Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as
MTSU, is a
publicA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in
MurfreesboroMurfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 101,753 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2009 report, up from 81,393 residents certified during the city's 2005 special census. The center of population of Tennessee is...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
.
Founded in 1911 as an education college, the university is comprised seven colleges offering over 60 degree programs through 35 departments. Enrollment in the Spring of 2009 was 22,516. Of these, 19,919 were undergraduates, and 2,597 were graduate students. It is currently the second-largest institution of higher learning in Tennessee by enrollment, trailing only The
University of TennesseeThe University of Tennessee , sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville...
at
KnoxvilleFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the largest city in East Tennessee. As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890; the July 2007...
.
MTSU is part of the
Tennessee Board of RegentsThe Tennessee Board of Regents as currently constituted is authorized by an act of the Tennessee General Assembly passed in 1972. It supervises all public institutions of higher education in Tennessee not governed by the University of Tennessee system, including four-year...
, and is
accreditedAccreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies ; hence they are sometimes known as "accredited...
by the
Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is a regional educational accreditation agency for over 13,000 public and private educational institutions ranging from preschool to college level in the southern United States...
Commission on Colleges. Its current president is Sidney A. McPhee.
History
In 1909, the General Assembly of the State of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
moved “to provide for the improvement of the system of Public Education of the State of Tennessee, that is to say, to establish a General Education Fund.” The major thrust of this “improvement” embodied in the legislative act that was to become known as the General Education Bill of 1909 was the establishment of three normals or teacher-training institutions. Following the intent of the act that one was to be located in each of the grand divisions of the state, the State Board of Education assigned the middle Tennessee institution
to Murfreesboro.
Opening on September 11, 1911, with a two-year program for training teachers, Middle Tennessee State Normal School evolved into a four-year teachers college in 1925 with the power of granting the Bachelor of Science degree. In 1943, the General Assembly designated the institution a state college. This new status marked a sharp departure from the founding purpose and opened the way for expanding curricular offerings and programs. In 1965, the institution was advanced to university status.
During the progressive movement from a two-year normal to a university, several significant milestones may be identified. In 1936, the Bachelor of Arts program was added. Responding to the expressed needs of the institution’s service area, the Graduate School was established in 1951. To effect better communications and improve administrative supervision, the schools concept was introduced in 1962.
As Middle Tennessee State University developed and grew, the Doctor of Arts program was added in 1970 and the Specialist in Education in 1974. These two degree programs became attractive centerpieces for other efforts to improve and enhance institutional roles. Library resources were dramatically increased and sophisticated computer services were developed to aid instruction and administration. A highly trained faculty enabled the University to continue growth in program offerings. In 1991, the University’s six schools—five undergraduate and the graduate school—became colleges. In 1998, MTSU’s Honors Program became the Honors College, the first in the state. In 2002, approval was granted to redesignate three D.A. programs to Doctor of Philosophy programs, expanding the progressive institution’s offerings.
Since 1911, MTSU has graduated more than 90,000 students. Despite the University’s growth from a campus of 100 acres, 125 students, and a faculty of 19, to an academic city of over 500 acres, more than 22,000 students, and a faculty of over 800, the institution is still essentially a “people’s university” with a concern for the diverse needs of the area that it serves. In the 1980s and ’90s, the institution dedicated resources to become a leader in technology, both in the classroom and in many services to students. In 1986, James McGill Buchanan (’40) became the first MTSU alumnus to be
awarded the Nobel Prize. Buchanan received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his development of the theory of public choice, a way of studying the expenditure of public funds.
Academics
MTSU is divided into seven colleges:
- College of Basic and Applied Sciences
- College of Education and Behavioral Science
- College of Graduate Studies
- College of Liberal Arts
- College of Mass Communication
- Jennings A. Jones College of Business
- University Honors College
The College of Graduate Studies offers Master's degrees in nine areas, the Specialist in Education degree, and the Doctor of Arts degree. MTSU's first Ph.D. was awarded in May 2003, though the university had awarded many Doctor of Arts degrees in the past.
Middle Tennessee State University employs approximately 900 full-time faculty members, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 22:1.
