MTSU faculty, staff get taste of Dale Carnegie via Jones College of Business immersion course

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A group of 20 Middle Tennessee State University faculty and staff recently experienced a condensed version of the Dale Carnegie professional development training that thousands of Jones College of Business students have received over the past decade to give them a noticeable boost in the job market.

Summer 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the College of Business partnership with the Dale Carnegie program — with MTSU the only higher education institution in the world requiring its undergraduate business majors to go through the semester-long course to earn their degree. This year, MTSU will pass the 7,000 mark for student participants.

Participants in the three-day Dale Carnegie summer immersion course held in early August for Middle Tennessee State University faculty and staff introduce themselves inside the Business and Aerospace Building on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Darby Campbell-Firkus)

Twenty participants in the three-day Dale Carnegie summer immersion course held in early August for Middle Tennessee State University faculty and staff listen to instructions inside the Business and Aerospace Building on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Darby Campbell-Firkus)

Faculty and staff can get in on the action, too, as the Jones College offers Dale Carnegie training through a three-day immersive course to its new faculty and staff and the broader university if slots are available. The latest course was held inside the Business and Aerospace Building in early August.

Dr. Joyce Heames, dean, Jennings A. Jones College of Business — Dr. Joyce Heames

“One of the exemplary programs that attracted me to the Jones College of Business was the Dale Carnegie course for business students,” said Dean Joyce Heames. “I became a certified instructor early in my career because of the positive impact it had on developing the ‘soft skills’ we all need.”

Under the leadership of then Dean David Urban, Jones College began the Dale Carnegie initiative in the summer of 2014 with the first cohort of faculty and staff participating in immersion training. Since then, over 90 faculty and staff have completed training, with several becoming certified trainers who now teach the course.

Dale Carnegie Training has been operating in Middle Tennessee for over 85 years, and many local companies have utilized Dale Carnegie for professional development.

Shiang Liu, an associate professor in the Department of Economics and Finance, receives a hand following his presentation on bitcoin during the three-day Dale Carnegie summer immersion course held in early August for Middle Tennessee State University faculty and staff inside the Business and Aerospace Building on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Darby Campbell-Firkus)

“The thing about the Dale Carnegie course, what makes it so unique, is it’s not so much the learn by listening or lecture. It’s learned by doing,” said Mark Roberts, MTSU’s Dale Carnegie instructor and coordinator.

Mark Roberts, instructor, coordinator, Dale Carnegie — Mark Roberts

“The people come into class and they’re expecting an educational experience, and what they’re about to encounter is not education but training. And there’s a difference. Training being that they are going to apply something, come back and talk about what they did with it and by applying what they’ve learned in class — they’re beginning to implement the concepts into their own personality. So it’s a growing experience, not just an educational experience.”

Angela Satterfield, admissions coordinator, School of Music — Angela Satterfield

That’s the type of experience that staffer Angela Satterfield, who processes admissions in the School of Music office, was looking for — even earning her a class award on the second day of the course for giving a clear, concise presentation, in her case showing classmates how to hold a violin properly.

“I like the idea of becoming a better communicator, and I just enjoy being with people and learning. So it’s been a great experience,” Satterfield said during a lunch break. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, so it exceeded my expectations.”

From left, Tobi Ayangbola, a lecturer in the Chemistry Department Angela Satterfield, admissions coordinator in the School of Music, and Cody Cunov, an assistant professor in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, listen to a presentation during the three-day Dale Carnegie summer immersion course for Middle Tennessee State University faculty and staff held in early August inside Business and Aerospace Building on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Darby Campbell-Firkus)

Fellow immersion course classmate Jennie Bryan, assistant director of employer relations in the Career Development Center, said she signed up for the immersion course because of the more “externally facing role” she moved into two and a half years ago after previously serving administrative roles in the Student Unions.

Jennie Bryan, assistant director of employer relations, Career Development Center — Jennie Bryan

“I was very aware that the Jones College of Business loves Dale Carnegie and supports those principles, but I wasn’t exactly sure what those principles were,” Bryan said. “And I knew I could utilize them and have a common language with other businesspeople I’m working with. I could use them to make my pitches to them more persuasive because, you know, I recruit the recruiters.

“I don’t consider myself a salesperson. I’m just passionate about our students. And so I think this gives me the tools to feel more confident when trying to recruit.”

For Roberts, the Dale Carnegie course not only establishes Jones College as one of the best and most forward-thinking business schools in the world, but it also gives MTSU business graduates a demonstrable leg up in the job market because it provides them with a skill set the best employers are looking for.

“We’re giving them something that the business community is embracing and they say, ‘Yes, we’ll take your students over some of these other candidates,’” he said. “And that’s part of Jones College, and that was the vision put into place 10 years ago.

“And today we celebrate 10 years, not just because we’re saying, ‘Oh, we’ve done this for 10 years.’ No, we’ve been providing a valuable business resource to the rest of this community based on what we’re doing here that they recognize, adopt, and want to be a part of.”

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)