October ‘Out of the Blue’ spotlights Executive Education programs [+VIDEO]

Carly Escue, new director of Middle Tennessee State University’s Executive Education Center, appeared on the October 2024 edition of MTSU’s “Out of the Blue” television magazine program. (MTSU photo illustration by Joe Poe)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — In the October edition of “Out of the Blue,” the television magazine program for Middle Tennessee State University, viewers will learn more about the growing courses available through the Executive Education Center operated by the Jones College of Business and located inside the Miller Education Center.

Carly Escue, new director of the center, sat down with program host Andrew Oppmann, vice president for marketing and communications, to share information about the myriad faculty-taught courses offered through the center to help working professionals and businesses enhance their skills and workforces.

Watch Escue’s segment below:

Escue said Jones College Dean Joyce Heames has a vision for the center “to become the premier training and development outlet for the state of Tennessee.”

“Ultimately what we’d like to do is become the first partner for firms who are considering bringing in in-house training within business-related disciplines,” Escue continued. “And that includes the traditional topics of management, marketing, sales, the things that you may think of when you think of a business degree or a business program. But it also includes things like artificial intelligence, data visualization, (and) data analytics.”

Carly Escue, Director of Executive Education - Jones College of Business. — Carly Escue

Escue noted that the offered courses, which are primarily taught over one or two days, are geared toward working professionals who may not have the time to undertake a full graduate degree program or may have already earned an advanced degree but are looking for more targeted or specific skills to develop.

The course tracks include business intelligence, executive leadership and strategic marketing, with professional certificates available, usually after multiple courses within a track have been successfully completed.

Escue noted that many companies offer course reimbursement for employees looking to upskill their talents, a benefit that studies have shown are very helpful in employee retention.

“So for local employers considering sponsoring folks into these classes, keep in mind that personnel or your team are always looking either to grow in your company or

grow out of it,” she said. “And this is a way to acknowledge employee’s efforts. You can’t always promote an individual as soon as you would like to, so this is a way to demonstrate to them they’re valued.”

More information about courses and fees is available at https://mtsu.edu/execed.

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

“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 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; and streamed on the MTSU Jazz Network through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month.

It is also available on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

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

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)