linked to education—not only in attracting the best and brightest but also in what happens with their development while here. Hopefully, during this campaign, businesses will see that MTSU’s role in local workforce development is critical to their success. This University feeds so many businesses and creates those successes. So many of us hire MTSU grads, and it’s critical to get the right people as we continue to build our own companies. In the end, then, what could this campaign mean in terms of taking MTSU and the region to next level?
Wright: To me, it is all about creating leaders for the future, new leaders who can move us forward as a local and regional and national community. One of the four campaign goals is raising money to provide more scholarships. How important is it to attract the best and brightest students?
Witherspoon: Becoming involved in the campaign opened my eyes to something I wasn’t fully aware of. I’m aware of athletics and how we need to recruit top athletes to compete in the various sports. The concept of recruiting scholars really, to me, was a little bit foreign. But now I have been involved in some activities where I’ve seen what has had to happen to attract these top students to MTSU. We are in competition with colleges and universities throughout the world for top-notch students, and having the financial resources to assist those students in coming here really moves things forward. This campaign will help us do a better job of that. Another major component of the campaign is raising money to attract great faculty through the establishment of more chairs of excellence. Pam, you’re one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in all of Tennessee. You’ve established a chair in entrepreneurship at MTSU. Tell me about that aspect of the campaign since that is where you chose to make your own personal investment.
Wright: A few years ago, when I first began thinking about a major investment in the University, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or how to use my own gift to make a difference. After several
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discussions about the needs and opportunities available to me, I found my passion—something that was truly important to me, and it was a vital need for the University. Establishing an endowed chair in entrepreneurship has enabled MTSU to bring a nationally recognized expert to campus, where he can be found in the classroom with students, as well as out in the business community providing a valuable link to the University. I realize now that we would not have been able to attract such a noted individual without the chair. The real workplace knowledge that person brings, as well as the potential for research and for community outreach in terms of enhancing the reputation of the University—it can have a transformational impact.
The Brass Tacks
MTSU recently launched the most comprehensive and ambitious fundraising campaign in its history— the Centennial Campaign. The campaign will ensure the University’s place among the nation’s top comprehensive universities, further raise its visibility nationally and internationally, and maintain its legacy as a center of higher education excellence for the future. Nearly $60 million has already been committed toward the campaign’s $80 million goal. That sum alone would constitute a successful effort at many comprehensive universities.
CENTENNIAL Campaign
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY