Alumnus and former U.S. congressman Bart Gordon will be the grand marshal for the 2017 MTSU Homecoming Parade set this Saturday, Oct. 7.

Bart Gordon

Gordon, a member of MTSU’s Class of 1971, represented Tennessee’s then-6th Congressional District from 1985 until 2011  in the U.S. House of Representatives and now works as a partner with K&L Gates in Washington, D.C., where his primary practice is public policy and law.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. Oct. 7, starting on East Main Street at the intersection of Maney Avenue, traveling along East Main and ending at Baird Lane.

Gordon, who graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science, served as student body president and was an MTSU cheerleader. During his tenure in Congress, he served as chair of the House Science and Technology Committee from 2007 to 2010.

He also served on House committees for energy and commerce, financial services, rules, transatlantic parliamentary dialogue and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

During a distinguished career, the career Democrat developed a reputation as a bipartisan leader in innovation policy. He led the debate on a wide range of technology issues and formulated legislative initiatives on a number of other subjects, including health information technology, nuclear power, rare earth materials and synthetic biotechnology.

Licensed to practice law in both Tennessee and the District of Columbia, Gordon received the insignia of Officer in the French Legion of Honor in 2012 and in May 2013 was presented with MTSU’s first honorary doctorate. He also is an MTSU Foundation board member.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

The MTSU Band of Blue marches down East Main Street during the 2016 MTSU Homecoming Parade. The 2017 event is set Saturday, Oct. 7, beginning at 10 a.m., and alumnus Bart Gordon will serve as grand marshal. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli(