MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee State University has renewed its longstanding partnership with the Middle Tennessee Council of Scouting America, reaffirming a collaborative effort that university and scouting leaders say continues to shape future generations of civic and community leaders (Scroll down for more photos from MTSU).

MTSU Provost Mark Byrnes joined former Council President J.B. Baker, who also serves on the university’s Board of Trustees, and Council Scout Executive and CEO Robert Johnson in signing the renewal agreement during a recent ceremony held on campus.

The partnership originally began in 2018 and provides prospective students from the scouting council — which serves 37 Middle Tennessee counties and Fort Campbell, Kentucky - opportunities to attend events at MTSU and connect with faculty mentors for merit badge activities and educational programs.

Byrnes noted that more than 10,000 youth and their families participated in scouting programs through the council in 2025, while over 3,700 volunteers currently serve as mentors and leaders for Scouts across the region.

“We at MTSU welcome hundreds of young men and women to our campus every year,” Byrnes said. “And, indeed, we see those Scouts as our prospective students.”

Johnson described the relationship between the university and the scouting organization as a long-term partnership focused on leadership and education.

“In Scouting, we grow young people of character… teach them leadership, teach them values,” Johnson said. “We send them to Middle Tennessee State and you help educate them… and send them out in the world to be successful.”

Baker, an MTSU alumnus and Eagle Scout, reflected on how both organizations work together to prepare young people for future opportunities.

“Scouting has so many characteristics in building young people… and that carries all the important ingredients of character that comes into college,” Baker said.

The university has also become a host site for several major scouting-related events, including the annual Winter Banquet for the Order of the Arrow and training programs through the University of Scouting.

In addition, MTSU has hosted Merit Badge University since 1991, welcoming youth from across Tennessee to its Murfreesboro campus to participate in specialized classes and earn merit badges.

University officials said the scouting partnership was modeled after a similar agreement established in 2014 with the Civil Air Patrol cadet program, the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.