Middle Tennessee State University’s senior administrators delivered strong messages on the institution’s requirement for students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear face coverings and practice social distancing, adding that resuming on-ground instruction this fall may hinge on how well the community follows recommended health practices to deter the spread of COVID-19.

“If you want to be on campus, if you want the university to continue to stay open, you need to do these things: You need to wear a mask, you have to wash your hands, you need to do the things that the CDC and our local and state health officials ask you to do, “ President Sidney A. McPhee said in an interview Friday, July 17, with C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.

This screen capture shows Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, right, answering questions during an interview Friday, July 17, with host John McArdle on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.

University Provost Mark Byrnes, in an interview with MTSU’s public affairs TV show “Out of the Blue,” struck a similar tone.

“Masks will be required in the classroom, so it is really important that everybody understands that, everybody is comfortable with that,” he said.

Excerpts from both interviews are available above.

Dr. Mark Byrnes

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

McPhee said Monday, July 20, that the university is monitoring the number of active coronavirus cases daily in Murfreesboro, Rutherford County and the state of Tennessee and that MTSU’s leadership is concerned about trends showing steady increases in all three areas.

The president said the university’s plans to reopen for the fall with a modified level of in-person classes and a reduced on-campus student housing population could depend upon how local communities respond to health recommendations, like wearing face coverings and following other safety protocols, during the next two to three weeks.

Byrnes echoed that point in his interview.

“We are doing everything we can to make (campus) safe, but it is a joint effort,” he said.

In a July 14 campuswide email  also shared on MTSU’s social media channels, McPhee reminded the university community that masks or face coverings are now required in all indoor public settings on campus.

That includes, but is not limited to, classrooms, hallways, restrooms, meeting rooms, elevators, stairwells, common work areas and reception areas.

As for the fall semester, McPhee said on C-SPAN that the university is “requiring students to wear masks in any of our facilities. And if they don’t, they will either have to resort to online versions of our program — or they will have to find another institution. We are going to be very strict.”

When asked by Washington Journal host John McArdle if MTSU would expel a student who flagrantly disregarded the masking requirement, McPhee offered a one-word response: “Yes.”

Byrnes, in his interview on Out of the Blue, spoke directly to students.

“If you are watching this and you cannot tolerate the idea of wearing a mask in class, and you are signed up for an on-campus class, you might want to explore a remote option,” the provost said.

For more information on MTSU’s response to the global pandemic, visit http://mtsu.edu/coronavirus.

— Andrew Oppmann (Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu)

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, center, prepares to be interviewed by C-SPAN Friday, July 17, via satellite from the Center for Educational Media studios inside the university’s McWherter Learning Resource Center. (MTSU photo by John Goodwin)