Middle Tennessee State University

Middle Tennessee State University's Department of Theatre and Dance students are proud to present "Our Town," a play that presents the story of the fictional American town in the early 1900s through the ordinary daily lives of its citizens. "Our Town" runs Thursday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee performance on Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. at MTSU's Tucker Theatre at 615 Champion Way. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $7 for seniors and $5 for students K-12. They can be purchased online at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php or the Tucker Theatre box office before each performance. Directed by assistant professor Lauren Shouse, "Our Town" was written by Thornton Wilder and was first performed in Princeton, New Jersey, on Jan. 22, 1938. The three-act play was later successful on Broadway and earned the Pulitzer Prize for drama. "Our audience can expect to see a new take on 'Our Town' as we approach this timeless story with a focus on community," Shouse said. "The play asks whether living in the present in every moment is possible. While that is challenging in our daily lives, we hope the play can be a wakeup call to pay more attention to the things that make life worth living." "Our Town" is an exploration of the fictional town Grover's Corners, following different events and moments in the lives of the people who live there between 1901 and 1913. It begins by looking at childhood and adolescence, then marriage into death. The stage manager narrates these events and moments throughout, frequently speaking directly to the audience. The play is mostly performed without a set on a bare stage. The 25-student cast members and crew began working on the production in late November.

Middle Tennessee State University Honors student Victoria Grigsby has been accepted into the highly competitive Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University. The program is hosted by Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs this summer.

Middle Tennessee State University sophomore Hannah Ferreira has been named a recipient of the U.S. Department of State's John S. McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship), a prestigious award that provides $5,000 to military dependents for study abroad experiences. She is the second student at MTSU to receive this award. Ferreira, a psychology and political science double major with a pre-law concentration and a University Honors minor, is from Clarksville, Tennessee. She will use the scholarship to study the history of psychology in Austria through an MTSU Signature Program.

Middle Tennessee State University archaeology students are getting hands-on with history through ongoing research at the site of one of Nashville's first post-Civil War Black neighborhoods. Led by Department of Sociology and Anthropology professor Andrew Wyatt, the Bass Street Community Archaeology Project provides experiential learning in the basics of fieldwork for students while preserving an important part of Black history.

Three Middle State University School of Journalism students were among 12 students from across the state immersed in real-world media through participation in The Tennessean's second annual Journalism Academy. Hannah Carley, Shauna Reynolds and Brianna Sorrell from MTSU's School of Journalism and Strategic Media joined professional journalists for three days of learning, networking and mentorship at the newspaper and digital outlet's Nashville office in early January. The Tennessean Journalism Academy allowed students to see a professional news organization and expand their contacts with experienced journalists and students across Tennessee. Participants also learned about writing and reporting, investigating, digital production, and applying for jobs.

Middle Tennessee State University students Cameron Weatherspoon, president of Kappa Xi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at MTSU, and Madison Pearson, recording secretary and sergeant at arms for Eta Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at MTSU, both made presentations at the university's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration held Wednesday, Jan. 22, on campus.

Middle Tennessee State University interior architecture major Annalise Phillips of Nolensville earned top honors at the 29th annual Planning and Visual Educational Partnership, or PAVE, International Student Design Competition. Phillips was one of three finalists for the prestigious PAVE Global competition in 2024 that drew entries from 107 educational institutions across 28 countries, representing a wide variety of disciplines like interior design, retail planning, graphic design and industrial design.

Middle Tennessee State University tourism and hospitality management majors Sosina Bekele and Kenady Rix were selected for the inaugural class of student ambassadors at the 2024 Tennessee Governor's Conference on Hospitality and Tourism in Chattanooga.

Middle Tennessee State University is congratulating 6,478 students who appear on the dean's list for the fall 2024 semester. To qualify for this distinction, an undergraduate student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours. The complete list of honorees, compiled by the MTSU Registrar's Office and alphabetized by the students' surnames and home counties or country, also is available as a searchable PDF in this story at MTSUNews.com, the university's news site: https://mtsunews.com/deans-list-fall-2024/.

