(MURFREESBORO) If you’re located in the third fastest growing city in the entire nation, and happen to be the largest undergraduate university in Tennessee—it should come as no surprise that it took four separate commencement services for more than 2,650 new MTSU Blue Raider alumni to receive their diplomas inside Murphy Center.

Enjoy The Journey

Middle Tennessee State University spring grads were urged to “enjoy the journey”, and “stay up to speed”.

MTSU’s spring 2023 graduation ceremonies celebrated an estimated 2,656 new alumni receiving their degrees, a figure that includes 2,256 undergraduates and 400 graduate students, according to the university Registrar’s Office. 

That second number includes 345 master’s degree recipients, 36 education-specialist degree recipients and 19 doctoral recipients, along with 20 graduate students who received certificates for their advanced study. 

With these spring 2023 commencement ceremonies, MTSU has now awarded more than 180,700 degrees to its students, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist and doctoral degrees, since its 1911 founding. 

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee told each group of graduates that he and the faculty are proud to see the newest group joining the university’s “distinguished history and tradition,” now in its 112th academic year, 

“We look forward to seeing the far-reaching impact as you apply what you have learned during your studies here,” he added. 

Salute 5 Metro Nashville Police Officers

During the Friday-night ceremony, McPhee also led a salute to five Metro Nashville Police Department officers who helped save lives at Covenant School during a mass shooting at the Nashville private school.  

Named as honorary professors of public safety were Detectives Ryan Cagle, Michael Collazo and Zachary Plese, officer Rex Engelbert and Sgt. Jeffrey Mathes. Engelbert could not attend the ceremony. 

More details on the recognition for the officers are available at https://bit.ly/MTHonorsMetroOfficers. 

The official spring 2023 commencement program, listing all the graduates by college as well as providing more details on the guest speakers, is available at https://bit.ly/MTSpring2023GradProgram. 

Four graduation programs

Big Blue’s newest alums were able to receive encouragement from four different community leaders.

• 1:30PM Friday (5/5/2023) afternoon ceremony with degree presentations to students from the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and remarks from longtime Murfreesboro banker, community leader and 1982 MTSU business alumnus Bill Jones.
• 6:00PM Friday (5/5/2023) evening ceremony with degrees for the College of Liberal Arts and College of Media and Entertainment students, with Nashville TV producer and entrepreneur Nic Dugger (2000 MTSU mass communication alumni) as the speaker.
• 9:00AM Saturday morning (5/6/2023) Diplomas for graduates in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business and the University College, who’ll be addressed by Matt Crews, founder and CEO of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix and a 1991 MTSU business management alumnus.
• 1:30PM Saturday afternoon (5/6/2023) Graduation for College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and College of Education graduates with comments from 1973 MTSU psychology alumna Pamela Wright, a Nashville entrepreneur, philanthropist and member of the MTSU Board of Trustees.

Stay Up To Speed

Murfreesboro banker and community leader Bill Jones, a 1982 MTSU business alumnus and Pinnacle Financial Partners area executive, shared the audience’s incredulity Friday afternoon at how disseminating information has utterly changed society since his own student days. 

Jones noted, “It's difficult to imagine and impossible to predict what is to come. … What will you do to stay up to speed as your world develops? What will you do to lead in innovation in science, economics, medicine, entertainment, politics, social and societal reform? I encourage you to be an active participant and not sit on the sideline. Take the inquisitive nature that has been encouraged in you in your time at MTSU to make some difference.” 

Hurry Up…Do The Opposite

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right," Nic Dugger, founder and owner of TNDV: Television LLC, chief marketing officer for Live Media Group LLC and the current president of the Nashville/Mid-South chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, told graduating students Friday night, May 5, at his alma mater's spring 2023 commencement ceremony for the College of Liberal Arts and College of Media and Entertainment. 

Trip of a Lifetime

Guest speaker Matt Crews, founder and CEO of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, kicked off the celebration Saturday, May 5, with encouraging words for Jennings A. Jones College of Business and University College graduates. 

Urging them not to equate failure with giving up, the 1991 MTSU business management alumnus said the Class of 2023 has already faced challenges utterly foreign to most previous generations. 

“I'm sure you've heard a thousand times how easy your generation it and how hard things used to be. I think that's total crap. I think every generation has its challenges,” Crews said emphatically.  

“We could have never fathomed that years ago: the pressure of social media, the injection of AI, you guys are going to be competing with things that didn’t exist when we graduated 30 years ago. So please don't buy into that. I mean, COVID took nearly two years of … some of the key parts of your college experience.  

Travel…Look at your Whole Life

MTSU alumna, entrepreneur, philanthropist and Board of Trustees member Pamela Wright understands Brady’s enthusiasm for travel. Not only did she advise travelers for decades at her company, she urged College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and College of Education graduates Saturday afternoon to build fun, including travel, into lives filled with work, family, friends, community service and ongoing learning. 

“I almost guarantee you one outcome: You will be surprised. You'll be surprised at the challenges you face, at the opportunities that come your way, the people you meet, the roles you play, the lives you touch, and the difference you make in the world,” the 1973 psychology graduate said.  

“You are in for the surprise of your life. And it is entirely up to you whether you are invigorated or exhausted by your surprising life. So allow me to suggest that you consider your life in whole, not in part, that you attempt to see how things fit together to form a big picture. … This picture will never be complete, of course. It will always evolve because you are painting the canvas of your life. Whether the canvas of your life is a masterpiece depends on what you do with it.”