MAY

Physician Assistant First

MTSU’s new Physician Assistant Studies, graduate program had been a decade in the making, and the University marked the occasion with a grand opening event May 13.

Held in the lobby of the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building on campus, the celebration included a ribbon-cutting and tour of the new lab space.

It’s the only public program in middle Tennessee.

Successful candidates in the 27-month program will earn a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies.

Physician assistants are licensed to diagnose and treat illness and disease, prescribe medication, and perform procedures. They work in collaboration with licensed physicians in a variety of settings, including hospitals and clinics.

Physician assistant (PA) is one of the fastest-growing occupational sectors in the Midstate, with a growth rate of 42% and with one-third of all PA positions in Tennessee located in the Metro Nashville area.

Support For Free Speech

In May 2022, internet entrepreneur Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, and his philanthropic foundation presented a second $25,000 gift to help the MTSU Free Speech Center expand its programs and services.

Craig Newmark Philanthropies, known for funding Newmark's longtime support of journalism initiatives, said MTSU’s Free Speech Center, which works to educate the public about the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, “plays a serious role” in preserving democracy.

The nonpartisan public policy center, based in MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment, serves myriad audiences but focuses on high schools and colleges across the country to build students’ understanding of the First Amendment’s guarantees of free speech, press, religion, assembly, and petitioning the government.

The Newmark organization previously invested in the center’s work with a $25,000 gift to the Free Speech Center in October 2020.

American Idol

In advance of her appearance in the season finale of American Idol, MTSU alumna Hunter Wolkonowski went home to Winchester, Tennessee, Tuesday, on May 17 to bask in the love and support of her fellow Franklin Countians.

Popularly known as HunterGirl, the 23-year-old country singer-songwriter would eventually finish second in the talent competition program.

Wolkonowski, who graduated from MTSU in spring 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in the Department of Recording Industry’s Music Business program, took a songwriting class from Odie Blackmon, an associate Recording Industry professor, in 2019. Blackmon presented her with an honorary professorship from her alma mater during the celebration of her Idol success outside the Oldham Theatre on the public square of her hometown.