Updates

MTSU will not appeal Historical Commission denial of Forrest Hall waiver

Middle Tennessee State University will not appeal the February decision by the Tennessee Historical Commission to deny the request for a waiver allowing the University to change the name of Forrest Hall to the Army ROTC Building.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee announced the decision to the campus community via email Wednesday, June 6:

“Earlier this spring, the Tennessee Historical Commission denied our petition to rename Forrest Hall. During a conference call with the Tennessee Attorney General, he explained that a conflict of interest could exist if that office represented two state entities on opposing sides of a lawsuit. Therefore, if we were to appeal, we would be required to hire outside legal counsel at our expense.  After extended deliberation with key stakeholders, I have decided not to appeal that decision.

“I continue to believe that renaming Forrest Hall is the right thing to do. However, the cost of an appeal would be significant and there is a real possibility that we would not be successful. Given these circumstances, I believe the money we would pay to retain outside counsel should instead be used toward our mission of supporting student success resulting in degree completion. 

“Despite the fact that the name Forrest Hall will remain, our efforts to ensure that MTSU remains an inclusive place where all students and staff feel welcome will continue unabated.”

The decision concludes a process that began in the summer of 2015 when McPhee appointed a task force to review the building’s name following a mass shooting at a historically black South Carolina church that prompted a national discussion about Confederate iconography on public property.

The 17-member task force held three public forums and two open deliberations before making its recommendation to rename the building. McPhee eventually presented that recommendation to the Tennessee Board of Regents, which still had governing authority at the time, and the TBR also approved the decision.

In accordance with state law, the University then submitted a waiver request to change the name to the Tennessee Historical Commission, culminating in February’s meeting and denial.


MTSU deliberating whether to appeal Historical Commission decision

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee issued the following update in late March 2018 regarding a potential appeal of the Tennessee Historical Commission decision that retained the name of Forrest Hall on the Army ROTC Building:

“On Feb. 16, the Tennessee Historical Commission denied our Petition for Waiver to rename Forrest Hall.

“Last week, University General Counsel Heidi Zimmerman and I discussed with Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery and Chief Deputy Paul Nye the possibility of filing a Petition for Review in Chancery Court.

“Because the AG's Office would be representing two state entities and there could be a perception of a conflict of interest, General Slatery indicated that if we decide to go forward, we would need to retain outside legal counsel and that MTSU would be responsible for paying these legal fees.

“Currently, no decision has been made regarding our next actions.”


Tennessee Historical Commission denies MTSU waiver to change name of Forrest Hall

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, University Counsel Heidi Zimmerman and other representatives from the university attended the Tennessee Historical Commission meeting held Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, at the Tennessee Tower in Nashville.

The University made a presentation in support of its waiver request to change the name of Forrest Hall to the Army ROTC Building. Those opposing the waiver request also made a presentation.

Following a five-hour hearing, the Commission voted 17-5 against the university's request to change the name.

Approval of the waiver would have required 19 votes (two-thirds). Some Commission members were either unable to attend the hearing or had to leave the meeting early for other commitments.

Here’s President Sidney A. McPhee’s statement regarding the Tennessee Historical Commission decision:

“We felt we made a very compelling argument on why the name change was in the best interest of the university, so we are disappointed that our request failed to receive approval from two-thirds of the commission as required by law.

“We will be meeting in the coming days to review the matter and determine our next course of action.”


MTSU President Submits Letter of Intent to Tennessee Historical Commission

On Sept. 20, 2016, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee sent a letter to the Tennessee Historical Commission informing it that the University intended to file a Petition for Waiver regarding Forrest Hall. The petition will request approval to rename the structure as the Army ROTC Building.

The University intends to have the proper materials to the Historical Commission so that the matter may be placed on the agenda for consideration by the Commission at its February 17, 2017, meeting. The Historical Commission must approve the removal of the name by a two-thirds vote.

 

Here’s a PDF version of the full letter.

 

TBR Endorses MTSU Request to Rename Forrest Hall

The Tennessee Board of Regents has endorsed MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee’s request to rename Forrest Hall.

