Latest MTSU Magazine spotlights university’s COVID-19 response

The summer 2020 edition of MTSU Magazine profiles the university’s steady response to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of MTSU’s ongoing focus on short- and long-term student success.

Typically hosting thousands of students and nearly 1,000 full-time faculty members, MTSU is the equivalent of a midsize city on a beautiful 550-acre campus. But the university’s entire dynamic changed in early March as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and university officials made the difficult but necessary decision to close the campus and temporarily move practically all instruction online.

Click the image to access a digital pdf version of the magazine.

Although the campus was relatively “still” during the pandemic, the university did not sit still. Faculty quickly turned traditional coursework into creative, challenging (and according to some reports, even fun) remote learning opportunities. Meanwhile, students handled the major disruption in their lives with maturity and optimism, making a difficult situation manageable.

There are many examples of the positive ways the MTSU family handled the crisis. MTSU Magazine chronicles just a sampling of the many extraordinary efforts that took place. Collectively, they gave new meaning to the phrase “True Blue” that has come to reflect the identity of the MTSU community over the past decade.

Other articles in the new edition of the magazine include:

• A profile of 2002 Recording Industry alum Lee Foster. When Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in New York City turns 50 in August 2020, Foster just might get the honor of blowing out the candles. Foster — who rose from unpaid intern to studio manager and co-owner — is widely credited with saving the iconic facility from collapse and then expanding the business model.

• The story of a dogged, student-focused MTSU research team, a cantankerous plant, and wine that could change the world.

Printed copies of MTSU Magazine are distributed twice annually to more than 120,000 alumni readers. The publication also is distributed to interested community members, including state lawmakers.

A web-only, flip version of the entire magazine is available here. Articles from the magazine also appear on MTSUNews.com, the university’s news website.

— Drew Ruble (Drew.Ruble@mtsu.edu)

This screen capture from the electronic pdf edition of the latest MTSU Magazine shows one of the main feature stories, a profile of 2002 Recording Industry alumnus Lee Foster.