Department of Recording Industry
The Department of Recording Industry (often called "RIM" for its former name "Recording Industry Management") is a department in the College of Mass Communications and the university's most popular program. Due to the large number of students in the program, only a limited number of slots are opened for students to gain candidacy to take upper-division classes. The RIM program is divided into three concentrations: Music Business, Commercial Songwriting, and Production & Technology. Music Business focuses on the marketing, management, and business aspects of the recording, touring, and publishing industries. The Production and Technology concentration focuses on recording, mixing, and mastering techniques, and specific technological trends of the industry. Commercial Songwriting is a blend of music business, songwriting, and music theory classes.
The department boasts five recording studios on campus, each open 24 hours a day.
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
recognized MTSU as having "one of the preeminent music business programs in the country," and
SPARSThe Society of Professional Audio Recording Services, or SPARS for short, is an organization that holds conferences and publishes papers about the professional audio community. Its members include many of the top audio engineers working in the industry today....
has noted that "the faculty [of the recording program] are impressive and first rate."
Department of Aerospace
The Department of Aerospace has a working agreement with the single-runway Murfreesboro Airport to provide many of its classes on-site. A decommissioned
Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner. The first Boeing 727 flew in 1963 and for over a decade it was the most produced commercial jet airliner in the world. When production ended in 1984, a total of 1,831 aircraft had been produced...
airliner (number N117FE, donated by
FedExFedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1978 until 2000.-History:FedEx Corporation was...
) is housed at the airport as a teaching tool. Though no longer considered air-worthy due to the runway being long enough for the aircraft to land but not long enough to take off, its engines remain functional, and can be restarted for training purposes.
American Airlines
has also donated a 727 cockpit procedure trainer to MTSU, which allows students to receive their flight engineer rating. It is housed in the Business & Aerospace Building near the center of campus.
Concrete Industry Management
The Concrete Industry Management program is a four year bachelor of science degree offered through the Engineering Technology and Industrial Studies department in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. CIM develops graduates that are broadly educated with technical knowledge in addition to a solid business background. Known for its close industry ties and very high job placement rates, CIM has become the fastest growing major on campus and boasts around 300 students. It was started in 1996 by industry professionals and companies to meet the demand for educated professionals in an expanding and changing industry. CIM at MTSU was the first of its kind in the country. Other CIM programs have since started at
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 68,064 as of fall 2009...
and
New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. NJIT offers 100 degree programs in 27 undergraduate majors and 30 graduate specialties....
.
Campus Information
The campus, set on 466 acres (1.9 km²), features 109 permanent buildings with 3.8 million square feet (353,000 m²) of space. It is located one mile (1.6 km) from the geographic center of Tennessee, and 1.3 miles (2 km) east of downtown Murfreesboro. The campus is mostly flat, much like the landscape of Murfreesboro.
The campus takes the general shape of a rectangle and automobile traffic is mostly confined to the campus perimeter. Its borders, however, are generally defined by four high-traffic Murfreesboro thoroughfares: Greenland Boulevard on the north, Middle Tennessee Boulevard on the west, Rutherford Boulevard on the east, and East Main Street on the south. Parking lots for students border these streets on the outer perimeter of campus.
MTSU has never been linked directly to
Interstate 24Interstate 24 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. I-24 runs from Interstate 57 to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at Interstate 75....
, though there are two main arteries from the interstate. One is via Exit 80, which connects to New Salem Highway, intersects with Middle Tennessee Boulevard, and eventually leads to campus. The other is through Exit 81, which connects to Church Street, intersects with Rutherford Boulevard, and leads to the university's main entrance at MTSU Boulevard.
Middle Tennessee State University is a "dry campus," meaning alcoholic beverages are prohibited at all times.
Campus Layout
The western section of campus contains most of the college's original buildings. The college's oldest classroom building, Kirksey Old Main, lies adjacent to Peck Hall. The original dormitories - Monohan, Lyon, and Rutledge Halls - line the western edge of campus. Service buildings such as the James Union Building and the Cope Administration Building are on the western edge of campus. Liberal arts buildings, such as Peck Hall, Jones Hall, and Saunders Fine Arts, occupy the majority of west campus. Other structures, such as the Wiser-Patton Science Building and the Naked Eye Observatory also lie on the western part of campus. Athletic facilities such as the
Murphy CenterCharles M. Murphy Athletic Center is the name of the main athletic department building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States. The building was built in 1973 and named in honor of Charles M. Murphy, a standout athlete at the college in the 1930s...
, Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, the Alumni Memorial Gym, Reese Smith Jr. Field, and the university's tennis courts are also on the western part of campus.
Central campus contains student service buildings and more dormitories. The Keathley University Center is the student union of MTSU, containing a cafeteria, bookstore, post office, and many student service offices. The new KUC amd College of Education Building is currently being erected on the west side of campus between Cummings Hall and the Recreation Center. The Woodmore CyberCafe also contains a cafeteria for students. Dormitory halls such as Smith, Beasley, Sims, Gracy, and Judd lie central to campus. Classroom buildings, such as the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building, Forrest Hall, and the Photography building are also located in the center of campus.
The eastern part of campus houses the main quadrangle of MTSU, encompassing the Learning Resource Center, the Business and Aerospace Building, the Mass Communications Building, and the James E. Walker Library. East campus is also home to many dorms, including the honors dorm Wood-Felder, Clement, Gore, Nicks, Deere, and the two seven-story dormitories - Cummings and Corlew. On the far east of campus lies the Paul W. Martin Honors Building, Ezell and Abernathy Halls, the recreation center, and two apartment complexes - Scarlett Commons and Womack Lane. On the very extreme east of campus facing Rutherford Boulevard lies Greek Row.
Residences
There are twenty on-campus dormitories on MTSU's campus, and two apartment complexes. Unlike most universities, only 15% of MTSU's students live in on campus. A large majority of students live in apartment complexes surrounding the university. Eight
fraternityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
houses are located on Greek Row, and a few other fraternities have off-campus housing locations. No sorority houses have opened at MTSU.
Media Outlets
Due to a significant emphasis on Mass Communication at MTSU, the campus has several mass media outlets.
Sidelines is the campus's newspaper, printed every Monday and Thursday. MTTV, a student-run TV station, is carried locally by
ComcastComcast Corporation , founded in 1963, is the largest cable operator in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers. Comcast is headquartered in the One Comcast Center in Center City, Philadelphia,...
. The two radio stations on MTSU's campus are
WMTS' is a student run radio station licensed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA. The station is currently owned by Middle Tennessee State University....
, a student-run radio station, and
WMOTWMOT is a radio station featuring jazz music programming and serving the metropolitan Nashville market. It is licensed to Middle Tennessee State University, located in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Its signal can be heard most clearly in the counties surrounding Nashville. It uses the branding...
, a publicly supported jazz radio station.
Student Organizations
The university is host to approximately 225 student organizations, fraternities, and interest groups. In addition, MTSU's Greek Life consists of the following social fraternities and sororities:
Twelve
IFCThe North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...
fraternities:
Alpha Gamma RhoAlpha Gamma Rho is a social/professional fraternity in the United States, with 72 university chapters. Though primarily a social organization, its members pride themselves on their affiliations to the life sciences and agricultural sciences....
,
Alpha Tau OmegaATΩ is an American Leadership fraternity that annually ranks among the top ten national fraternities for number of chapters, and total number of members. ATO has more than 250 active and inactive chapters with more than 200,000 members and more than 6,500 active undergraduate members...
,
Beta Theta PiBeta Theta Pi is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi...
,
Kappa Alpha OrderKappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
,
Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is an international secret social Greek-letter college fraternity. It was founded at 47 West Range at the University of Virginia in the United States on Sunday evening, March 1 1868.-History:...
,
Pi Kappa PhiPi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The fraternity has 142 active chapters, 93 alumni groups, 21 colonies, and...
,
Sigma Alpha EpsilonSigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, it is the only fraternity founded in the Antebellum South still in operation...
,
Sigma NuSigma Nu is an undergraduate social college fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
,
Sigma PiSigma Pi is an international college social fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Like most social fraternities, membership is by invitation and limited to men...
,
Sigma Phi EpsilonΣΦΕ , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a secret letter, social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
,
Sigma ChiSigma Chi is one of the largest and oldest college Greek-letter social fraternities. Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Chi has seven founding members: Benjamin Piatt Runkle, Thomas Cowan Bell, William Lewis...
