I continued my study of the local history on schools this week, and have been amazed to find some great pictures dating back to the World War II era. . I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

It seems that Middle Tennessee State College gained much momentum, as did other colleges, after World War II. Many soldiers came home and took advantage of the G.I. Bill to have Uncle Sam foot the tuition tag, and enrolled in school. In 1951, a graduate school was established at MTSC, and between 1951 and 1964, 15 new buildings were added to the campus. The state legislature approved the elevation of the school to university status on February 16, 1965, and on July 1, 1965, the university and town celebrated this change. In the same year, the Cope Administration Building was opened, and Wilbert Bond Sr. became the school’s first African American graduate. By 2006, Middle Tennessee’s State University enrollment was more than 21,500 students. The four year public university offers 140 undergraduate degrees and continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. The 10th, and current president of MTSU is Sidney McPhee, and the university has a full time staff of over 800 people.

At another site in town, the City of Murfreesboro donated 15 acres of land for a new training school to be built, and the neoclassical building was completed and fully equipped for $200,000. This building is currently known as the Homer Pittard Campus School, named for Dr. Homer Pittard. The good doctor, a Middle Tennessee State Teachers College Alumni, education professor, and well known local historian, had an immeasurable influence on Murfreesboro’s educational process.

In the coming weeks, we will explore other buildings and the stories that make the truly unique…only in Murfreesboro!

Posted By: Karen Boynton

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