MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University representatives recently appeared on WGNS Radio to discuss this year’s lineup of Homecoming activities, a professor’s efforts to boost the teaching of science, and an upcoming series of courses offered through the Executive Education program.

They appeared on the live “Action Line” program with host Scott Walker broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to podcast segments of the Aug. 18 program by clicking the links at the end of each guest summary below.

Guests for the August program included:

• Beth Dye, assistant director in the MTSU Alumni Relations Office, discussed this year’s Homecoming 2025 events. Themed “Boro Bound Road Trip,” the 2025 MTSU Homecoming celebration is set for Sept. 19-20 on the Blue Raider campus, featuring a variety of activities for MTSU alumni, family, friends and supporters.

Among featured activities is the Golden Raiders Reunion honoring the Class of 1975 where the MTSU National Alumni Association honors the members of the Class of 1975 with an invitation to join fellow classmates for an induction lunch and ceremony; and the Mixer on Middle Parade Watching Party on the Alumni House grounds to view the Homecoming Parade. 

Contact the alumni office for more information at 615-898-2922 or visit mtalumni.com for complete details on all the Homecoming activities, tickets and more. Listen to Dye’s segment.

• Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Barnes, associate professor of biology education, discusses the summer gathering of the Science Communication Education Research Network (SCERN) funded by a National Science Foundation grant.

Barnes led 30 academics studying how to teach our next generation of science students how to be better science communicators to their communities. This was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of Barnes’ NSF grant for which she is the Principal Investigator.

Given the current polarization about science in society and the funding challenges that are occurring due to a lower trust in science and scientists over the last few years, Barnes gathered these academics, including both science education researchers and science communication researchers, to collaborate on how to train our next generation of scientists at the undergraduate level to be more culturally competent and understand how to build better relationships with the public about science. Listen to Barnes’ segment.

• Dr. Lucy Matthews, marketing professor, discussed the “Building Your Brand: Online and Off” she’s teaching to kick off MTSU’s Fall Leadership Lab Series, hosted by the Jones College of Business Executive Education program.

Free and open to the public, the series begins Aug. 29 with Matthews leading a session on personal branding — both in person and online.

She discussed what personal branding means, why it matters, and how face-to-face presence differs from your digital reputation. Matthews also discussed who can benefit most from this interactive session and how the “Leadership Labs” create accessible, high-impact learning opportunities for the community. Learn more at execed.mtsu.edu or email JonesExecEd@mtsu.edu. Listen to Matthews’ segment.

Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, senior director of MTSU News and Media Relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu.