Dr. Harry F. Hodge Jr., a former dean of the College of Education at MTSU, passed away May 9.

Hodge, 81, was a native of Nashville and son of the late Harry F. and Elizabeth Ford Hodge. He joined the MTSU family in July 1980 as education dean and served in that post until 1986, when he began teaching classes full-time as a professor. He retired from MTSU in May 1993.

A 1948 graduate of Hume-Fogg High School, Hodge served as a naval corpsman in the Marines. He attended Peabody College and was a graduate of the University of Tennessee.

After teaching in Oak Ridge, he earned his doctoral degree at Auburn University and taught at Memphis State and UT-Memphis before taking the deanship of the College of Education at Arkansas State University in 1967.

Hodge, who was instrumental in starting the Stones River Woodworkers Group in Murfreesboro, is survived by his wife, Betty Ann Campbell Hodge; his children, Deborah Nettles of Houston, Texas, Richard Hodge (Jocelyn) of Murfreesboro and Brandon Hodge (Emily) of Hendersonville; a sister, Ruth James (Wayne) of Tulsa, Okla.; and grandchildren Christopher Nettles (Kelley), Richard Nettles, David Hodge, Megan Hodge, Graham Hodge, Campbell Hodge and Hayden Hodge. He was preceded in death by a sister, Ann Sensabaugh, and a brother, George Edward Hodge.

Milking cattle, tasting wine, gazing at the stars and an array of other historic opportunities await those attending the fifth annual Alumni Summer College.

Open to alumni and friends of MTSU age 21 and older, Alumni Summer College will be held June 20-22 at on- and off-campus venues that extend to Nashville and Williamson County.

The deadline to register is Friday, June 1.

This year’s Alumni Summer College theme, “A Century in the Making,” commemorates the University’s Centennial and programs that are rooted in its history, as well as highlighting the unique careers of some MTSU alumni.

Alumni Summer College gives alumni and friends an opportunity o expand their knowledge of interesting subjects with an MTSU-focused curriculum that combines innovative classes and entertaining tours, said Rhonda King, assistant director in the Office of Alumni Relations.

“Alumni Summer College is a program that many will not miss,” King said. “There are sets of siblings who attend in order to spend time together. There are some attendees each year who return to campus for the first time in a decade or more. Even if you are familiar with MTSU, there will be something new you didn’t know was happening on campus.”

King said there’s such variety in the classes that participants will be able to land a plane in Memphis in the aerospace department’s 360-degree air traffic control simulator, learn about smartphone and tablet technology and tour the governor’s residence in Nashville, where alumna Casey Guimbellot Pash (’06) serves as executive residence manager. They also will dine in Conservation Hall, a 14,000-square-foot underground meeting facility located on the grounds.

All are welcome to attend, whether MTSU is your alma mater or you want to learn more about the MTSU community in which you live, King said.

“All who possess a curiosity to learn and a desire to have fun while doing so are welcome,” she said.

Tuition for the program is $225 per person. For class descriptions and to register, log onto www.mtalumni.com, or call the Office of Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922 800-533-6878.

– Randy Weiler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Blue Raiders have won last two meetings

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After posting victories in each of the past two meetings with SEC foe Tennessee, the Middle Tennessee baseball team will look to close out the 2012 non-conference slate in style on Tuesday evening when it welcomes the Volunteers back to Reese Smith Jr. Field.

The Blue Raiders are coming into the game with a 27-25 record this season, and despite his .263 average, Ryan Stephens will look to factor in helping MT to a 28th win. The sophomore outfielder, perhaps known more for his defensive prowess, has played a major role in each of the past two victories over the Vols, coming up with the 10th inning game-winning hit in February's 5-4 win in Knoxville and finishing a single shy of the cycle in last season's 12-3 rout in Murfreesboro.

MT will also be looking for offense from the trio of Justin Guidry, Trent Miller and Hank LaRue. The group has combined for .347 average with 107 runs scored and 104 batted in.

Paul Mittura will be making the start on the mound for the Blue and White, and it marks his first of the year. The sophomore carries a 2-1 record with a team-best 2.05 earned run average in 22 appearances. He's played in each of the past two games vs. UT, allowing an unearned run earlier this season and pitching a perfect ninth in last year's win.

MT is 10-25 vs. the Vols since head coach Steve Peterson took control of the baseball program in 1988. A win on Tuesday would mark the third consecutive against UT, a feat that has not been accomplished by MT since taking home four in a row from 1987-88.

UT enters the meeting with a 24-27 mark this year, and currently sit sixth in the SEC East with an 8-19 conference record.

First pitch is on Tuesday is set for 6 p.m.

