cells with robotics, vision systems, and controls that need to be programmed to meet project limitations and constraints. . . . The beauty of these automation work cells is that each subsystem is modular and easily upgraded if machine learning or advancements in controls were to make quantum leaps forward.”
The new building will also have industry-inspired automation and fabrication labs, including the 2,000-square-foot Dexcom Automation Laboratory and 500-square-foot Automation Nth Vision Systems Lab that showcase these two companies.
This equipment and two robots on order—for the Gould Mechatronics Robotics Lab and the Co-Bot Workplace Development Center—will help “bridge the gap between industry and education,” Currie said.
There’s no time like the present to prepare for the future.
View video renderings of the Applied Engineering Building
