MTSUâs newest alumni have countless âoutrageous adventuresâ ahead, one of their professors assured them Saturday, Aug. 6, at the universityâs summer 2016 commencement ceremony in Murphy Center.
âWe wish we could guarantee that things would be spectacular as soon as you cross this stage,â Tricia Farwell, an advertising and public relations professor and the outgoing MTSU Faculty Senate president, told the 886 graduates. âBut youâre not here to live a fairy tale. âĤ You are the only one who can hold you responsible.â
The summer 2016 graduates included the first 10 recipients of MTSUâs new Doctor of Education in Assessment, Learning, and School Improvement degree â the first of its kind in Tennessee. The program in the College of Education (http://www.mtsu.edu/education/alsi.php) began in fall 2013 and trains educators in pre-K through 12th grades to analyze student-learning data and pinpoint areas of success as well as areas in need of attention.
âAdventures planned and unplanned are what make us who we are,â Farwell continued. âLive your adventures, find your voice and have your own experiences. Starting this moment, take the time to create the biggest, most spectacular, most outrageous adventures that you can.â
One of those new graduates, Mark Eischeid of Murfreesboro, completed one of his adventures by checking off a long-delayed item on his to-do list.
The area business manager at the Bridgestone/Firestone plant in La Vergne, Tennessee, struck up a conversation with David Gotcher, interim dean of MTSUâs University College, while leading an Aug. 2 plant tour for some MTSU faculty. Eischeid told Gotcher that heâd entered MTSU in 1980 as a marketing major but dropped out in 1984 after acquiring a job in Smyrna.
Gotcher checked the 54-year-old Eischeidâs transcript and found out that he was eligible for a bachelorâs degree if he switched his major to liberal studies, a major that didnât exist in 1984. MTSUâs degree-track analysts went into overdrive to determine whether Eischeid could join Saturdayâs ceremony.
âWe were just able to restructure the courses that he was taking to allow him to legitimately, academically finish a degree,â said Gotcher, whose college specializes in working with adult learners.
He pointed to Eischeid as a great example of former students who are being aided by Tennessee Reconnect and Graduate MT (http://www.mtsu.edu/adcp/reconnect.php), an outreach program that targets adults who want to finish their college degrees. Gotcher said about 200 students have taken advantage of the program in the past year.
âHe was on our list,â said Gotcher. âWe just hadnât heard from him yet, so we followed up.â
âIâm actually very excited, kind of shocked,â said Eischeid as he waited for commencement to begin.
Eischeid, who has been with Bridgestone for 17 years, said he âjust got busy with lifeâ with his wife, family and career and âput the degree on the back burner.â
More higher education isnât off the table. âIâll think about this, but, you know, if itâs out there, thereâs maybe a couple of opportunities for a further degree,â Eischeid said.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee told the excited crowd that he considers commencement âthe single most important event of this universityâ and encouraged the new graduates to âbask in the glow that comes with this day.â
A complete list of the 273 graduate and 613 undergraduate degree recipients from all nine of MTSUâs colleges is available in the summer commencement program at http://ow.ly/uW0o302Zp0k.
The event program also includes a list on page six of the universityâs newest professors emeriti, which is an honor bestowed during MTSUâs summer commencements upon retiring professors as thanks for their exceptional service and achievements.
MTSU graduation information is always available online at http://www.mtsunews.com/graduation-info.
The universityâs 2016-17 academic year begins Monday, Aug. 22, with the first official day of fall 2015 semester classes. University Convocation, a public ceremony welcoming new freshmen into the MTSU family, is set for Sunday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. in Murphy Center.
MTSU is committed to developing a community devoted to learning, growth and service. We hold these values dear, and thereâs a simple phrase that conveys them: Â âI am True Blue.â Learn more at www.mtsu.edu/trueblue. For MTSU news anytime, visit www.MTSUNews.com.Â
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