After a nearly five-week winter break, MTSU spring semester classes began Jan. 17.

MTSU faculty, staff and administrators welcomed about 23,000 students back to campus for not only their classes but for events, special lectures, athletic competition and all things MTSU.

“For the first day of classes, I would expect enrollment to be about 23,000. It should grow slightly from there,” said Dr. Deb Sells, vice president of student affairs and vice provost for enrollment and academic services. The 14-day census will be submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents in February.

Final-semester seniors will be working toward graduation on Saturday, May 11.

As usual, MTSU will hold two commencement ceremonies for spring graduates. Students in the College of Graduate Studies, Basic and Applied Sciences, the Jennings A. Jones College of Business and the College of Education will receive their degrees in the 9 a.m. ceremony.

A 2 p.m. ceremony is planned for the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, Mass Communication and the University College. The second ceremony also includes Regents Online Degree Program and Bachelor of University Studies degree candidates. More details, including the speakers for each ceremony, will be available later this semester at http://mtsunews.com/graduation-info.

The university will be closed and no classes will be held on Monday, Jan. 21, for the Martin Luther King holiday. Students and faculty also will be off March 11-17 for spring break. Classes will end Wednesday, May 1; a study day will be held Thursday, May 2; and final exams will take place May 3-9.

To learn if the campus schedule will be affected by inclement weather this semester and throughout the year, visit http://mtsunews.com/weather.

Abundance of activities

A partial list of special events for the busy spring 2013 semester follows.

• The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration Program from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in the Keathley University Center Theater. Members of the MTSU community will gather to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will feature a keynote speaker and remarks from a diverse group of presenters.

• MTSU Theatre and Dance will present “The Exodus Project II: Understanding Diversity Through Dance” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 24–25, in the Tucker Theatre inside MTSU’s Boutwell Performing Arts Building. This concert will examine physical disabilities, gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, and MTSU students are admitted free with ID. For additional information, contact Kim Neal Nofsinger, director of dance, at kim.nofsinger@mtsu.edu.

• Admissions’ busy recruiting season begins Thursday, Jan. 31, with the first of two True Blue Experience Days; the second will be Friday, April 12. Admissions also will offer Preview Days on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, June 1. Visit www.mtsu.edu/admissn for details. Also, campus tours offered by admissions personnel at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily will resume Tuesday, Jan. 22. Call 615-898-5670 for more information.

• “Innovation and Design” is the theme for the 12-week Honors Lecture Series in the University Honors College. Held in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building, the series is for an honors course but is also open to the campus community and the public. The lecture series begins Jan. 28 and ends April 15. For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/honors/Spring_Lecture_Series.php.

• The 40th annual Groundhog Day Luncheon to benefit Blue Raider baseball will be held Monday, Feb. 2, starting at 11:30 a.m. in Murphy Center. Call 615-898-2210 or 1-888-937-6878 for tickets. First-year head coach Jim McGuire and the team will kick off a new season with the traditional menu of ham hocks, white beans, salad and more.

• First Friday Star Parties will be held Feb. 1, March 1, April 5 and May 3 beginning in Room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Hall and then venturing outdoors, weather permitting, to the observatory. Call 615-898-2130 for more information.

• MTSU’s Black History Month activities include the annual Unity Luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and can be obtained by calling 615-898-2591 or emailing Brenda.Wunder@mtsu.edu.

• MTSU’s Career Development Center will offer a College to Career Fair and Teacher Recruitment Fair Career Fair at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; an MTSU Agriculture Career Fair from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in the Tennessee Livestock Center; the annual Internships and Summer Jobs Fair on Tuesday, March 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room; and the Department of Management and Marketing-sponsored Business Exchange for Student Talent March 27 in JUB’s Tennessee Room. Visit www.mtsu.edu/career for details.

• The annual “Posters at the Capitol” event in Nashville will be held Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will showcase eight MTSU students researchers’ work along with peers from Tennessee Board of Regents and University of Tennessee system universities.

• The admissions-assisted University Honors College fourth annual President’s Day Open House event is set for Monday, Feb. 18, in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Visit www.mtsu.edu/honors/OpenHouse.php for details.

• The fourth annual Health and Fitness Day will be held Wednesday, Feb. 21, in MTSU’s Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. MTSU also is hosting the Bacchus Network Area 8 Spring Conference on March 2. Call 615-898-2104 for details.

• The 18th annual regional Science Olympiad is planned for Saturday, Feb. 23, across campus for area middle school and high school students and the sixth annual Elementary Science Olympiad Saturday, May 4, at John Pittard Elementary School.

• April 1-5 will mark the annual Scholars Week (www.mtsu.edu/research/scholars_week.php), when activities recognize scholarly efforts across campus.

Spring semester music events are available at the MTSU School of Music concert calendar at www.mtsu.edu/music/calendar.php. MTSU Theatre and Dance events can be found at www.mtsu.edu/theatre/CurrentSeason.php. A combined calendar for art, dance, music and theatre events at the university can be found at www.MTSUarts.com.

All MTSU Athletics schedules and information for the spring semester are available at www.goblueraiders.com.

The University Master Calendar, which includes information on all special events conducted at MTSU, is available anytime at www.mtsu.edu/calendar. MTSU’s spring 2013 academic schedule is located online at www.mtsu.edu/calendar_academic.php.

— Randy Weiler (randy.weiler@mtsu.edu)