002 MORE THAN 900 GRADUATE FROM MTSU AT 96th SUMMER COMMENCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Office of News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919

MORE THAN 900 GRADUATE FROM MTSU AT 96th SUMMER COMMENCEMENT
Single-Ceremony Event Will Again be Webcast for Those Unable to Attend

(MURFREESBORO)—A projected 940 degree candidates will graduate during the 96th annual summer commencement ceremony, MTSU officials announced recently.
The single-ceremony graduation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, in Murphy Center on the campus of MTSU, with Dr. Tony Johnston, associate professor for the School of Agriscience and Agribusiness and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ (TBR) Faculty Subcouncil, delivering the commencement address.
Some 703 of this summer’s degree candidates will be undergraduates, said Dr. Sherian Huddleston, director, Records, and assistant vice provost, Enrollment Services, with 237 students slated to graduate from the College of Graduate Studies. This total includes one graduate certificate recipient, 207 master's degrees, 24 specialist in education (Ed.S.) degrees and five doctoral-level degrees.
Regarding his planned message to degree candidates, Johnston said, “Graduation marks the first day of the rest of a student’s education. Just when we think we’re ‘finished’ with education, we realize it’s just begun.”
Prior to joining the MTSU faculty in 1995, Johnston served as a full-time food quality and food assurance manager for national corporations, including Pilgrim’s Pride, Tyson Foods and Ozark Salad Company, respectively, as well as a winemaker and consultant for land and business owners interested in establishing vineyards and wineries in Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia.
Born in Louisville, Ky., and reared in Houston, Texas, Johnston earned a bachelor’s degree in geophysics and a master’s degree in food science before garnering a Ph.D. in food science/enology from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He also holds professional memberships in the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Society for Enology and Viticulture and the Tennessee Viticultural and Oenological Society.
He has devoted professional service to the a number of food science-related organizations, including serving as secretary for the Grape Research and Extension and Exchange Group in 2004-05 and 2006-07; chairman of the Southern Regional Sections of the Institute of Food Technologists in 2000-01; representative for the Institute of Food Technologists Career Guidance Committee to the National Science Teachers Association Conference in 1997; and service as a session moderator for the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in 2005, among other activities.
In addition to his 2006-2007 tenure as president of MTSU’s Faculty Senate, Johnston—whose academic research has garnered 10 education-related grants to date— has served on many university committees, including membership on the MTSU University Relations Committee (1997-1999), MTSU Applied Science and Technology Partnership Taskforce (1999-2001), MTSU Democracy Project (2003-05) and MTSU Master Plan Committee (2006-07), respectively. He also is the current academic adviser for Alpha Gamma Rho, a professional/social fraternity, and Delta Tau Alpha, an agricultural honor society.
An active member of the United States Air Force from 1980 to 1984, where he served as a configuration management office in the Tactical Air and Battle Management Systems Office and test director for field testing of a radar-modification program. Additionally, Johnston has served as a reservist within the U.S. Air Force since 1988 in the capacity of a logistics readiness officer, where he is a staff member of the Air Force Logistics Command Headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. During his reserve tenure, he has been activated two
times since Sept. 11, 2001, and served an additional 28 months of full-time military service involved in the development and preparation of battle plans and war games for the command.
Dr. Jack Thomas, vice provost for academic affairs and chairman of the commencement committee, said he wanted to remind all degree candidates of the importance of appropriate dress, decorum and respect for the commencement ceremony.
“We believe this is a very important day in the lives of many people,” Thomas said. “Commencement is one of those few days that families always remember as special. It is difficult to give the ceremony the dignified atmosphere it deserves if attendees are using air horns or leaving before the completion of the ceremony.”
Additionally, per Thomas, the graduation committee also emphasized that students who participate in commencement will be required to stay for the entire ceremony. The ceremony should last about two hours. If candidates are planning celebration activities, please be aware of this commitment, he said.
“To make this a special day, it requires cooperation from everyone in attendance,” Thomas said. “We believe it should be a dignified ceremony, which adds to its enjoyment of all in attendance.”
At 8:30 a.m. Aug. 11, Murphy Center doors will open for the commencement
ceremony. Candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas, dressed in their caps and gowns, no later than 9 a.m. Officials report that students who are not in their assigned gym at the proper times will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Because commencement rehearsals are no longer conducted, timely attendance is mandatory for students to receive important instructions.
Graduation information—including how to access the graduation ceremony via streaming video the day of commencement, maps and driving directions to Murphy Center, cap-and-gown information and how to order a DVD ($10 each) of the summer ceremony— is available online by accessing www.mtsunews.com and clicking on the “Graduation Information” link at the top, center of the Web page.
For more information about receiving a degree in absentia, please visit the Records Office Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~records/ grad.htm . Any additional questions about graduation may be directed to the Records Office at 615-898-2600.


MTSU SUMMER 2007 COMMENCEMENT AT A GLANCE

Who: 940 graduates* (703 undergraduates, 237 graduate students)
What: MTSU’s 96th annual summer commencement ceremony.
When: 10 a.m. Aug. 11; doors open at 8:30 a.m.
Where: Murphy Center
Commencement speaker: Dr. Tony Johnston, associate professor for the School of Agriscience and Agribusiness and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ (TBR) Faculty Subcouncil
* — Approximate number as of July 25, 2007.


**ATTENTION, MEDIA—To secure a jpeg of Dr. Johnston for editorial use, please e-mail your request to gfann@mtsu.edu in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU.


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