MTSU faculty and staff appeared on WGNS Radio recently to talk about a faculty member’s latest books on presidential inaugurals and the bald eagle, an upcoming summer STEM camp for high school students, and the upcoming spring showcase for alumni on and around campus.

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 a podcast of the March 20 program.

The guests and their topics included:

• John Vile, political science professor, dean of the University Honors College and a constitutional history expert with the Free Speech Center at MTSU, who discussed two of his most recently published books.

In the first book, “The Drama of Presidential Inaugurations and Inaugural Addresses from Washington through to Biden,” Vile takes on the challenge of researching “the drama” of all 46 inaugurations and presidential addresses.

In the second book, “The Bald Eagle and Its Legacy: An Encyclopedia of a High-Flying American Icon in U.S. History: Nature, Law and Culture,” Vile presents numerous A to Z entries about the bald eagle and its place in American culture. The bald eagle is one of the nation’s earliest and most persistent symbols and has been so even before it was chosen to be placed on the Great Seal of the United States.

• Dennis Mullen, chair of the MTSU’s Department of Biology, who discussed MTSU’s STEM Summer Camp for high school students.

MTSU’s College of Basic and Applied Sciences is offering a one-week Summer STEM Camp for high school students entering the 9th through 12th grade for the 2023-24 academic school year. The in-person camp will run Monday-Friday, June 19-23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. 

Monday through Wednesday, June 19-21, attendees will select an activity each day limited to 15 students on a first come, first served basis. Thursday, June 22, is a field trip day where students will be transported to the Murfreesboro Airport to visit our Aerospace Department and the MTSU Creamery on campus, part of our Agriculture Department, where we make our delicious chocolate milk. Finally, on Friday, June 23, students will present their learned findings in a five-minute group presentation. Activities are fun, hands-on, and age appropriate.

Registration is now open. Early bird registration costs $200 and lasts until April 15, when the price rises to $250. Registration closes May 15 and space is limited. Register at https://mtsu.edu/cbas/CBASSTEMSummercamp.php.

• Ginger Freeman, director of the MTSU Alumni Relations Office, who discussed this year’s MTSU Alumni Spring Showcase and the call for nominations for Distinguished Alumni awards.

The 2023 MTSU Spring Showcase will be April 6-15. Spring Showcase is an annual opportunity for alumni, family and community members to visit campus and actively participate in MTSU’s culture. Among activities available this year are public guest lectures, sporting events, photo and art gallery exhibits, a Tucker Theatre musical, an MTSU symphony concert and other events to be determined.

The deadline is quickly approaching for nominations for the 2023-24 Middle Tennessee State University Distinguished Alumni. The deadline to submit is Friday, March 31.

The awards, which will include an overall Distinguished Alumni recipient and Young Alumni Achievement honoree, recognize those with prolonged records of achievement who have made outstanding contributions to society and who exemplify the ideals for which MTSU stands in extraordinary ways. Recipients will be announced later this year and recognized during MTSU Homecoming events Sept. 22-23.

Anyone with questions can call the Alumni Relations Office at 800-533-6878 or email alumni@mtsu.edu.

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