Middle Tennessee State University Public Health program students, in partnership with the MTSU Center for Health and Human Services, recently completed a three-year analysis of drug use stigma among people in rural communities. For the third year in a row, student volunteers were tasked with asking a random selection of visitors at the Wilson County Fair-Tennessee State Fair, held each August, about their thoughts and perceptions regarding individuals who struggle with addiction.

It was a summer opportunity of a lifetime for Middle Tennessee State University video and film production student Tobin Smith as he spent nearly a month in Paris, France, working production for NBC Sports during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

The University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University recently inducted 20 students as Buchanan Fellows for the 2024-25 academic year.

Five years after launching, Middle Tennessee State University's Tourism and Hospitality Management program has been designated as the first and only accredited hospitality degree program in the state by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration. Learning about MTSU's tourism and hospitality program was a game-changer for junior Kenady Rix, who was awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association Education Fund. "I have a natural passion for serving others, and I've always worked above and beyond in any employment role that I'm in to serve guests well," Rix said.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology students at Middle Tennessee State University are getting real-world experience collaborating with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to identify future leaders for the agency. This summer, more than 200 THP troopers and sergeants vying for promotions underwent a multifaceted examination process designed by students and faculty in MTSU's Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, or COHRE.

Middle Tennessee State University is congratulating the students who received their degrees at its spring 2024 commencement ceremony. MTSU's summer commencement saluted members of the second Class of 2024 during two cermonies in Murphy Center to confer their degrees.

Middle Tennessee State University Honors students Dante Buttrey, Hannah Ferreira, Victoria Grigsby, and R.J. Ware; Experiential Learning student Marcus Rosario; and Graduate Studies student Nancy Prescott presented poster research at the national Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement meeting, the annual conference of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities this year held in Detroit, Michigan.

Nine Middle Tennessee State University undergraduates and one faculty member are participating in prestigious National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates, or REU, grant programs this summer.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is proud to announce the 2024 Study Abroad Grant recipients. The grants, worth $1,000, were awarded to 125 students nationwide.

The Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raider equestrian Western team recenlty earned the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Horse and Rider-sponsored Western discipline team national championship for the second consecutive year.

Two Middle Tennessee State University students Elliot Certain, a social work major, and Brian Maxwell, a video and film production major, and faculty member Jill Austin, management professor, were recently bestowed the 2024 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award at the state Capitol.

Four Middle Tennessee State University students earned top prizes and recognition for their artistic talents in designing lapel pins for True Blue Core, the newly revamped general education program at the university.

The Omicron Delta Kappa Circle of Middle Tennessee State University recently inducted 16 new members.

In his junior year at Middle Tennessee State University, Carlos Aldana Lira was awarded a Research Experience for Undergraduates, called DUB, to attend the University of Washington in Seattle to conduct computer science education research this summer.

Two Middle Tennessee State University Honors students were accepted to attend the 2023 First Generation Student Forum at American Enterprise Institute's Washington, D.C., headquarters in November.

The Middle Tennessee State University Chair of Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning, or COE-URP, aims to encourage dialogue about pressing urban and regional issues in the Middle Tennessee region. Announced in the spring and launched Fall 2023, the COE-URP Scholars Program is a nine-month research and engagement program for undergraduate students designed to bring students, professors and community members together to address pressing urban and regional concerns through academic research.

"Each year, ISI reviews hundreds of applications to this program in search of students with great promise who will become leaders in fields ranging from business to medicine," said Tom Sarrouf, associate programs officer for ISI. The mission of ISI is to inspire college students to discover, embrace, and advance the principles and virtues that make America free and prosperous. To further this mission, ISI has chapters on college campuses across the nation, supports student journalism, publishes the Modern Age periodical, and conducts conferences like the honors program.