MTSU Mondays: Aviation team visits AirVenture, SGA leaders push voting

Courtesy MTSU
·3 min read

Here's the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University.

Aerospace delegation, alums gather at AirVenture in Wisconsin

Students, flight instructors and faculty from the Aerospace Department set up shop this past week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the nation’s largest annual aviation celebration.

They networked and enjoyed the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture, which concluded Sunday. Nearly 700,000 aviation enthusiasts were expected to attend AirVenture and more than 10,000 aircraft were there, making Oshkosh the busiest airport in the world during that week.

Bri McDonald, right, outreach services assistant for the Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University, and MTSU certified flight instructor Joseph Palmich check the cockpit of the Diamond DA40 XLT aircraft they flew to Oshkosh, Wis., for display near MTSU’s tent at the weeklong 2023 Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture, the nation’s largest annual aviation celebration that ended Sunday, July 30. (MTSU photo by Andrew Oppmann)

“We are very proud of our world-class aviation program, and we are especially proud of you, our alumni, and the great successes that you have enjoyed since leaving our program,” College of Basic and Applied Sciences Dean Greg Van Patten told alumni who gathered for a dinner at MTSU’s AirVenture tent.

Two of department’s training aircraft, flown by students, were on display at AirVenture, joining thousands of homebuilt aircraft, vintage airplanes, warbirds, ultralights, seaplanes, military aircraft, jumbo transports and aerobatic aircraft that fill the grounds each year.

Also at AirVenture, Maj. Gen. Edward Phelka, commanding general of Civil Air Patrol, presented a certificate of appreciation to the university for its annual hosting of the National Cadet Engineering Technology Academy, also known as E-Tech, a weeklong event sponsored by the Basic and Applied Sciences college.

Student government leaders attend voting registration event

Following a recent meeting with fellow student leaders from 20 Tennessee colleges and universities and led by Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the Student Government Association leadership stands firmly committed to pushing voter registration on campus.

“We have a very strong commitment to increasing voter registration on our campus,” MTSU SGA President Michai Mosby said. “We have an even stronger commitment to winning the most voter registrations amongst the other four-year colleges and universities again. But to do this, we are committing to making sure that our students are well informed and that they understand the importance of their civic duty… voting.”

Shown attending the recent College Civic Engagement Luncheon in Nashville, Tenn., Middle Tennessee State University’s (front row, from left) Election Commissioner Caroline Spann, SGA President Michai Mosby and Danny Kelley, MTSU assistant vice president in the Division of Student Affairs and SGA advisor, join other student government leaders in laughing at a remark shared by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the host for the annual event promoting voter registration.

Mosby, along with university SGA Election Commissioner Caroline Spann and Danny Kelley, assistant vice president in the Division of Student Affairs and SGA advisor, joined dozens of student government leaders for the annual College Civic Engagement Luncheon in Nashville on July 13.

Hargett, a Ripley, Tennessee, native now living in Hendersonville, annually invites SGA presidents from every Tennessee college and university to join their fellow student leaders to discuss the importance of civic engagement and voter registration on their respective campuses in preparation for September’s National Voter Registration Month.

“Out of the many nuggets that were dropped, our biggest takeaway is that as SGA leaders, we are the example,” Mosby said, , a sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee, pursuing degrees in public relations and political science. “That means everything we do — starting with voter registration and beyond — must set the example for the students we lead to follow.”

Fundraising set record year for 2022-23

Growing donor support set a new record of just over $18.2 million in private donations to support the university’s educational mission.

Joe Bales, vice president for university advancement, said the total to close out the fiscal year on June 30 was an increase of $1 million from the previous year.

Bales reiterated the growing importance of private donor support for public higher education institutions as state funds have tightened over the years, a reality that prompts him and his team of development directors to work hard at securing financial support such as the state’s now required matching funds for new building construction.

“I continue to be amazed and greatly appreciative of the continued financial support for our institution from our thousands of alumni around the world, our host of community and industry partners, and the many friends of the university who value our contributions to this great community,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said.

MTSU Mondays content is provided by submissions from MTSU News and Media Relations.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MTSU Mondays: Aviation team visits AirVenture, SGA leaders push voting