In a voice vote Friday, June 24, during their quarterly meeting at Northeast State Community College in Blountville, regents endorsed MTSU’s proposal to change the name of the facility named for Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest to the Army ROTC Building.

The TBR decision allows MTSU to petition the Tennessee Historical Commission to change the name of the building, which houses the university’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and was dedicated with the Forrest moniker in 1958. The Historical Commission must approve the removal of the name by a two-thirds vote.

The process began last summer when McPhee appointed a task force to review the building’s name following a mass shooting at a historically black South Carolina church that prompted a national discussion about Confederate iconography on public property.

The 17-member task force held three public forums and two open deliberations before making its recommendation in April to rename the building.

While noting that the task force recommendation was not unanimous and included “strong dissent” from a few members, McPhee also pointed out in his remarks to the TBR that under the board’s current criteria, Forrest would not be eligible to have his name placed on any university building.

McPhee noted that in considering the task force’s recommendation, he asked himself would the university of the 21st century make the same decision on naming the building as was made in 1958.

“In 2016, we are a different institution compared to the 1950s,” he said. “In 2016, we are Middle Tennessee State University, a very diverse institution, with approximately 23,000 students and over 115,000 alumni, representing every state in the Union and countries around the world.

“We are a truly global citizen and our actions should reflect the global community that we now serve.”


Task Force's Recommendation on Forrest Hall's Name Goes to TBR for Consideration

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee on Thursday, April 28, accepted the recommendation by the Forrest Hall Task Force to change the name of the building that houses the university’s Army Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
 
McPhee, in a letter to Derek Frisby, chair of the task force and a global studies instructor, said “the values and goals we share in 2016 as a comprehensive university with international reach are not best reflected by retaining a name affixed in 1958 when we were a small local college that rarely extended beyond our region.”

“It is clear that there are many wide-ranging and contradicting views about the life and legacy of Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest,” McPhee said. “I do not feel it is my role to discern the appropriateness or relevance of his actions prior, during or after the Civil War.

“It is appropriate, however, for me to assess whether the decision made in the middle of the 20th Century to name the building for General Forrest remains in our best interest in the second decade of the 21st Century.”

The president also said he has asked MTSU Professor Carroll Van West, who serves as Tennessee’s state historian, to develop a historical timeline, with primary source set, that “encapsulates the life, legacy and impact that General Forrest had upon our state, region and nation.”  It would be housed in the Albert Gore Research Center.

McPhee noted he felt “the best place for commemorating heritage is on the hallowed ground where it occurred, and that is what MTSU has done.” He added the university’s Center for Historic Preservation, under Van West’s direction, has helped install more than 400 interpretive Civil War markers throughout Tennessee.

The 17-member task force on April 19 announced its consensus, with duly noted objections by some members, that the structure dedicated to Forrest be renamed. The task force held three public forums and two open deliberations in making its recommendation.

The task force’s recommendation will go next to the Tennessee Board of Regents, MTSU’s governing body, for consideration. Regents could decide as soon as their June meeting whether to forward it to the Tennessee Historical Commission for action.

Forrest Hall is the only MTSU building named for an individual without any ties to the university. Current TBR policy reserves such commemorations for those with a clear connection to the university.
 
Forrest Hall was built in 1954 to house the ROTC program, but was not dedicated until 1958, when the name became official. Forrest, who died in 1877, had no connection to the university’s founding as Middle Tennessee Normal School in 1911.

In 1958, McPhee said, the university was still Middle Tennessee State College, had an enrollment of just 2,539 students. “We were decades away from the far-reaching and inclusive opportunities that would become our hallmark,” he said, adding the university frequently used Forrest’s image in its activities during that period.
 
However, as MTSU “grew in size and stature, so did our sensitivity of the controversial connotation that our use of General Forrest and other Confederate symbols had upon our goal to mature into an institution with broader reach and scope,” McPhee said.
 
Today, McPhee said, MTSU “is the largest in the Tennessee Board of Regents system with an enrollment of almost 23,000 students. We recruit students and faculty from across the nation and world and many of our academic programs and industry partnerships attract global attention. We have 39 international partnerships in 18 countries.

“We must acknowledge our past but we must remain focused on our future.”

