McPhee: MTSU plans to build hotel on campus to train hospitality students

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee gives his State of the University Address at the 2024 Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting held Thursday, Aug. 22, inside Tucker Theatre on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU’s fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 26, with the start of classes. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University is in the final stages of negotiations for a hotel to be built at Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard that would be used to train students in its Tourism and Hospitality Management Program.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee shared that news and other campus updates Thursday, Aug. 22, with hundreds of faculty, staff and special guests during his traditional State of the University Address at the annual Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting inside Tucker Theatre in advance of the new academic year starting Monday.

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, right, poses for a selfie with Bukola Bakare, assistant management professor in the Jones College of Business, at the 2024 Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting held Thursday, Aug. 22, inside Tucker Theatre on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

While estimated cost, size and other details are being finalized, McPhee said the proposed public-private partnership would result in a facility “that will serve our campus community, bolster tourism in the area, and be a favorite destination for visitors to our campus as well as athletic facilities.”

“Most importantly, it will be a learning laboratory and a place for practical experience for students in our newly accredited Tourism and Hospitality Management program,” he said, noting that MTSU’s program is the only accredited such program in the state.

McPhee praised the MTSU faculty and staff as “the lifeblood of the institution” and thanked them for their commitment to student learning and achievement, helping to graduate roughly 5,000 new alumni every academic year — with 60% of graduates living within an hour of Murfreesboro and alumni throughout the state pumping an estimated $9 billion annually in business revenue within the state, according to a recent study.

“MTSU is uniquely positioned to continue significantly impacting our students, community, region, and state,” he told the audience. “We possess a wealth of advantages that, when leveraged effectively, will propel us to new heights of excellence and innovation.”

The university hopes to begin construction next year and open the hotel in 2026.

Middle Tennessee State University Provost Mark Byrnes shares opening remarks at the 2024 Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting held Thursday, Aug. 22, inside Tucker Theatre on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU’s fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 26, with the start of classes. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

In opening remarks, Provost Mark Byrnes, the university’s chief academic officer, noted that “while we still have work to do,” MTSU has improved its six-year graduation rate by 10 percentage points.

“We should all be really proud of that. And this didn’t happen by accident. It came after careful planning, the reallocation of resources, and it came through your hard work, so thank you,” Byrnes said.

The future hotel proposal was in line with the overall theme of McPhee’s remarks about how the university is charting a path toward a bright future, fresh off its sixth consecutive national academic ranking among top colleges and universities in The Princeton Review while awaiting the completion of a number of capital improvement projects already underway.

The $75 million Applied Engineering Building is set to open next summer, while $54 million in renovations to Kirksey Old Main and Rutledge Hall will result in state-of-the-art facilities for the University Studies Department and multiple departments College of Basic and Applied Sciences in the summer of 2026. A year later, the $60 million Aerospace training hub is expected to be fully operational at the Shelbyville Airport.

Meanwhile, work continues on the $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center on the north end of Floyd Stadium that is set to be completed by next summer.

Middle Tennessee State University aerospace professor Paul Craig, center, shakes hands with university President Sidney A. McPhee, left, after accepting the MTSU Foundation’s Career Achievement Award at the 2024 Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting held Thursday, Aug. 22, inside Tucker Theatre on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. At right is MTSU Foundation President Brian Kidd. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

A highlight of the Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting is the presentation of the MTSU Foundation Awards for faculty, including the top award, the Career Achievement Award, accepted this year by longtime Aerospace Department professor and MTSU alumnus Paul Craig (Class of 1979, ’80).

Craig, who has authored 15 books on aviation safety and flight training and won numerous aviation awards, has been coordinator of the aerospace sciences master’s degree program since 2016. Craig noted the profound impact his former professor and military veteran, the late Jean Jack, had on his life and career — and he encouraged the other faculty in attendance to reach out to former teacher or professors who impacted them as well.

“Make sure you make the time to contact that person what a difference they made, and following their lead, the difference you are now making on our current students,” he said. “Will you do that for me? It will mean a lot to them.”

For the full list of 2024-25 faculty and staff award recipients and photos, see separate story on mtsunews.com.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)