(MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS) - Middle Tennessee State University’s summer commencement ceremony filled Murphy Center with cheers, applause, and a sea of Blue on Saturday, Aug. 8, as 692 new graduates marched proudly across the Hale Arena stage. Thousands of family members, friends, and supporters packed the arena — and thousands more watched live online and on True Blue TV — to celebrate the second graduating class of 2026.
The ceremony began at 9 o'clock Saturday morning with the familiar strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” echoing through the arena at 2650 Middle Tennessee Blvd. Graduates from every MTSU college — from Basic and Applied Sciences to Liberal Arts, from Business to Education, from Behavioral and Health Sciences to Graduate Studies and University College — took their turn in the spotlight.
Of the 692 degrees awarded, 473 were undergraduate diplomas and 219 were graduate degrees, including 182 master’s, 16 education‑specialist, and 21 doctoral recipients. Two students earned graduate certificates. With this ceremony, MTSU’s all‑time total climbed past 195,330 degrees awarded since the university’s founding in 1911.
President Sidney A. McPhee offered warm congratulations to the newest alumni, praising their resilience, determination, and contributions to campus life. Graduates also heard keynote remarks from Dr. Michael P. Federici, professor of Global and Political Affairs and immediate past president of the Faculty Senate. Federici, a widely published scholar with more than 1,000 media interviews to his credit, reflected on the meaning of civic responsibility, intellectual curiosity, and the lifelong value of a university education.
Before joining MTSU, Federici spent 24 years on the faculty at Mercyhurst University, serving as department chair, Faculty Senate president, and a member of the Board of Trustees. At MTSU, he led the Faculty Senate during the 2025–26 academic year, representing faculty across every department.
The ceremony featured full accessibility services, including closed‑captioning for livestream viewers and American Sign Language interpretation inside the arena. Live coverage began 15 minutes before the procession, and the event lasted just under two hours. Graduates remained through the final notes of the alma mater before exiting as newly minted Blue Raider alumni.
Families lingered afterward for photos on the arena floor, outside Murphy Center, and across campus — capturing a day that marked both an ending and a beginning for hundreds of new MTSU graduates.
