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Articles by Drew Ruble
Finishing the Race: Iconic coach’s legacy continues to impact MTSU far beyond the track
(MTSU photo by J. Intintoli) by Bill Lewis, Drew Ruble, and Randy Weiler The family of legendary MTSU track and field coach Dean A. Hayes recently established a permanent scholarship to honor the philosophy of their iconic patriarch and the nine original Blue Raider Pioneers of the athletic department of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
More Than Words: MTSU’s solemn pledge ‘I am True Blue’ turns 15 years old
Stand almost anywhere on the MTSU campus, and you’ll likely see the phrase “I am True Blue” at least once on a nearby sign, light pole banner, or garment. It’s printed on every student and staff ID card. It’s part of the name of several campus services and initiatives, including True Blue Core, True Blue Fusion, the annual True Blue Tour recruitment effort, and True Blue TV.
The Inability to Unplug: MTSU’s Karen Tan explores the dark side of vacations
by Brian Hudgins and Drew Ruble Surveys conducted by the Robert Walters Group, a global talent solutions provider, found that 74% of U.S. professionals experience feelings of anxiety when using their personal time off (PTO), diminishing the down time. To help lessen their anxiety, 66% of U.S. workers engage in “firefighting” tactics—doing tasks such as checking work emails—to help reduce the backlog they face upon returning to work, and 28% do so to stay on top of urgent matters.
MTSU magazine chronicles retiring President Sidney A. McPhee’s quarter-century impact
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Over the past 25+ years, under the stewardship of retiring President Sidney A. McPhee, Middle Tennessee State University has expanded its capabilities with new and innovative academic programs, a growing research agenda, and educational partnerships across the United States and around the world.
Serving It Up: MTSU’s Liz Barnes traveled unlikely path from Denny’s waitress to a national role in demystifying science
by Brian Hudgins, Drew Ruble, and Stephanie Wagner When Liz Barnes researches the most effective ways for faculty members to teach students, she has her own storied personal and educational history from which to draw. Barnes, an associate professor of Biology, dropped out of high school and moved away from home at 16 years old. Her mother was a single teenager when Barnes was born—and Barnes’ mother later struggled with addiction to prescription painkillers.
Serving It Up: MTSU’s Liz Barnes traveled unlikely path from Denny’s waitress to a national role in demystifying science
by Brian Hudgins, Drew Ruble, and Stephanie Wagner When Liz Barnes researches the most effective ways for faculty members to teach students, she has her own storied personal and educational history from which to draw. Barnes, an associate professor of Biology, dropped out of high school and moved away from home at 16 years old. Her mother was a single teenager when Barnes was born—and Barnes’ mother later struggled with addiction to prescription painkillers.
MTSU magazine charts new distribution course targeting more engaged alumni
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Winter 2026 edition of MTSU magazine, the university’s twice-annual update about all things MTSU, represents a new approach to alumni outreach — one that has been designed especially for the university’s most active and engaged alumni and friends.
Agent of Next
(MTSU photo by J. Intintoli) A deeper dive into the rebranding of MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment in honor of Music Row executive Scott Borchetta Visionary music executive Scott Borchetta, whose legendary career includes the 2005 signing of then-unknown artist Taylor Swift to his independent record label, has come a long way from the 19-year-old, California-born musician who first stepped onto the MTSU campus with his bandmates to record tracks in University studios.
Gliding Along
MTSU Aerospace professor Nate Callender adds a potentially life-saving wrinkle to the pilot literature on “engine-out glide” MTSU’s Nate Callender (r) with a Navy pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was the US Airways captain who guided his Airbus A320 with 155 passengers aboard to a safe landing in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, after a flock of Canada geese knocked out both of his airplane’s engines.
A Perennial Partnership
MTSU professor Song Cui teams up with a Kansas-based sustainable agriculture agency to prove less tilling tastes great Tennessee’s motto is “Agriculture and Commerce.” Agriculture has always been Tennessee’s No. 1 industry and synonymous with its brand. Food grown in the Volunteer State is planted in carbon-rich topsoil. But topsoil is disappearing at a terrifying rate across the United States.
A Clearer Picture
MTSU Computer Science graduate Lucas Remedios wields artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against a silent killer A study published in Academic Radiology found that, on average, radiologists must interpret one CT or MRI image every three to four seconds to keep their workday on track. It’s a frightening pace considering patients’ lives often depend on scan readings to determine if something looks abnormal.
18 Noteworthy Degree Programs at MTSU
One observer’s list of MTSU majors that deserve more attention—and set graduates up for great careers MTSU and its so-called marketing experts (like me!) commonly give extensive coverage and marketing love to the “sexier” academic programs on campus. Think Recording Industry, Live Production (Video and Film Production), Concrete and Construction Management, Aerospace, Fermentation Science, and Horse Science. We do so for good reasons.
A Quantum Leap Forward
MTSU and professor Hanna Terletska lead research and training efforts to prepare workforce for the future of computing Say the word “quantum,” and the average person might conjure up images of time travel, à la the television show Quantum Leap from the 1990s. Told of quantum initiatives now taking place on the campus of MTSU, they might envision a portal tucked away somewhere in a basement lab where researchers disappear and reappear at random intervals. Spoiler alert: That’s not happening.