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

Men finish third, women sixth

LAFAYETTE, La. -- The Middle Tennessee men’s track & field team captured a third-place finish while the Blue Raider women finished sixth at the 2012 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The men came away with 108 total points while the women’s squad amassed 75. North Texas took the women’s team title while Western Kentucky won on the men’s side.

The Blue Raiders were led on Sunday by their relay teams as both the men and women claimed runner-up finishes in the 4x100-meter relays. In addition, Geoffrey Akena, Roscoe Payne, Steven Palmer and Noah Akwu guided the men to victory in the 4x400-meter relay, winning with a time of 3 minutes, 10.03 seconds.

Middle Tennessee had another nice day in the jumps events on Sunday. Senior Nyeisha Wright captured a runner-up finish in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 5 inches (12.62 meters). She was followed in third place by France Makabu who posted a measurement of 41-2.50 (12.56m). Euphemia Edem closed out the top five, jumping 40-6.25 (12.35).

On the men’s side, 2012 Sun Belt Indoor Triple Jump Champion Cordairo Golden also placed second. The sophomore recorded a leap of 50-6.25 (15.40m) to come away with the runner-up result.

Golden also placed fifth in the men’s high jump competition, successfully clearing the bar at 6-5.00 (1.96m). Cameron Zeman cleared the bar at the same measurement and came in sixth place as a result of the number of jumps.

Payne and Akwu led the Middle Tennessee men in the sprints events. Payne captured victory in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 13.91 seconds. Fellow Blue Raider Junior Cadet finished sixth in the event in 14.77 seconds. Payne also placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.76 seconds.

Meanwhile Akwu won the 200 meters in 20.74 seconds. He also led a trio of Blue Raiders in the 400 meters, clocking a time of 46.90 seconds to place fifth. Palmer and Rycine Ellison followed in fifth and sixth with times of 48.00 and 48.68 seconds.

In the men’s 100 meters, Kenneth Gilstrap placed fifth with a time of 10.54 seconds.

Kiara Henry closed out her Middle Tennessee career with a great day on Sunday. She claimed a runner-up finish in the women’s 200 meters with a time of 24.11 seconds while also placing third in the 100-meter dash, recording a time of 11.62 seconds.

The women meanwhile were led in the 400-meter hurdles by Christal Wilson. The freshman notched a runner-up finish as she completed the competition in 1:00.24.

Justus David once again led the way for the Blue Raider distance runners as he logged a time of 3:50.96 to post a second-place finish in the men’s 1,500 meters. Meanwhile in the 800 meters, Robinson Simatei placed eighth while running a 1:59.19. Autumn Gipson and Stephanie Smith paced the women’s distance runners, placing 10th and 11th in the women’s 1,500-meter run on Sunday.

Fans are encouraged to continue follow the teams on Twitter @MTTrackField and on Facebook at the MT Track & Field page as photos will be posted as the teams make their way back home on Monday.

A number of Blue Raiders will head to Jacksonville, Fla., to compete in the NCAA Regionals which take place May 24-26. Please stay posted to the teams' Facebook and Twitter pages as well as GoBlueRaiders.com as the competitors are made known.

Also, stay up-to-date on the teams on the new Track & Field Notebook, which can be found here as well as linked on the Track & Field page on GoBlueRaiders.com.

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

Anna Yacovone, currently employed as a post-graduate adviser in the MTSU Office of Education Abroad, is the recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Scholarship to Laos.

Yacovone, who graduated from MTSU in December 2011 with degrees in global studies and organizational communication, will start her year-long adventure in late June and will teach English in the capital city of Vientiane, working mostly at the National University of Laos.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funds the Fulbright Program, one of the world’s most prestigious international educational exchange programs. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.

This is the third successive year in which two MTSU students have received Fulbright scholarships. The other 2012 recipient is Whiteside, Tenn., native Daniel Gouger, who will be conducting research in Spain.

“Fulbright is a program to promote good will among different countries,” says Laura Clippard, who heads MTSU’s undergraduate fellowships office. “Students serve as ambassadors and represent the United States in a positive light.”

A veteran of study-abroad experiences and a Sevierville, Tenn., native, Yacovone was an education-abroad peer adviser in 2007 and studied abroad in Italy in 2009.

In spring 2011, Yacovone received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study native language and culture at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. While living in Thailand, she took a brief detour with several other cultural-exchange students to a remote village in central Laos, where they taught English for a couple of days.

“It was the first time for many of the people in that village to even see a Westerner,” recalls Yacovone.

Educators at both the University Honors College and the Office of Global Studies say Yacovone is a role model for future study-abroad students and Fulbright recipients.

“Anna is very typical of the students we have in global studies,” says Dr. Doug Heffington, the program’s director. “These are very bright students. They’re very driven. They’re very forward-thinking, but they’re also very engaged students.”

For more information, contact Clippard at 615-898-5464 or Heffington at 615-494-7744.

