[049] MTSU Magazine spotlights concrete industry program on eve of 20th anniversary

Popular program the first of its kind in the nation

MURFREESBORO — The summer 2015 edition of MTSU Magazine profiles MTSU’s Concrete Industry Management (CIM) Department on the eve of its 20^th anniversary in existence. The program is broadly recognized as the first and finest of its kind in the U.S.

From cutting-edge research, to almost guaranteeing student success and job placement, to the recent rollout of a new executive management training program that is attracting concrete professionals from around the world to Murfreesboro (both physically and online) to study, the CIM program is one of the university’s biggest success stories.

Adding interest to the mix is that steering the department is a woman in Dr. Heather Brown who has defied stereotypes and carved out a solid reputation in the national concrete industry. Under her solid leadership and with the continued support of industry (which helped fashion the program at MTSU nearly two decades ago), the program has since expanded to other universities (California State University–Chico, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Texas State University) to better serve industry needs beyond the Southeast.

Other articles in the new edition of the magazine include:

• A presidential look at the new center for the study of Chinese music, the latest development in a partnership between MTSU and China’s Hangzhou Normal University;
• a glimpse into how journalist-in-residence Whitney Matheson found herself at the forefront of new media;
• the story of how one of MTSU’s newest professors is working to keep the memory of country music legend George Jones alive while simultaneously helping MTSU Recording Industry students build careers;
• a study of tattoos, which have been around for tens of thousands of years, but can still can be an obstacle to MTSU graduates entering the workforce;
• and a list of 10 things you probably don’t know about one of MTSU’s best-known educators, Dean Terry Whiteside of the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences.

Readers may also download MTSU Magazine free for their iPads and Android devices. The MTSU Mag app, available in the iTunes store and now at Google Play, includes special multimedia content built into every issue that’s not available in the print editions.

Printed copies of MTSU Magazine are distributed twice annually to more than 105,000 alumni readers. The publication also is distributed to interested community members, including state lawmakers and members of the Tennessee Board of Regents.

MTSU Magazine also is available online at www.mtsumagazine.com.