[452] Campus Rec Center's Wiley Receives Harold Love Award from TBR

Release date: May 4, 2010


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Health, Wellness & Recreation Center contact: Charlie Gregory, 615-898-2104
or cgregory@mtsu.edu

Campus Rec Center’s Wiley Receives Harold Love Award from TBR


(MURFREESBORO, TN) – Ray Wiley’s untold hours of dedication in training MTSU students and staff in first aid and the automated external defibrillator, and his vision for preparing the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center to become a Red Cross shelter has not gone unnoticed.
On April 29, Wiley was named as a 2010 recipient of the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award bestowed by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. THEC Executive Director Richard G. Rhoda made the presentation.
In nominating Wiley, Campus Rec Center Director Charlie Gregory called him “the architect of the disaster shelter plan for the Heart of Tennessee Chapter and MTSU” that assisted nearly 450 evacuees from New Orleans after Hurricane Gustav in September 2008.
A humbled Wiley, who has worked at MTSU since 1994, accepted the award but acknowledged many others’ names should be attached to it.
“I am deeply appreciative of this recognition,” he said. “However, I believe this award is a reflection of the wonderful people I work with at MTSU and the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Without their help, support and encouragement, we could not have successfully sheltered the 447 citizens of New Orleans during the week of Hurricane Gustav or assist the people who were affected by the tornadoes last year.
“I have been a Red Cross volunteer for over 25 years and I believe in the Red Cross mission. I love teaching all the different types of classes ranging from disaster training to CPR, first aid and AED instructor courses.”
In January, Wiley said he was asked to “serve as a tem member of Red Cross instructors to teach a mass CPR course to a Spanish-speaking community at a Nashville church.”
“We trained over 160 folks to save a life,” he said. “Because of the language barrier, many of these folks would not have had the opportunity to take this course otherwise. I truly desire to help provide relief to people who have been affected by disasters and help people prepare for and respond to emergencies.”
He added that more training will take place this summer and then in the fall as “we’re trying to increase the number of volunteers here on campus.”
The Madisonville, Ky., native, who earned his bachelor’s (’80) at Campbellsville University, master’s (’82) at Morehead State, both in Kentucky, and specialist in education (’07) at MTSU, said none of this would have been possible “without the encouragement and support that I receive daily from my supervisor, Charlie Gregory. Charlie sets a great example for each of us to get involved and do our best to make a difference in the lives of others.”
It marks the second consecutive year MTSU-related individuals have been named recipient of this honor. MTSU senior Jasmine Gray, founder of “Jaz’s Jammies” children’s hospital-pajama project, and former Department of Educational Leadership associate professor Dr. Linda Gilbert were co-recipients in 2009.
The award is named in honor of former state Rep. Harold M. Love (1919-1996), who left a legacy of community service, civil rights activism, board member and volunteer for many organizations, and a successful political career that spanned 35 years in Nashville.
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Note: A high-resolution photo of Ray Wiley is available. To request, contact Randy Weiler in the Office of News & Public Affairs by calling 615-898-5616 or e-mail jweiler@mtsu.edu.

With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.


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