MTSU Shirks ‘Little Middle’ Past in Next 100 Years

Middle Tennessee State University is doing some soul searching at the start of its second century. School officials are strategizing on how to attract more high-achievers.

MTSU comes from humble beginnings in 1911, educating teachers as a so-called “normal school.”

“We’re no longer ‘the little middle,’” says president Sydney McPhee. He notes that his university is nipping at the heels of UT.

“We put out the second largest number of graduates for the state, the second largest without a major graduate program,” he says.

There are no public plans to start a law school or medical school at MTSU. But McPhee told professors at the start of the semester the university at least needs to attract more students who are likely to finish a four-year degree. State funding now depends on it.

The school has scheduled special recruiting trips across the state through the fall. But there’s work to do in MTSU’s own backyard.

As a high school English teacher in Rutherford County and MTSU alum, Karyl Paul says students often disparage the hometown campus.

“I mean, you can’t sway high school kids anyway. They’re going to go where they’re going to go,” she says. “But I’m like, ‘you don’t know what you’re missing.’”

MTSU has launched an $80 million capital campaign, in part to improve recruitment. The strategy includes dishing out more academic scholarships and beefing up the school’s athletics program.