College of Education MT Engage Week events feature campus service professionals, local author

Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education is putting on two events during the university’s MT Engage Week — a university wide week of events from Monday, Sept. 25 to Friday, Sept. 29 — to celebrate MTSU service professionals and share the new book of local author Rachel Louise Martin. (MTSU graphic by Stephanie Wagner)

Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education is putting on two events during the university’s MT Engage Week to celebrate MTSU service professionals — such as teachers, police officers, nurses and more — and to share the new book of local author Rachel Louise Martin.

Katie Schrodt, associate education professor, put together the come-and-go “Humans of Murfreesboro” event set for 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the College of Education, or COE, building’s main atrium with the featured 11 service professionals, and their families, in attendance and their stories showcased through portrait photography, storytelling and art.

Dr. Katie Schrodt, assistant professor, elementary and special education — Dr. Katie Schrodt

“Attendees will be able to walk our art gallery and even get their own portrait taken with polaroid cameras, backdrops and art supplies available to share their own stories,” Schrodt said about the event open to both the MTSU community and public. “We wanted to celebrate the shared humanity of those in service professions — telling their stories and helping us see their beautiful, multifaceted lives and thank them for what they do. At MTSU, we are an incredible group of diverse humans with beautiful, intricate stories. We wanted to honor them!”

Schrodt said she partnered not only with the MT Engage program for the event but also the School of Nursing, the Professional Counseling Program, the MTSU Police Department, the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center and Rutherford County and Murfreesboro City Schools.

Stacy Fields, assistant education professor, organized the event to present historian and author Rachel Louise Martin’s latest release “A Most Tolerant Little Town.” Anyone interested in attending from campus and beyond is invited to Room 160 in the COE from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, to hear Martin discuss the book’s exploration of the attempt of the first school — Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee — at court-ordered desegregation after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

Dr. Stacy Fields, MTSU College of Education — Dr. Stacy Fields

The first 25 arrivals will receive a free signed copy of the book with copies also available for purchase, and Fields partnered with the college’s Center for Fairness, Justice and Equity to provide refreshments.

Fields said she became interested in inviting Martin to campus after attending her book launch this summer with Natalie Griffin, assistant education professor, and feeling the book would be of great interest to their students.

“Rachel spoke about her process as a writer, the historical perspective of her work and her research, so we felt this would be a good fit for MT Engage Week since it is a campuswide event,” Fields said. “Additionally, this book stemmed from a research fellowship at the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation prior to her dissertation work at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, so this will be a homecoming of sorts for her.

“We hope that attendees will walk away with a fresh perspective of a historical moment that took place here in Tennessee….”

Learn about all MT Engage events next week at https://tinyurl.com/47jcewyf.

Learn about the opportunities at MTSU’s College of Education at https://www.mtsu.edu/education/.

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)