164 GROUND TO BE BROKEN ON SITE OF “LIVING” MTSU VETS MEMORIAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 29, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

GROUND TO BE BROKEN ON SITE OF “LIVING” MTSU VETS MEMORIAL
Granite Wall, Brick Pavers Part of Permanent Space for Learning, Reflection

(MURFREESBORO) – Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) officials will break ground on the future site of a permanent memorial to military veterans at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Tom H. Jackson Building (formerly the Alumni Building) during a day of festivities to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of military personnel.
The memorial will honor MTSU faculty, students, staffers and administrators who served their country in the United States armed forces from the university’s inception in 1911 to the present and beyond. It will be a living memorial constructed in the form of a plaza that can be used equally well for classroom instruction, formal ceremonies or private contemplation.
“We’re excited that finally we’re going to have a groundbreaking so that veterans and their families can now come to campus and feel that they have a place, a place that recognizes them in some way,” Dr. Robb McDaniel, MTSU Veterans Committee Chairman and associate professor of political science, says.
The plan designed by Garry Askew of Bauer/Askew Architecture Pllc. of Nashville will be on display at the groundbreaking. It includes a bipartite gray granite wall with a polished base. The names of the deceased will be featured on the north side. The south side will display a constellation of stars on one section. On the opposite section, the words “To Support and Defend the Constitution” will be engraved.
Brick pavers, many featuring the names of family members and other loved ones who served their country, will be arrayed in rows between the wall and the Jackson Building, flanked on either side with benches and emblems of the branches of the armed services. Proceeds from the ongoing sale of the pavers will go toward funding the memorial.
A honed gray granite circle inscribed with the MTSU seal will be situated between the pavers and the Jackson Building. It will be aligned with a polished gray granite podium to be used by professors during class lectures or speakers at special ceremonies. A flagpole aligned with the podium will be placed behind the wall.
“We’ve been working on this project for about two years now, and … we’re at a point where we’ve got a design that we’re really enthusiastic about,” McDaniel says, noting that the site is in the older part of campus, linked with much of the university’s history.
To date, the committee has collected the names of some 60 members of the university community killed in the line of duty. To bring more names to the committee’s attention, contact Dr. Derek Frisby, assistant professor of history and Desert Storm veteran, at 615-494-8856 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. For more information, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/veterans.
Tax-deductible contributions to the memorial can be made by mail to MTSU Veterans Memorial Fund, c/o MTSU Foundation, P.O. Box 109, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. On-line donations can be made at http://www.mtsu.edu/~devofc/giving.html. Information about automatic bank drafts also is available on the Web site. To donate by phone with Visa or MasterCard, call 615-898-2502 or 1-877-444-6878.
Refreshments will be available, and the media are welcome to attend.

--30--


ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a graphic of the memorial wall design that will be on display at the groundbreaking, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.