Midpoints
A Future So Fulbright
Positive Influence At its annual Economic Outlook Conference last October, the Jennings A. Jones College of Business honored one of its successful alums, health care entrepreneur Joey Jacobs, with the 2013 Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award. Jacobs is chair and CEO of Acadia Healthcare, a rapidly growing behavioral health company based in Franklin. Before joining Acadia, Jacobs cofounded Psychiatric Solutions Inc. and served as its chair, president, and CEO from April 1997 until November 2010. Jacobs is on the executive committee of MTSU’s ongoing $80 million fundraising campaign.
David Owens (below), an MTSU doctoral student, will travel to Brazil this coming spring to begin a nine-month Fulbright English teaching assistantship. The Fulbright Program—the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government—is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. During his time in Brazil, Owens plans to work with locals on science and farming projects and volunteer where needed. Owens, who holds a bachelor’s degree in biology education and chemistry from MTSU and a master’s degree in ecology from the University of Nebraska, recently began a doctoral program in math and science education at MTSU. This marks the fourth consecutive year MTSU has had at least two students awarded a Fulbright opportunity. Owens is the 11th MTSU student to receive this honor. MTSU was recognized last year by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a top producer of Fulbright award winners. MTSU was the only Tennessee college or university to earn the distinction.
A Healthy Student Body MTSU drew the largest class of new freshmen and the largest population of new transfer students among the six universities in the Tennessee Board of Regents system last fall. MTSU’s new freshman population increased by almost two percent over last year, at a time when the number of high school graduates is down nationally and demographers have predicted a smaller high school graduate population in Tennessee. Both the average ACT and the average high school GPA are up for the entering freshman class. The ACT average for the fall 2013 freshman class (22.0) continues to be above the national average (20.9) and above the Tennessee average (19.5). The average high school GPA for the fall 2013 freshman class (3.35) was above last year’s class (3.31). Enrollment in doctoral programs at MTSU also increased by nearly nine percent.
Music “U” MTSU alum Gary Overton (’84), above right, chair and CEO of Sony Music Nashville, home of country music superstars Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood (above left), was the first speaker in the Recording Industry Department’s new Chair’s Speakers Series last fall. Before Sony and a 15-year stint running EMI Publishing, Overton was personal manager for Alan Jackson. At the event, Overton was named an honorary professor in the Department of Recording Industry. Barry Gibb (below) also spoke as part of the series. Gibb, one of the founding members of the Bee Gees, is the world’s most successful songwriter after Paul McCartney, according to Guinness World Records, and has a career spanning more than 50 years. During his visit, Gibbs was named the inaugural fellow of the Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Other speakers included Sarah Trahern, recently named CEO of the Country Music Association; Grammy-nominated R&B singer Kenny Lattimore; artist manager Michelle Tafoya (who handled projects during the height of the success of Tupac Shakur); and Grammy-nominated producer Nathan Chapman (best known for producing Taylor Swift). Singer/songwriter Kip Moore (who last year had three consecutive number-one country radio hits) provided a lecture sponsored by Grammy U, the college networking arm of the Recording Academy. January 2014 | 13 |