Class Notes
1980s, cont. 1995, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed. Strickland was immediately dispatched to the scene to coordinate NBC’s coverage with the local affiliate. In 2008, he won an Emmy for breaking news coverage on the collapse of the bank bailout talks in Congress. Strickland also produced coverage of former president George W. Bush’s trip to Ground Zero in New York City in the days following the 9/11 attack.
1990s
Andy Adams Andy Adams (’68), founder and CEO of Murfreesboro-based, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) National Health Investors, handed his CEO title to president and COO Justin Hutchens. Adams remains chair of the company. He had been interim CEO since April 2008. The firm, founded in 1991, invests primarily in long-term care and comprises more than 120 facilities in 17 states. Adams also founded and remains a board director of publicly traded long-term care provider National HealthCare Corporation. MTSU
The high school dropout problem is an epidemic in the United States. MTSU graduate Alvin Allgood (’93) is doing something about it. Allgood was recently named senior VP and head of the Student Dropout Recovery Center initiative at New York–based EdisonLearning. The company serves more than 450,000 students in 25 states, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East through 391 school partnerships. Allgood previously was executive VP and COO of middle Tennessee–based Educational Services of America, where he built four operating divisions including its recovery services.
A Time to Build Up In a time when complicated surgeries are being performed with the assistance of robots, it’s hard to believe that well into the 1920s doctors were conducting procedures on kitchen tables by lantern light. Realizing the need was great, a group of dedicated citizens toiled to bring a Child’s Health Demonstration and eventually a small hospital to Rutherford County to improve medical care for the county and surrounding areas. A recently released book, A Time to Build Up, commemorates the 83-year legacy of Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in Murfreesboro from the beginning to the opening of the new MTMC, a $267 million facility, in 2010. Written by freelance writer Patsy Weiler (’78), the project included fellow MTSU graduates Susan Grear (’79), executive editor; Angie Boyd-Chambers (’01), MTMC’s former public relations director (now at Saint Thomas Health); and Erin Yeldell (’08), MTMC public relations coordinator for the book. MTSU The book won the 2011 National Indie Excellence Award for Best Coffee-Table Book.
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