MTSU spring commencement features 2
honorary doctorates, 2,625 grads
Governor, Grand Ole
Opry VP will speak at dual ceremonies May 11
MURFREESBORO
— An estimated 2,625 students
are expected to receive their degrees from MTSU on Saturday, May 11, during the
university’s spring 2013 commencement ceremonies.
And for
the first time in the university’s history, MTSU will present honorary
doctorates to two of its most esteemed alumni: former U.S. Congressman Bart
Gordon and the late Nobel laureate James M. Buchanan.
The
commencement ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 11 in Hale Arena
inside Murphy Center.
Tennessee
Gov. Bill Haslam will address graduates and guests at the morning ceremony,
where Gordon also will receive an honorary doctorate to accompany his 1971
Bachelor of Science degree from MTSU in political science.
MTSU
alumnus Pete Fisher, vice president/general manager for the Grand Ole Opry, will
speak at the afternoon commencement celebration, when Buchanan’s family will
accept the economic scholar’s honorary doctoral degree.
Buchanan,
who graduated first in the Class of 1940 at then-Middle Tennessee State
Teachers College after majoring in social sciences, English and mathematics,
earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of Tennessee a year
later and a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1948.
On May
11, according to a report from the university’s Registrar’s Office, 2,625 students are set to graduate. Of
that number, 2,108 are undergraduates and 517 are graduate students, including 403
master’s candidates, 102 education-specialist recipients and 12 doctoral
candidates. Three graduate students also will receive graduate certificates.
Candidates
from the College of Graduate Studies, Basic and Applied Sciences, Jennings A.
Jones College of Business and the College of Education will receive their
degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon, degrees will be conferred on
candidates in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal
Arts, College of Mass Communication and the University College.
Honorary
Ph.D. recipient Gordon, a Murfreesboro native who earned his law degree from
the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1973, now is a partner with the law
firm K&L Gates in Washington, D.C. He spent 26 years in Congress
representing the 6th District and retired in 2010.
The
1970-71 MTSU Associated Student Body president was former chairman of the House
Committee on Science and Technology and has been described as “a leader in U.S.
science, technology, energy and health policy and a champion of the America
COMPETES Act,” which authorizes federal investments in innovation and
innovators.
MTSU’s
second honorary doctoral recipient, Buchanan, also was a Murfreesboro native
and was the grandson of Tennessee Gov. John Price Buchanan. A World War II
Naval veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star, James Buchanan taught economics
at UT, Florida State University, the University of Virginia, the University of
California and Virginia Tech and was professor emeritus and advisory general
director of the James M. Buchanan Center for Political Economy at George Mason
University at his death in January of this year at age 93.
Buchanan,
who was a prolific author and lecturer, was co-creator of the “Public Choice” school
of economics, which links economic issues with political science, particularly
noting that elected officials make policy decisions based on their own interests
and motivations instead of for the public good. He received the Nobel Memorial
Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986 for his work.
Morning
commencement speaker Haslam, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., earned a bachelor’s
degree in history from Emory University in 1980 and worked for his family’s
company, Pilot Corporation, until he made a successful run for mayor of
Knoxville in 2003.
After
two terms leading that city, Haslam sought the Tennessee governor’s office in
2010 and was elected with 65 percent of the vote — the largest victory of any
nonincumbent candidate for the office in Tennessee history.
Afternoon
speaker Fisher earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication from
MTSU with a concentration in recording industry management in 1987 and was
recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 2004. Vice president and general
manager of the Grand Ole Opry since 1999, Fisher oversees all activities of the
world's longest-running radio show. He also manages the day-to-day operations
of the Grand Ole Opry House and Acuff Theatre and produces its weekly Opry
shows.
Fisher,
who also has worked in artist management and music publishing, was president of
the Nashville chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
and has been on the boards of multiple industry organizations as well as the
Board of Professional Advisors for MTSU’s College of Mass Communication.
Students,
friends, families and community supporters who attend the May 11 ceremonies
should be aware that each event lasts about two hours and that graduating
students are required to stay for the entire ceremony.
Graduation
information — including maps and driving directions to Murphy Center,
instructions on watching the ceremonies via streaming video on commencement
day, cap-and-gown information and contacts for the Registrar’s Office — is
available online at www.mtsunews.com/graduation-info.
Live
streaming video of the spring 2013 commencement ceremonies will start about 15
minutes before each ceremony begins on May 11.
MTSU Spring 2013 Commencement at a
Glance
Who: A projected 2,625 graduates* (2,108
undergraduates, 517 graduate students)
What: 2013 MTSU Spring Commencement
ceremonies
When: Saturday, May 11
9 a.m.: Colleges of Graduate Studies (includes all
master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree candidates), Basic and
Applied Sciences, Business and Education;
2 p.m.: Colleges of Behavioral and Health Sciences,
Liberal Arts, Mass Communication and University College (includes Regents
Online Degree Program and Bachelor of University Studies degree candidates).
Where: Hale Arena inside Murphy Center on
the MTSU campus
Commencement speakers:
· Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, 9 a.m.
ceremony.
· MTSU alumnus Pete Fisher, vice
president/general manager for the Grand Ole Opry, 2 p.m. ceremony.
Honorary doctoral recipients:
· MTSU alumnus and former U.S.
Congressman Bart Gordon, 9 a.m. ceremony.
· The late MTSU alumnus and Nobel
laureate Dr. James M. Buchanan, 2 p.m. ceremony.
*— Approximate numbers as of April
26, 2013.
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