TRAIN

TRUE HERITAGE

A significant preservation partnership between former Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist, wife Tracy Frist, and MTSU Anthropology professor Kevin Smith (pictured at right) relates to a Frist-owned property on the banks of the Harpeth River in Williamson County. Dr. Frist, a heart and lung transplant surgeon and former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, and his wife, an educator, writer, and accomplished equestrian from Virginia who is one-quarter Native American, purchased the land in 2015 with the aim of preserving the site called “Old Town.” The property contains the remains of a people whose nomadic forbearers arrived in the region some 12,000 years ago. Smith, an internationally recognized scholar on middle Tennessee’s archaeology, was the 2017 recipient of the MTSU Foundation’s Career Achievement Award, the pinnacle of recognition for stellar MTSU professors.

TRUE STEWARD

MTSU’s Board of Trustees in September 2017 confirmed the appointment of Mark Byrnes as the institution’s provost and chief academic officer. Interim provost since May 2016, Byrnes completed a B.S. in Political Science at MTSU in 1983. He earned a diploma in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, as well as a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. A specialist in American government and politics, Byrnes joined the Political Science faculty at MTSU in 1991. He is a nationally recognized expert on the presidency and has published books on NASA, President James K. Polk, and Tennessee politics. Byrnes previously served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 2010 until his appointment as interim provost. He also was elected to the Rutherford County Board of Education from 2004 to 2012, chosen chair for four years, and selected vice chair for three years.

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TRUE ENERGY

TRUE DIAMOND

We don’t just attract some of the best student-athletes around—we also attract the best coaches. In 2017–18, Jim Toman was named the 22nd baseball coach in MTSU history. He brings a wealth of experience and success to the program as both a head coach and top assistant in two Power 5 conferences (ACC and SEC). Regarded as a top-flight national recruiter, he fashioned a 329-205-1 record in his nine seasons as head coach at Liberty in the Big South Conference. Toman also spent 18 years as Ray Tanner’s top assistant at the University of South Carolina and at North Carolina State University. During his career, Toman has presided over 15 Top 25 recruiting classes, including 11 consecutive during one stretch. Next, a new era for Blue Raiders men’s basketball began in March 2018 as Nick McDevitt was selected as the 20th head coach in MTSU school history. McDevitt arrived in Murfreesboro following a five-year tenure as head coach at the University of North Carolina–Asheville, where he led the Bulldogs to a 98-66 overall record, including three consecutive 20-win campaigns in the last three seasons. McDevitt’s teams also made three consecutive postseason appearances, starting with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

TRUE EXPLORATION

Charles H. Apigian, director of the Data Science Institute in the Jones College of Business, with MTSU students

MTSU’s newest degree programs, majors, and academic initiatives and endeavors match student curricula with real-world preparedness, providing students the inspiration to remain enrolled in classes and in pursuit of their dreams.

Mars colonization, self-driving cars, and integrated health care databases are all big topics that require “big data” to address and are among research areas being explored initially by MTSU’s new Data Science Institute. The mission for the institute, which launched during the reporting period, is to promote funded interdisciplinary research and develop public and private collaborations around the emerging field of big data.

Many companies don’t know how to analyze and bring that together to make good business decisions. So in the last few years, data science has moved to the forefront, adding business value and helping businesses make better decisions based on data.

The Data Science Institute seeks to create opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate on interdisciplinary research; bring in substantial grants and funding for interdisciplinary data projects; and establish big data partnerships and projects with companies and other external entities. The interdisciplinary nature of the institute is critical because a given big data project could require the expertise of faculty from disciplines ranging from agribusiness and sociology to chemistry and information systems. train 35

People who are engaged in the world around them, who are intel- lectually curious and understand nuance, add a great deal to our Tennessee citizenry and have a much better chance of achieving innovation and solutions than people who lack those abilities.

TRUE COMMUNITY cultivate: “to prepare and use . . . “to try to acquire or develop (a quality, sentiment, or skill) . . .

In a day and age where our society seems to constantly transform and shift, the ability to cultivate stu- dents and graduates who can keep their eyes open and to see the big picture—the picture that serves the community, the state, and the nation best—may be the most valuable skill we impart at MTSU,

TRUE EXPRESSION

As the 2018 midterm elections approached, MTSU announced the dynamic new True Blue Voter initiative designed to engage students in civic participation and leadership through voting.

A model partnership between MTSU and the local election commission, True Blue Voter sets an example for other colleges and universities throughout the state to connect with students on campus during events like orientation and in other places where they live and study, making it easy and convenient for them to register to vote.

Throughout our summer CUSTOMS orientation sessions and at several fall semester events leading up to the November 2018 election, the Rutherford County Election Commission, MTSU Student Government Association, and leadership of the MTSU American Democracy Project (ADP) provided expertise on registration procedures and voting practices.

This effort is needed. According to the National Study of Voting, Learning, and Engagement, 44.5% of MTSU students voted in 2016. That’s a slight increase from 44% in 2012, but still ranked below the national average of 50.4% for college students.

Civically engaged college students are more likely to carry forward their civic involvement as they move into careers and future home communities, becoming engaged and active citizens for life.

Spearheaded by MTSU Board Chair Steve B. Smith, the True Blue Voter initiative seeks to increase the number of MTSU students who are registered to vote to 85% and those who vote to 55% by 2020.

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TRUE DIVERSITY

Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and alumni joined hands and formed a human chain across the campus of MTSU on Nov. 6, 2017, in a strong show of unity and as a demonstration of solidarity across a diverse campus. Participants linked hands for about 15 minutes in between classes.

The event, one of several programs and activities on campus recently as an outgrowth of a meeting between myself and the MTSU Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Advisory Board, mirrored the 1986 Hands Across America event. During that historic event, Americans embraced each other in a human chain to show their support in the fight against hunger and homelessness.