MTSU readies to celebrate almost 1,600 grads at Dec. 14 fall commencement ceremonies

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University is preparing to celebrate its newest alumni when almost 1,600 new graduates receive their degrees Saturday, Dec. 14, during the 2024 fall commencement ceremonies.

Held in Hale/Earle Arena inside Murphy Center at 2650 Middle Tennessee Blvd., the first of two public ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. Central when degrees will be conferred to graduate students and undergrads in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and College of Education.

The afternoon ceremony begins at 2 p.m. Central when degrees will be conferred to graduate students and undergrads in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Media and Entertainment and University College.

For those unable to attend in person, the event also will stream live at https://mtsu.edu/live and on the university’s Facebook channel, https://facebook.com/mtsublueraiders, and will be broadcast on MTSU’s “True Blue TV” station on local cable channels and at https://mtsu.edu/TrueBlueTV.

Of the 1,597 students set to graduate, 1,322 are undergraduates and 275 are graduate students, including 241 master’s candidates, 21 education-specialist recipients and 13 doctoral candidates. In addition, eight graduate students will be receiving graduate certificates, and 16 undergraduate students will be receiving undergraduate certificates, according to the university’s Registrar’s Office.

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee congratulates the 770-plus graduates during the university’s summer 2024 commencement ceremony inside Murphy Center on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. McPhee will address the almost 1,600 graduates during two ceremonies for fall commencement held Saturday, Dec. 14. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Speaker details

The newest Blue Raider alumni and their supporters will hear congratulatory remarks from MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee at both ceremonies followed by guest speakers.

The keynote speaker for the morning ceremony will be alumna and this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Peggy Chabrian, a longtime aviation enthusiast and educator who is the founder of Women in Aviation International and served as its president and CEO for 25 years.

Chabrian has held several top positions in aviation education: academic dean and associate vice president of Parks College, Saint Louis University; dean of academic support at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s campus in Prescott, Arizona; assistant professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Aviation/Space Education at Embry Riddle’s campus in Daytona Beach, Florida; and aviation department chair at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Chabrian was the publisher of Aviation for Women magazine for 21 years and Aviation for Girls magazine for seven years. She currently owns Chabrian Aviation and serves as an adjunct faculty member for Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics. In September, Chabrian was enshrined into the National Aviation Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Chabrian received her bachelor’s degree in aviation management and master’s in aerospace education from MTSU in 1980 and completed her Ed.D. degree from the University of Tennessee in 1985.

The afternoon speaker will be alumnus Byron Smith, managing director of the Mountain Group Partners who boasts a distinguished career across a variety of industries. He began his career in brand management and marketing for two premier companies: Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo, before eventually moving to Silicon Valley where, as a senior executive at Asurion, he led the company’s headquarters relocation to Nashville.

Smith is a 1984 graduate of MTSU, where he double majored in economics and political science. He earned his M.B.A. from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago with an emphasis in economics and strategic planning. At MTSU, he was honored as MTSU’s Outstanding Student in Economics and as a Most Outstanding Senior, and he was active in the MTSU Honors program.

For the past 15 years, Smith has been a managing director at Mountain Group Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm. He currently serves on the boards of Silicon Ranch, AngelEye, ReVida Recovery, AirVet, Verility, and In The Bowl Animal Health.

Smith is also active in the nonprofit world. He serves on the boards of trustees at Montgomery Bell Academy and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He is the former board chair of both The Trinity Forum in Washington, D.C., and St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville. He served on the board of the Adventure Science Center in Nashville and was a member of Leadership Nashville.

With the fall 2024 commencement ceremony, MTSU will have awarded approximately 187,700 degrees to its students, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist and doctoral degrees, since its 1911 founding.

A stack of diploma covers await to be handed out during a recent Middle Tennessee State University’s commencement ceremony inside Murphy Center on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Almost 1,600 graduates will receive their degrees at the two Fall 2024 commencement ceremonies held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli)

Clear bag policy in effect

For those attending commencement ceremonies in person, please note that a clear bag policy is in effect at Murphy Center as follows: Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC may not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″. Gallon ziploc bags are allowed. Small clutch purses no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″ will also be allowed in addition to a clear bag.

More ceremony details

MTSU will provide closed-captioning services for the live video streams as well as American Sign Language interpretation at the ceremony. The live coverage will begin about 15 minutes before commencement starts.

MTSU’s Dec. 14 summer commencement ceremonies are expected to last about two hours each. All graduating students must remain for the entire event.

A campus map with parking details for guests is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParking. A seating chart of Murphy Center, including access for guests with mobility issues, is available at https://www.mtsu.edu/murphycenter/facilities/.

Driving directions, along with complete graduation details for students and guests, are available anytime at https://mtsu.edu/graduation.

MTSU fall semester classes ended Wednesday, Dec. 4. Final examinations will conclude Thursday, Dec. 12, with the official end of the fall semester. Winter Session runs Dec. 23 to Jan. 16. The spring 2025 full-term classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 22.

For updates on MTSU anytime, visit https://mtsu.edu or https://MTSUNews.com.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)