MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — As part of its ongoing 10th anniversary celebration, Middle Tennessee State University’s Engage program will present a panel of campus “celebrities” to share their tips for educational success — and their tolerance for consuming spicy wings in what is sure to be a fun event.

The “Hot Tips with Engage” event will be held from 3-4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in Room 105 of the School of Concrete and Construction Management on the east side of campus.

Modeled from the YouTube show “Hot Ones,” this event for the campus community will feature a panel of faculty and staff “celebrities” who will be interviewed as they eat increasingly hotter wings. Wings, pizza, and MTSU milk will be provided to attendees, and prizes will be given after each round of wings.

Panelists are Amy Aldridge, vice provost for academic programs; Casey Brown, dual enrollment program coordinator; Tyler Henson, associate vice provost for registration and student records and university registrar; and Jonell Hinsey, associate vice provost for student success.

Emcee will be master history instructor Ben Sawyer, a Nashville-based historian, podcast host, and public speaker.

Engage, formerly MT Engage, is MTSU’s signature initiative focused on enhancing student learning through integrated and reflective educational experiences. It is led by Director Julie Myatt.

Launched in 2015 as part of the university’s second Quality Enhancement Plan, Engage aims to foster a culture of engaged learning by supporting students’ growth as integrative, reflective thinkers.

Engage courses must meet specific criteria. They must include high-impact educational practices proven to benefit all students (like collaborative and problem-based learning); a co-curricular experience that helps students gain new perspectives on course content; and a signature assignment that prompts integrative thinking and reflection that is assessed using a rubric.

Students also develop an ePortfolio presentation to curate a collection of the work they’ve created so they can “look back on it and see how they’ve grown, see what knowledge, skills and abilities they’ve gained, and then articulate that to the prospective employers or graduate programs,” Myatt stated previously.

For more information about the event and panelists, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/engage/hot-tips-with-engage/.

Wings and sauces will be provided by Murfreesboro restaurant Jefferson’s on North Maple Street.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)