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MTSU Board of Trustees sets top university priorit...

MTSU Board of Trustees sets top university priorities for year

Middle Tennessee State University Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Smith makes a point at the trustees’ quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Board of Trustees has identified the pursuit of a professional school as the first of four objectives that it feels should be the institution’s top priorities.

During its quarterly meeting Tuesday, March 19, trustees put the MTSU’s continued inclusion in the Princeton Review’s top colleges list, movement toward designation as a top research institution and securing more funding to renovate the 51-year-old Murphy Center among other top priorities.

The board was tasked with ranking the top four among 20-plus goals put forward in a survey as the institution’s priorities for 2024.

Mary Hoffschwelle, Middle Tennessee State University vice provost for planning and effectiveness, discusses the university’s development of a strategic plan at the Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. At right is Alan Thomas, vice president for business and finance. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Mary Hoffschwelle, Middle Tennessee State University vice provost for planning and effectiveness, discusses the university’s development of a strategic plan at the Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University senior and Army veteran Skylar Pilcher discusses her military and academic journey at the MTSU Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Pilcher will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/information systems and analytics and hopes to begin a career in cybersecurity. Also pictured are, standing right, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives; Provost Mark Byrnes, seated right; and Alan Thomas, vice president for business and finance. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University senior and Army veteran Skylar Pilcher discusses her military and academic journey at the MTSU Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Pilcher will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/information systems and analytics and hopes to begin a career in cybersecurity. Also pictured are, standing right, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives; Provost Mark Byrnes, seated right; and Alan Thomas, vice president for business and finance. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

“We have a huge impact in Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” said Stephen Smith, board chairman. “We’re in the epicenter in the greatest growth in the greatest country right here. We just need to make a few good choices to change a lot of lives.”

Stephen B. “Steve” Smith, alumnus and MTSU Board of Trustees member
Stephen B. Smith

Other top priorities included continuing movement of the Aerospace Department to Shelbyville and continuing to increase the graduation rate to exceed the goal of 60%.

Trustees also identified several elements as key strengths to include in developing a strategic plan such as a focus on a practical approach to education, with an emphasis on elements that help build careers; and affordability and value, among others.

Opportunities and key issues noted by trustees included changing demographics, including fewer traditional-aged freshmen nationwide, remaining competitive against options outside higher education; and modernization of facilities, among others.

For more information, visit the Board of Trustees webpage at  https://www.mtsu.edu/boardoftrustees/.

— Andrew Oppmann (Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu)

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee holds up a copy of an advertisement touting alumni who won Grammy Awards this year while giving his president’s report at the MTSU Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee holds up a copy of an advertisement touting alumni who won Grammy Awards this year while giving his president’s report at the MTSU Board of Trustees quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Smith makes a point at the trustees’ quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Middle Tennessee State University Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Smith makes a point at the trustees’ quarterly meeting held Tuesday, March 19, at the Miller Education Center on Bell Street in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

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