MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University representatives recently appeared on WGNS Radio to discuss the university’s efforts to make its research commercially viable, an innovative environmental journalism concentration, and the success of two students at a national marketing competition.

They appeared on the live “Action Line” program with host Scott Walker, broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to the podcast of the May 18 program.

Guests for the program, in order of appearance, included:

• Rick Neff, commercialization counselor at MTSU, discusses MTSU’s partnership with the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium, or TTAC, to make university research commercially viable.

An initiative of Launch Tennessee, the public-private partnership that supports startups and innovation across the state, TTAC is helping MTSU researchers with funding and support to further test, protect, and position their ideas for the marketplace.

The Tennessee Innovation Exchange, or TNIX, is part of that effort. Developed by Launch Tennessee and TTAC, the online platform went live in early 2026 and makes university research easier to find for companies, investors, and collaborators.

As commercialization counselor, Neff helps faculty bridge the gap between research and the market. He assesses intellectual property and leads tech transfer and commercialization activities. This is primarily identifying a market, use cases, product and/or service development, grant support, and business model development. 

• Dr. Sanjay Asthana, professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media and head of the environmental journalism concentration, discusses how a journalism degree with this concentration prepares students to use the knowledge they learn to cover the ever-topical, data-driven subjects of environmental research, preservation, and law. 

Students in this concentration will learn to critically examine and effectively convey complex information, while keeping relevant scientific and cultural contexts in mind.

This is a growing area for journalists, media researchers, writers, and content creators; topics include biodiversity, sustainability, land and water use, environmental conservation, freshwater ecosystem, health communication, urban planning, rural development and much more. 

With so many potential career paths to pursue, students will be able to tailor their education to their specific interests within this rapidly evolving field.

• Jones College of Business students Ella Cobb, a Master of Business Administration major in strategic marketing analytics, and Savanah Gill, a recently graduated digital marketing major, discuss their Top 3 finish at the national DECA competition this spring at the International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. 

As part of the conference competition, the marketing duo was given an hour — equipped with a prompt, blank paper and pens — to apply their knowledge to the prompt, create applicable content and prepare a presentation using the Canva platform and access to the web. They then had 15 minutes to present their marketing plan to the judge, as if they were the marketing director and marketing communications specialists for the hypothetical company in the prompt.

After advancing into the final round and receiving a blue-ribbon medallion, the pair competed in the finals. At an awards ceremony, they learned they had secured third-place trophies, earning them a spot among the best in the nation in Collegiate DECA Marketing Communications.

Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, senior director of MTSU News and Media Relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at [email protected].