July ‘Out of the Blue’ highlights Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts milestone anniversary

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The July episode of Middle Tennessee State University’s “Out of the Blue” television magazine show showcases the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on the university’s campus this summer.

Each year, more than 300 students are invited to the exclusive Governor’s School for the Arts held on MTSU’s campus, where students focus on honing their artistic skills in a variety of mediums.

Assistant Professor and School Director of the Governor’s School of the Arts

Andrew Oppmann, vice president for marketing and communications — Andrew Oppmann

Katie Goodwin is the director of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts and an associate professor in MTSU’s Department of Theatre and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts.

Hosted by Andrew Oppmann, vice president of the Division of Marketing and Communications, Godwin explained the history of the beloved summer program, which started in 1985 and was the vision of then-Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander.

“Since then, we’ve been going strong… This is our 40th, so we’re excited that we got to celebrate all the alumni and all the events and the students that are here and planning for the future,” said Goodwin.

Watch the full interview segment below.

Participants of the yearly Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts are often exposed to a college campus for the first time in their lives, which serves as a valuable experience and opportunity, especially as they are thinking about life after high school.

“They actually get to do some of the things that they’re thinking about studying,” said Goodwin.

The depth of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts is diverse and offers ample opportunities for participants, including film, visual arts, theatre, music and dance.

“I really run five mini-schools,” explained Goodwin. “There really are five schools that are happening at once on our campus, so they’re all chaired by experts in their field. My job is to bring the right people together and ensure they have the resources. I love showing off MTSU’s campus because I’ve got friends who are coming in and colleagues who are coming in who are having the chance to work with us on campus.”

Goodwin said the one thing she wasn’t prepared for when stepping into the director role of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts was the parents and their reactions to their children being away from home for three weeks.

Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts emblem

“I was not prepared for how many parents thanked me for taking care of their kids for three weeks, but also proving to them that their kid could come and live in an MTSU dorm and eat at McCallie’s and figure out the health clinic if needed. I’ve had parents crying when they picked up their kid, thanking me for teaching them that they would be ok when their kid went to college, and their kid would be ok when they went to college. I wasn’t prepared for that, but what a gift,” she said.

For more information about the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, visit www.gsfta.com. Applications open for the 2026 governor’s school on Oct. 1. Students from across Tennessee are eligible to apply.

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; WKRN+ at 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon Sundays; via streaming on MTSU’s Jazz Network on WMOT HD2 and through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, iHeart and as individual interview segments on primary host Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)