MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Convocation at Middle Tennessee State University will soon bring thousands of new students and many of their families to campus to kick off the 2025-26 academic year.

The public is welcome to attend Convocation, a free event, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in Murphy Center. For those who can’t attend in person, the event will be broadcast on MTSU livestream, True Blue TV and MTSU’s main Facebook page.

With MTSU top administrators, deans and faculty representatives in attendance wearing their academic regalia, Convocation will be part of events welcoming freshmen and transfer students to begin the academic year.

“Convocation is an important event for our new students and their families, and for us as a community,” said Laurie Witherow, vice provost for Enrollment Management in the Division of Academic Affairs. 

“It’s our New Year’s Eve in a way, the start of a new school year and a big adventure for our newest transfer students and members of the MTSU Class of 2029,” she added. “This will be the 24th year we will welcome students this way into the MTSU community of learners, the True Blue family.” 

For those attending in person, parking will be available in the Greenland Drive and other nearby lots. For building location and parking, visit https://bit.ly/ParkingMapMTSU2025.

 Convocation is hosted by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. Faculty Senate President Michael Federici, a professor in Political and Global Affairs, will welcome the new students on behalf of the university faculty.

Featured speakers

Student Government Association President R.J. Ware will lead the students in reciting the True Blue Pledge. More than 220 members of the Band of Blue will perform the national anthem, and the students will have their class photo taken at the end of the event.

This year’s Convocation will feature Bob Welch, co-author author of “Healing Wounds, A Vietnam Combat Nurse’s 10-year Fight to Win Women a Place of Honor in Washington, D.C.,” the summer reading book for new students.

Welch wrote the book with Diane Carlson Evans, a former U.S. Army nurse, who founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, which established the Vietnam Women’s Memorial located at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.

An author of more than two dozen books, including “American Nightingale,” Welch is an award-winning writer and longtime columnist at The Register-Guard newspaper in Eugene, Oregon, where he was a former adjunct professor in the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication. He has spoken at dozens of universities and nursing organizations.

“A fascinating, yet heart-rendering chronicle of Diane Carlson Evans’ heroic journey and her decade-long struggle to honor the women who served during the Vietnam War,” said John Finley Sommer, a U.S. Army combat medic who served in Vietnam in 1968 and executive director of The American Legion from 1991 to 2009. “Every brother and sister veteran, their families and those who haven’t served should read ‘Healing Wounds.’”

The reading program, a service of the Distinguished Lecture Committee, was created in 2002 to provide students with books that affirm the importance of reading for a successful and fulfilling life and opportunities to interact with critically acclaimed authors.

A busy weekend

Before Saturday’s Convocation, Welch is scheduled to sign autograph copies of the book from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, near Keathley University Center during the President’s Party in the Corridor, an effort led by New Student and Family Programs. The party, featuring a mix of games and activities, ends at 8 p.m.

Following Convocation, an MTSU Fraternity and Sorority Life meet-and-greet will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Floyd Stadium. Other students and families can attend Fan Day, also in Floyd Stadium.

A welcome back movie, Big Hero 6, will be shown starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, in the Student Union Commons.

Classes begin Monday, Aug. 25, marking the official start of the MTSU fall 2025 semester.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)