– Gina K. Logue ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Incoming MTSU freshmen and their parents or guardians soon will be coming to campus to attend the annual CUSTOMS orientation program.

CUSTOMS helps new students become acquainted with what will be their academic and social home for the next four years. The program helps ease the transition of entering college and decreases students’ anxiety before they return in August for the 2012-13 academic year.

Eleven CUSTOMS sessions will be held this summer, starting with a Wednesday and Thursday, May 23-24, session for major scholarship recipients from all of the colleges within the University.

The final CUSTOMS session will be Tuesday and Wednesday, July 31-Aug. 1, and is open to entering freshmen from all colleges.

While CUSTOMS is not mandatory, students are strongly encouraged to attend the entire orientation to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings and establish their fall class schedules with advisers.

Reservations are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so students should register as early as possible.

During each two-day program, students will be shown the campus and local environment while also being taught the policies, procedures, requirements and programs of MTSU.

Representatives from admissions, financial aid, housing and residential life and other campus departments are involved in CUSTOMS.

Students attending CUSTOMS will be accommodated with on-campus housing in an MTSU residence halls.

Organizers strongly encourage families to attend the session with their students, and the University offers a separate program to answer families’ questions and familiarize them with their students’ new environment.

CUSTOMS is just one of the areas of New Student and Family Programs.

For more information and for the 2012 CUSTOMS schedule, visit www.mtsu.edu/customs online or call 615-898-5533.

– Randy Weiler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Lace up your shoes and grab the leash—the Sixth Annual See Spot Run 5K, a run/walk for participants and their canine friends, is slated for 8 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at MTSU’s Walnut Grove.

All proceeds, including entry fees, admissions and sponsorships, will go toward the MTSU Habitat for Humanity Building Fund.

The MTSU Office of Leadership and Service, which sponsors the event, is working to raise the $60,000 necessary to sponsor another Habitat for Humanity home “blitz build.” A new Habitat homeowner moved into MTSU’s third University-sponsored house last month.

Jackie Victory, director of the office, says the See Spot Run 5K is only one in a series of campus fundraisers designed to generate money for the “blitz build.” Building the home for one of the University’s neighbors is a way for MTSU students to give back to the Murfreesboro community, she explains.

“We’ve solicited a number of sponsors, worked to promote the event on- and off-campus and helped to recruit a number of participants and volunteers for the event,” says Victory.

“See Spot Run is a race unlike any other for the campus and the community. We encourage everyone to come out to enjoy a great event and support an even greater cause.”

This year’s race will feature chip timing for the first time. Participants wear small, lightweight electronic chips to help document running/walking times. As the participants cross over strategically placed electronic mats, their times will be recorded automatically.

On-site registration, which is $25, will open at 6:30 a.m. on race day. To register, go to www.active.com and search for “See Spot Run,” or call 615-898-5812.

– Gina K. Logue ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Two MTSU equestrian team members and one alumna earned reserve national champion honors at the recent Intercollegiate Horse Show Association nationals in Raleigh, N.C.

A third student and a second alumna also had top-10 showings at the event, which was hosted by St. Andrews University of Laurinburg, N.C. at the Hunt Horse Complex at the State Fairgrounds.

Sophomore Emily Kopko of Franklin, Tenn., and junior Cayce Turner and alumna Lydia Whitlow Darnell, both from Murfreesboro, were second in individual competitions that resulted in reserve national champion distinctions.

Kopko placed second to Audra Head of West Texas A&M University in the intermediate western horsemanship class.

Turner finished second to Dustin Renken of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the Novice Horsemanship category.

Darnell nearly captured Alumni Horsemanship, which University of Delaware alumna Shilpa Deshpande won by one point.

Marianne England of Ashland City, Tenn., placed third in Alumni Horsemanship, while junior Alina Carter of Dayton, Tenn., finished fifth in Open Reining and seventh in Open Horsemanship.

“Our riders all had career bests,” MTSU Equestrian Team Coach Anne Brzezicki said. “They earned every placing and were excellent on every horse they rode. We never once drew one of our own horses. It didn’t matter. They can ride. The patterns they laid down were top notch.”

Brzezicki added that Faye Lynn Coffey, an alumna and assistant coach, “had them well-prepared for every pattern and every eventuality and they handled it.” Brzezicki said their entire group “represented MTSU and the horse-science department professionally, competently, efficiently, willingly, cheerfully and well … working early ’til way past tired, whether they came to show or to help.”

The coach said riders in the show all wanted to draw MTSU’s six horses—Harley, Jay R, Brother, Scooter, Shadow and Samson—as mounts, too.

MTSU did not compete in the Collegiate Cup Hunter Seat Team competition, which was captured by St. Lawrence University of New York, or the American Quarter Horse Association Western Team division, which was won by Oregon State University.

