MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Nearly 1,700 Middle Tennessee State University graduates will make a little history Saturday, Dec. 10, when the final Class of 2022 receives their degrees in the university’s fall 2022 commencement ceremonies. 

They’ll push the number of MTSU degrees presented since 1911 over the 178,000 mark, and they’ll be doing it the day before the 50th anniversary of Murphy Center, site of the university’s commencements, ball games, classes, concerts, track and field competitions and other special events since late 1972.  

Graduate students and undergrads in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and College of Education will be the first to celebrate their accomplishments in a 9 a.m. Central ceremony inside Murphy Center’s Hale/Earle Arena.  

Students in MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Media and Entertainment and the University College will receive their degrees in a 2 p.m. ceremony. 

It’ll all be airing live across town and across the world Dec. 10 on the university’s livestream channel, https://www.mtsu.edu/live, on True Blue TV and on the university’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. 

On Dec. 11, 1972, MTSU formally dedicated the nearly 250,000 square-foot, $6.5 million Charles M. “Bubber” Murphy Athletic Center, christening the arena with a game with the Vanderbilt University men’s basketball team.  

The fall 2022 graduation ceremonies will accommodate the estimated 1,698 new MTSU alumni set to receive their degrees, a figure that includes 1,344 undergraduates and 354 graduate students, according to the university Registrar’s Office. 

That second figure includes 328 master’s degree candidates, 14 education-specialist degree recipients and 129 doctoral candidates, along with six graduate students and three undergrads who’ll receive certificates for their advanced study. 

As of last August, MTSU has awarded 176,506 degrees to its students, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist and doctoral degrees. 

The Dec. 10 ceremonies will put the total number of MTSU degrees earned at more than 178,200. Guest speakers Kreulen, Roberts  Offering congratulations and advice to the graduates at the morning ceremony will be guest speaker Doug Kreulen, president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.  

A retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former director of operations for Huntsville (Alabama) International Airport, Kreulen joined MNAA, which is responsible for both Nashville International Airport and John C. Tune Airport, in 2012 and was named president and CEO in 2017. 

MTSU Foundation president and former MTSU Alumni Association chief Ronald Roberts will serve as guest speaker for the afternoon commencement. Roberts, a two-time MTSU alumnus, is a managing partner for the global marketing agency Finn Partners and leads its client retention program. He’s also a member of Finn Partners’ crisis communications team and helps direct the agency’s quick response teams during extensive crisis management situations.  

The fall 2022 commencement ceremonies will include all master's, education specialist, doctoral and undergraduate degree candidates from all MTSU's colleges. Graduate degree recipients will participate with their academic college instead of a separate ceremony for the College of Graduate Studies. 

Both the ceremonies will be open to the public. MTSU no longer requires masks indoors, but they’re still welcomed and encouraged for those who prefer to wear them, as is social distancing for health safety.  

Friends, families and supporters who can’t attend in person can watch the ceremonies free at https://www.mtsu.edu/live and https://facebook.com/mtsublueraiders. Online commencement coverage will begin about 15 minutes before each ceremony starts. 

The events also will be broadcast on MTSU’s True Blue TV station on local cable channels and at https://mtsu.edu/TrueBlueTV.Each of the fall 2022 commencement ceremonies is expected to last about two hours. 

The university will provide closed-captioning services for the live video streams as well as American Sign Language interpretation on-site at the ceremonies. 

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee will briefly address each group of graduates after welcoming them and their guests. 

The official fall 2022 commencement program, listing all the graduates by college as well as providing more details on the guest speakers, is available at https://bit.ly/MTFall2022GradProgram. 

A campus map with parking information is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParking. A seating chart of Murphy Center, including access for guests with disabilities, is available at http://ow.ly/TCkd30ld2PQ. 

Driving directions, along with graduation details for students and guests, are available anytime at https://mtsu.edu/graduation and https://mtsunews.com/graduation-info.  

MTSU’s final examinations got underway Friday, Dec. 2, and conclude Thursday, Dec. 8, with the official end of the fall semester. Students and faculty will be on winter break until the spring 2023 semester at MTSU begins Tuesday, Jan. 17. 

The university will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Jan. 1, for the winter holidays. Offices will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 2. 

For updates on MTSU anytime, visit https://mtsu.edu or https://MTSUNews.com.