, and
Tau Kappa EpsilonTau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the USA, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
Six
NPCThe National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...
sororities:
Alpha Delta PiAlpha Delta Pi was founded May 15 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia making it the first female fraternal organization established. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia...
,
Alpha Omicron PiAlpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity that was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York. Its founders were Stella George Stern Perry, Helen St. Clair Mullan, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, and Jessie Wallace Hughan...
,
Alpha Chi OmegaAlpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are more than 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
,
Zeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at what used to be State Female Normal School but is now known as Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
,
Kappa DeltaKappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the universities Kappa Delta (ΚΔ) was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville,...
, and
Chi OmegaChi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega boasts 174 active collegiate chapters and hundreds of alumnae chapters. The fraternity's headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee.- History :Chi Omega was founded April 5, 1895 at the...
All Nine NPHC organizations:
Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha is the first intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Alpha Phi Alpha has initiated over 185,000 men into the organization and has been open to men of all races since 1940...
,
Alpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
,
Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913, at Howard University by twenty-two young women. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority...
,
Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
,
Omega Psi PhiOmega Psi Phi is an international fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by three undergraduate students and one faculty...
,
Phi Beta SigmaPhi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914. by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
,
Zeta Phi BetaZeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
,
Sigma Gamma RhoSigma Gamma Rho was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
, and Iota Phi Theta
Two NALFO organizations:
Lambda Theta AlphaThe idea for Lambda Theta Alpha came in the early 70's, when colleges and universities experienced an influx of Latino enrollment. With this growth, the need for support groups and outreach programs were at an all time high, primarily for the low percentage of Latina women in higher education...
and
Lambda Theta PhiLambda Theta Phi was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit social and service fraternity emphasizing Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture....
One independent fraternity:
Phi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men who wish to devote themselves to the advancement of music in America and who wish to associate with others who share that interest...
Professional organizations:
Alpha Kappa PsiΑΚΨ is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905...
,
Delta OmicronDelta Omicron is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity founded to create and foster fellowship, to develop character and to arouse and encourage the appreciation of good music and performance among musicians during their student days so that the highest degree of musicianship...
,
Pi Sigma EpsilonΠΣΕ ' is the only national, professional fraternal organization in sales, marketing, and management in the United States. The fraternity was developed by four members of the Sales and Marketing Executives association of Atlanta, Georgia...
,
Sigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest ideals of a music education" and "to further the development of music in America", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public. Sigma Alpha Iota is a fraternity for...
, Omega Delta Psi, and Alpha Eta Rho
Athletics
Middle Tennessee's athletic teams, known as the
Blue Raiders, compete in the
Sun Belt ConferenceThe Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition...
of NCAA's Division I in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly Division I-A).
Distinguished Alumni and Faculty
Some of MTSU's most notable alumni include politician
Albert Gore, Sr.Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Sr. was an American politician, serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party from Tennessee....
, NFL quarterback
Kelly HolcombBryan Kelly Holcomb is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995...
, Nashville Star winner Chris Young, and WNBA player
Amber HoltAmber Shirell Holt is an American professional basketball player. She currently plays for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. Holt went to Meadowcreek High School.- Early life :...
.
External links
Official university sites
- http://www.mtsu.edu/ - MTSU website
- http://www.mtalumni.com/ - Alumni website
- http://www.goblueraiders.com/ - MTSU athletics
- http://police.mtsu.edu/ - MTSU Department of Public Safety
University media websites
- http://www.mtsunews.com/ - MTSU news and public affairs
- http://www.mtsusidelines.com/ - Sidelines, MTSU student newspaper
- http://www.wmts.org/ - 88.3 WMTS-FM
' is a student run radio station licensed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA. The station is currently owned by Middle Tennessee State University....
, MTSU student-programmed radio station
- http://www.wmot.org/ - 89.5 WMOT
WMOT is a radio station featuring jazz music programming and serving the metropolitan Nashville market. It is licensed to Middle Tennessee State University, located in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Its signal can be heard most clearly in the counties surrounding Nashville. It uses the branding...
, MTSU professionally staffed and NPRNational Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law...
-affiliated radio station
- http://www.mtsutv.org/ - MTTV, MTSU television station