Meet the NMR Staff

 

Jimmy Hart, senior director

Jimmy is the senior director of communications in the Office of News and Media Relations at MTSU and joined the university in May 2012 after an award-winning career in daily journalism. The former executive editor of The Daily News Journal and DNJ.com in Murfreesboro is a native of Lexington, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee. He joined the DNJ Media Group in spring 2006 after serving for 11 years as a reporter, assistant editor and city editor of The Jackson Sun. He directed coverage of Rutherford and Cannon counties for all Gannett Tennessee publications, including The Tennessean, in his role as editor of the DNJ. In addition to his role as editor of the university’s news site, MTSUNews.com, Jimmy works with media, campus crisis communications, public safety and numerous colleges and departments on campus. Contact him at 615-898-5131 or [email protected].

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DeAnn Hays, assistant director

DeAnn joined the Office of News and Media Relations in March 2024 and was promoted to assistant director in May 2026. She produces content about the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment and the College of Liberal Arts for the university’s news site, MTSUNews.com, and oversees the university’s primary social media channels. She first found professional success in a Nashville newsroom for nearly a decade before returning to her alma mater as a digital marketing specialist and social media expert. While attending MTSU, she wrote for student newspaper Sidelines before landing a job at WKRN-TV as a web producer and digital engagement director. At MTSU, she also leads a student team who will soon become the future of TV, digital and social media. Contact her at 615-898-5385 or [email protected].

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Nancy DeGennaro, communications specialist

Nancy is a 1995 graduate of MTSU’s School of Journalism, where she was awarded Outstanding Print Journalism Student. She spent 30 years in the newspaper industry working in Middle Tennessee and California before retiring from The Daily News Journal/Tennessean/Gannett in 2022 and joining the Office of News and Media Relations in May 2023. She produces content for the university’s news site, MTSUNews.com, and coverage for the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences as well as the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, James E. Walker Library and other university programs and centers. Contact her at 615-898-5081 or [email protected].

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Karli Sutton, communications specialist-multimedia

Karli is the first multimedia specialist for the Office of News and Media Relations, focusing on creating video news content since joining the team in May 2025. Her work is featured on MTSU’s True Blue TV channel, the “Out of the Blue” television magazine program as well as MTSU’s news site MTSUNews.com. She is also responsible for producing content about the College of Education, College of Graduate Studies and University Police. Karli graduated from MTSU with her undergraduate degree in journalism and is completing her master’s degree in media and communications from her alma mater. She has experience both in the newsroom as a writer, reporter and producer, as well as in the classroom as a graduate teaching assistant and instructor for the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. Contact her at 615-898-5588 or [email protected].

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The Office of News and Media Relations is located in the Tom H. Jackson Building, 628 Alma Mater Drive, on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Our main office line is 615-898-2919 and our central email address is [email protected]. 

Our mailing address is:

MTSU News and Media Relations
Campus Mail Box 72, 1301 E. Main St.
Tom Jackson Building
Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Note: If you’re looking for a list of all MTSU staff and faculty, visit the searchable online Campus Directory here.