MTSU magazine’s summer 2025 edition spotlights quantum science, academic programs
The future of quantum computing is indeed the stuff of fantasy and science fiction. And MTSU researcher Hanna Terletska, leader of MTSU’s Quantum Science Initiative and an associate professor of Physics, is doggedly pursuing it.
Winning the Reading Wars
MTSU’s Literacy Studies Ph.D. program, one of the first in the country, draws national support with $1 million private grant in its quest to solve America’s literacy crisis Imagine being unable to read instructions on prescriptions dispensed by a doctor or pharmacy. Or street signs as you navigate to a destination you’ve never visited. Think about what it would be like to be unemployed but unable to read the application needed to get a job.
MTSU magazine shows value of students’ real-world experience to degree, resume
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Winter 2025 edition of MTSU magazine makes a compelling case that on the Blue Raider campus, a degree isn’t just a degree — it’s a resume. MTSU’s longstanding focus on experiential learning takes students out of the traditional classroom and actively asks them to use their knowledge and skills in a real-world environment.
Steeped in history and with a top student-veteran support center, MTSU ranks among nation’s most military-focused universities
In the heart of Middle Tennessee State University’s sprawling, 515-acre main campus sit two neighboring roadways: Normal Way and Military Memorial. Normal Way honors MTSU’s origins as a training ground for public school teachers. Founded in 1911 as Middle Tennessee State Normal School, it derived its name from the French phrase école normale—meaning teacher-training institutions intended to establish a “norm” after which all other schools would be modeled.
MTSU summer ’24 magazine examines university impact on region’s health care services
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee is a perfect microcosm of the American health care system. There’s metro Nashville, with its $67 billion health care industry — and then Nashville’s 13-county metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, with its vast health care deserts. The latest edition of MTSU magazine spotlights Middle Tennessee State University’s large role in supplying a skilled workforce to the region’s health care industry.
MTSU magazine’s winter 2024 edition explores personal side of new head football coach Derek Mason
The latest edition of MTSU magazine goes beyond the x’s and o’s and the “coach speak” to find out what recently hired head football coach Derek Mason is really like. Mason grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, keeping his days busy between sports — football, of course, but also track and field — and music, playing the violin and piano many afternoons after school. He was raised by his working mother, with help from his grandparents and later his stepfather.
MTSU program is developing building materials for life (and launch) on the moon
There’s a concrete True Blue connection to NASA’s plan to return to the moon in 2026 and establish a human settlement by 2035. NASA selected the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to lead the federal agency’s lunar habitat project, a series of increasingly complex missions that will culminate in rocket flights from the moon to Mars.
Special Interest: Education professor helps families and their children flourish
Decades of research shows that children’s earliest experiences play a critical role in brain development. According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, neural circuits, which create the foundation for learning, behavior, and health, are most flexible or “plastic” during the first three years of life. Over time, they become increasingly difficult to change.
MTSU magazine’s summer 2023 edition celebrates MTSU’s flagship aerospace departmen
The latest edition of MTSU magazine celebrates Middle Tennessee State University’s flagship Aerospace Department, which is celebrating 80 years in flight — and charting its future course. MTSU’s Aerospace Department began as a campus-based flight-training detachment for the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Singing Praises: Choral director open doors for young artists
Raphael Bundage total funding: $6.27 million by Skip Anderson and Drew Ruble For Raphael Bundage, an MTSU professor in the School of Music, director of choral activities, and longtime director of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, music began as a family affair. Bundage’s father, a Methodist (AME) minister (who also taught chemistry at Jarvis Christian College), sang bass in a high school quartet. His mother, an English teacher, was a wonderful singer herself.
Heart of Gold: Center for Health and Human Services director turns project expertise into life-changing results
Cynthia Chafin total grant funding: $5.04 million by Drew Ruble As a student at MTSU, Cynthia Chafin (’88) studied in the Jones College of Business. She said it seemed a logical choice at the time as she was the child of business owners. Armed with her Business Administration degree, Chafin spent the first five years out of college as an accountant. “I did okay with it, but something was missing,” she said of her first professional experience.
Supply and Demand: MTSU’s new degree places grads in sweet spot of global logistics
American consumers are used to getting what they want—on the same day even. But supply chain issues over the past two years have disrupted that expectation. Instead, Americans have become accustomed to images of large ships filled with billions of dollars of the goods they cherish floating outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—the busiest ports in the country. Athletic shoe company New Balance even made a commercial about it.
Half a Century in the ‘Glass House’: Reflecting on magical moments at Murphy Center
by Drew Ruble Stately and iconic Kirksey Old Main, one of the first buildings constructed on the MTSU campus 111 years ago, may be the most recognizable facility on campus. But, for many, 50-year-old Murphy Center is MTSU’s most sentimental spot. From first kisses and first concerts to first days of college, Murphy Center may hold more memories than any other building at MTSU.
Campus Icon: 10 things you probably don’t know about one of MTSU’s best-known educators
Dr. Terry Whiteside, dean of the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, has been a “man about campus” for no less than 42 years. Given his high-profile academic, administrative, and athletic roles through the years, the odds are pretty high that Whiteside has had at least some connection to the college experiences of many living alumni. Because he’s spent more than four decades at MTSU, one would think Whiteside must be well known to everyone associated with the University.
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