[65] Sister Act: Roach Sisters Log Several Lifetimes of Service to MTSU

Today’s date: Sept. 6, 2011

Contact: Drew Ruble, MTSU Magazine editor, 615-898-7752

Sister act: Roach sisters log several lifetimes of service to MTSU

MURFREESBORO — One hundred and thirty-eight and counting. That’s how many combined years the Roach sisters of Woodbury have worked at MTSU.

Youngest sister Betty Roach Smithson is the only sister still working on campus. Entering her 46th year in the Office of Student Affairs, Smithson has worked closely since 1965 with student groups, fraternities, cheerleaders and student government work¬ers.

Eldest sister Martha Roach Turner began the sisters’ streak in 1958, taking a secretarial position in the Field Services Depart¬ment. She’d later become director of placement for the University, growing the office to a staff of 10 before retiring in 2007 after 48 years of service.

When Turner took a brief sabbatical from MTSU in 1960, she referred her sister Frances Roach Rich to be her replacement. That began Rich’s 45-year run at MTSU, mostly spent in student affairs, but ending in MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee’s office in 2010.

Asked what’s changed about MTSU in the past half century, the sisters point to the University’s growth in physical size and academic offerings.

What hasn’t changed? “Us,” Turner says.

The story of the Roach sisters’ service to MTSU appears in the August edition of MTSU Magazine.

MTSU Magazine is distributed twice annually to more than 96,000 alumni readers. Additional copies of the alumni-and-friends publication are distributed to interested stakeholders, including MTSU faculty and staff, state lawmakers and members of the Tennessee Board of Regents. The magazine also is available online at www.mtsumagazine.com.

The magazine, re-launched in April, is part of a recent reformatting of MTSU communications’ efforts. MTSU supporters are encouraged to visit the new digital information site, www.mtsunews.com, for real-time delivery of news, video and other multimedia features about the University.

These changes reflect the MTSU Department of Marketing and Communications’ efforts to keep pace with today’s readers.

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Note: A photo of the Roach sisters is available. To obtain, contact Drew Ruble at 615-898-7752 or email Drew.Ruble@mtsu.edu.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. In September 2011, MTSU will celebrate its 100th year anniversary with special events and activities throughout the year — kicked off by a Blue-Tie Centennial Gala on Friday, Sept. 9.

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For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.