— Randy Weiler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Dudley runner-up in high jump

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Middle Tennessee Indoor All-American high jumper Ann Dudley captured a runner-up finish in the women’s high jump to lead the Blue Raiders on the second day of the 2012 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.

The junior cleared the bar at 5 feet, 9.25 inches (1.76 meters), good enough to place second. Shahaf Bareni of North Texas won the event as she leaped 5-11.25 (1.81m).

Solomon Atosona led the Blue Raider men in the long jump competition. The sophomore finished fourth with a measurement of 23-4.75 (7.13m). Kameron Rory placed 10th while Cordairo Golden and Junior Cadet came away with respective 12th and 13th-place finishes.

On the women’s side, senior Kiara Henry collected a fifth-place result with a jump of 19-7.50 (5.98m). Nyeisha Wright followed shortly behind in seventh as she posted a measurement of 19-6.00 (5.94m). The rest of the Middle Tennessee women’s competitors mirrored the men’s results as Euphemia Edem finished 10th while Amber Dandy was 12th and Rosina Amenebede took 13th.

Robinson Simatei led the Blue Raider distance runners on Saturday as he logged a time of 9:24.65 to finish fifth in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase event. Autumn Gipson also notched a fifth-place finish in the women’s race with a time of 11:24.43.

Roscoe Payne led the way for the men’s sprinters in Saturday’s preliminary races as he advanced to both the 110 and 400-meter hurdle events with respective times of 14.23 and 51.70 seconds. Rycine Ellison, Steven Palmer and Noah Akwu also advanced to Sunday’s final of the men’s 400-meter hurdle event.

Christal Wilson posted the top time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing the race in one minute, 0.47 seconds to capture a spot in the finals.

In the 100 meter dashes, Kenneth Gilstrap crossed the finish line in 10.49 seconds while Drayton Calhoun came away with a time of 10.52 seconds as they both advanced to the finals of the men’s race. Kiara Henry advanced to the women’s final as she recorded a preliminary time of 11.72 seconds.

In the men’s 200 meters, Noah Akwu clocked the fastest time in the preliminaries as he finished the race in 20.81 seconds. Gilstrap will also run in Sunday’s final of the event as he advanced with a time of 21.44 seconds.

The disappointing result of the day came in the women’s 100-meter hurdles as Amenebede and Dudley both fell and failed to advance to the event finals. Wilson also was unable to advance as she finished 11th overall.

The meet will continue Sunday at 10 a.m. with the men’s hammer throw leading off the day. Complete 2012 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championship information including a schedule of events, heat sheets and live results can be found here.

Fans are encouraged to follow the teams this weekend on Twitter @MTTrackField and on Facebook at the MT Track & Field page as photos and videos will be posted throughout the weekend.

Also, stay up-to-date on the teams on the new Track & Field Notebook, which can be found here as well as linked on the Track & Field page on GoBlueRaiders.com.

Phillip Jones to join MT for 2012-13 season

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Mississippi high school basketball standout Phillip Jones has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Middle Tennessee next season, announced head coach Kermit Davis on Thursday. Jones averaged 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Piney Woods High School during his senior campaign.

“We’re really excited about Phillip joining our program,” Davis said. “He comes from a winning background, having won a state championship at Piney Woods. He has played for an excellent high school coach in Lemeul Jones, who has done a great job developing him over two years.

“Phillip is the most athletic player in state of Mississippi and has put up some unbelievable offensive numbers. When you ask high school coaches around the state of Mississippi, they say one of his biggest assets is the motor he has and how hard he plays.”

Jones, a 6-7 forward, led the Golden Tornadoes to the state title in 2011 as a junior. A native of Freeport, Bahamas, Jones was named the district MVP last season and earned honorable mention all-state honors. He also participated in the 2011 Mississippi North vs. South All-Star Game.

“Middle Tennessee is a nice school with a great academic program,” said Jones of his decision. “I really liked the coaching staff and with the players that are coming back next year, I feel as if we have a chance to make the NCAA tournament because they had a really good record this year. I just want to focus on academics and basketball and do whatever I can to contribute to the team as a freshman.”

A two-sport athlete at Piney Woods, Jones has also been a star for the track and field team. He won the state title last year in the triple jump and will look to defend his title this weekend. Jones also runs the anchor leg for the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

“Phillip has been a joy to coach,” Lemeul Jones said. “He is a very talented young man with a hard-hat mentality. Not only is he a very exciting player, but he’s also a tough individual. Phillip has a high motor and plays hard all the time.”

Jones began his high school career in Florida before moving to Mississippi. He was a highly recruited prospect who ultimately chose MT over Louisiana, UT-San Antonio and Northwestern State. To see video of Jones making his decision, click here.