Middle Tennessee State University

Middle Tennessee State University Public Health Program students spent the spring semester planning and producing the inaugural observance on campus of National Public Health Week. The student-led events highlighted one of the nation's most pressing health issues - addiction - and brought attention to climate change and potential careers for public health professionals.

Middle Tennessee State University senior journalism major Tiffany Parker has been focused on working with local media outlets to gain expertise in her field. But during the spring semester, her academic career took a different turn after the Murfreesboro resident was recruited to work in the office of Tennessee Rep. Mike Sparks, an MTSU alumnus, during the 114th General Assembly, which concluded recently.

Cameron Morelli, a physics and mathematics double major at Middle Tennessee State University, has been selected to participate in a prestigious Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in physics at the University of Arkansas during summer 2025.

Four Japanese language students at Middle Tennessee State University earned runner-up in Level 1 of the competitive 2025 Tennessee Japanese Video Skit and Presentation Contest. Held annually each spring semester, the contest is open to college students studying Japanese across Tennessee and includes both group skits and individual presentations depending on student proficiency.

Middle Tennessee State University Honors College student Olivia Vickers, a Chemistry major, has been selected for a highly competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the University of Minnesota, where she will spend the summer conducting full-time, hands-on research in polymer chemistry.

Middle Tennessee State University Honors College senior John Tate has been accepted into the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, a significant step toward his dream of working in Japanese television. Tate, a Video and Film Production major with a concentration in Live Production, graduates this semester and will head to Japan in August to serve as an Assistant Language Teacher.

Middle Tennessee State University's Isaac Puckett, of Whites Creek, has been named a 2025 recipient of the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, an award recognizing the nation's most promising undergraduate students in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics.

The Middle Tennessee State University chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi has announced Kylie Petrovich as the second recipient of the prestigious Chapter 246 Graduate Scholar Award. The award, a one-time scholarship of $1,000, is granted to active Phi Kappa Phi members pursuing graduate studies at MTSU.

Several Middle Tennessee State University students were recently honored for their exceptional creative talents through the Spring 2025 Creative Expression Awards, presented by Collage: A Journal of Creative Expression. The biannual awards recognize outstanding student work across a variety of artistic and literary categories. Established in honor of Martha Hixon - chair of the 2004 Collage Ad Hoc Committee and longtime advisory board member - and memory of art professor Lon Nuell, the awards celebrate artistic and literary excellence at MTSU.

Middle Tennessee State University's Nancy Prescott has been named to the 2025 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Student Voting Honor Roll, recognizing her outstanding efforts to promote nonpartisan student civic engagement on campus.

Assistant professor of cello and academic studies Bryan Hayslett, along with Annalisa Thomas, a senior majoring in music, and Jayna Powell, a graduate teaching assistant working on her Master of Music, led the event for around 30 students ages 5 to 20 at John Gray High School in George Town, Cayman Islands. The workshop gave participants opportunities to take part in lessons and small and large ensembles to help expand their playing techniques. Each Caymanian student plays multiple instruments, and Thomas said they had an "astute ear" for listening to each other.

Middle Tennessee State University students assembled the vibrant fashions of the 1980s with the newest exhibit, "Retro Rewind: Treasures from the Historic Costume Collection," on display through Saturday, March 22, in Todd Art Gallery on campus.Hosted by MTSU's Department of Human Sciences, the exhibit features iconic 1980s couture from the Historic Costume Collection from MTSU's Textiles, Merchandising and Design Program, or TXMD, that captures the decade's diversity and extravagance.

Middle Tennessee State University students connect with potential employers at the annual Tourism and Hospitality/Leisure and Sport Management Career Fair on campus.

Middle Tennessee State University students Anna Jacobellis, communications major from Smyrna, Tennessee, and Claire Holbrook, recording industry major from Meridianville, Alabama, were named Trailblazer Award recipients at the inaugural Women's Celebration Dinner and annual Trailblazer Awards held Wednesday, March 5.

Middle Tennessee State University Japanese major Jordyn Caudle was chosen by the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the prestigious 2025 Kakehashi Project in February. The Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville nominated Caudle, the first MTSU student selected for the exchange.

Middle Tennessee State University's debate team will participate in two friendly debates against the Irish Times National Debate Champions from Ireland this week, continuing a decade's long relationship. The Irish Times National Debate Champions team typically visits five to seven universities around the United States during their visit, with MTSU being the first stop.

Middle Tennessee State University College of Education senior Haley Ferguson of Spring Hill was among 15 "Everyday Americans" invited as special guests by first lady Melania Trump to attend President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, in Washington, D.C.

Middle Tennessee State University has released the final graduate list and congratulates the students who received their degrees at its fall 2024 commencement ceremony. MTSU's fall commencement saluted members of the final Class of 2024 during two cermonies in Murphy Center to confer their degrees.

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.

The Buchanan Fellowship, MTSU's most prestigious scholarship, proudly welcomes students to its 2025 cohort!

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.

All the hard work and preparation paid off for Middle Tennessee State University senior Carley Vogel, fresh off a second runner-up at the Miss America pageant earlier this month in Orlando, Florida. "Participating in the pageant itself was surreal. It was an honor to share the stage with such incredible women and to represent Tennessee, a state I love dearly," said Vogel. "The connections I made and the stories I heard reinforced my belief in the power of community and advocacy." A music business major in MTSU's College of Media and Entertainment minoring in musical theatre in the College of Liberal Arts, the Kennesaw, Georgia, resident called preparing for the Jan. 5 pageant one of her life's most challenging and rewarding experiences.

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 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/.

The second MTSU Jazz Artist Series concert is set for Feb. 6 on campus featuring vocalist Sandra Dudley, who will perform with members of MTSU Combo 1. The concert will feature members of the top student and graduate combo in the jazz studies program, including Dylan Kubilus (alto saxophone), Daniel Kuk (piano), Ethan Assad (bass) and Miles Damaso (drums). The concert will also include a guest appearance by faculty jazz saxophonist Don Aliquo.

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's College of Basic and Applied Sciences recently held its three-minute thesis (3MT@MT) graduate video competition. Twenty-three combined master's and doctoral students from eight departments submitted three-minute videos describing their research. Videos were evaluated by faculty and winners presented live at a Dec. 5 celebration event in Science Building Room 1006.