The President, however, said MTSU “understands history should never be erased,” and he underscored the university’s long-time support of “research, programs and projects that tell the stories of how the Civil War transformed Tennessee.

“In Murfreesboro, the university has assisted in developing displays that stand at the Rutherford County Courthouse and Oaklands Mansion, informing residents and visitors of General Forrest’s actions,” he said.

“We remain committed to supporting fully these, and many other, important efforts on behalf of Tennessee’s Civil War past.”

McPhee, in reflecting upon the public forums, also said he was “disappointed by the lack of civility” and “that certain moments were unruly and disrespectful. This does not represent who we are as a university.

“But I also know that our freedom allows for such discourse. Free speech covers views that you find disagreeable as much as it does for those views you embrace.”


Forrest Hall task force to hold final meeting April 19 to decide recommendation on name

The MTSU Forrest Hall task force will meet Tuesday, April 19, at which it will decide its recommendation to the university’s president regarding a possible name change to the ROTC building on campus.

The meeting of the 17-member task force will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the MT Center, located inside the Sam H. Ingram Building at 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

View our campus parking map

The meeting is open to the public. Those planning to attend are reminded of the ongoing construction along Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

The university announced last summer that it would engage the community on the name of the campus building that houses MTSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and is named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Tuesday’s meeting follows an April 14 meeting at the same location at which task force members deliberated about the issue. Prior to that, three previous meetings were held at which public input was received. There will be no public comment at Tuesday's meeting, which is strictly for task force deliberations to come to a decision. The task force is chaired by MTSU professor Derek Frisby, a Civil War historian and faculty member in the Global Studies and Human Geography department.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee asked the panel to recommend by this month whether the building should be renamed; retain the name but with added historical perspective; or recommend that no action or change is warranted. The Tennessee Board of Regents would have to approve any recommended name change and the Tennessee Historical Commission would have to give approval as well.


Forrest Hall task force sets final meeting, guidelines for organization input

The MTSU Forrest Hall task force has set a final public meeting at which it will review written and oral feedback from community organizations regarding a possible name change to the university’s ROTC building.

The meeting will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the Keathley University Center Theater at MTSU. The university announced last summer that it would engage the community on the name of the campus building that houses MTSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and is named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Campus and community organizations have a March 17 deadline to electronically submit a position statement to the 17-member task force, according to task force chairman and MTSU professor Derek Frisby.

The statement should be a maximum of five typed pages and should be emailed in a single PDF or Word (.doc) attachment to forresthall@mtsu.edu.

Off-campus visitors attending the meeting should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation. You can also view our campus parking map.

This is expected to be the final meeting for such public input and follows public forums on campus in early December and at Lane Agri-Park on Feb. 24.

The organizations’ position statements also will be posted on the MTSU Forrest Hall website, www.mtsu.edu/forresthall. Submissions incorrectly formatted or lacking the required information will be returned, said Frisby, a Civil War historian and faculty member in the Global Studies and Human Geography department.

The typed statements should be written on 8-by-11.5-inch paper, double-spaced, while using 12 point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins all around, and with endnotes, citations only. The statement should include no more than two pages of endnotes and these endnotes do not count toward the five-page limit. No additional attachments will be permitted.

Each organization must also submit a cover letter indicating that the document is considered their organization's official position with email and phone contact information of the group’s officers, as well as the names and email/phone contact information of their two appointed representatives for the March 24 meeting.

Each organization may delegate no more than two persons to represent the group’s position paper at the meeting. If deemed necessary, the task force may call upon the organization’s appointed representatives during the meeting to clarify their official position papers; however, MTSU reserves the right to limit this participation based upon time and space availability, Frisby noted.

Submission of a position paper does not guarantee an organization the opportunity to present their oral arguments before the committee, Frisby said. An audio/visual record of the entire event will be made available on the Forrest Hall website no later than seven business days after the meeting.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee asked the panel to recommend by April whether the building should be renamed; retain the name but with added historical perspective; or recommend that no action or change is warranted. The Tennessee Board of Regents would have to approve any recommended name change and other state authorities would likely have to give approval as well.

Task force meetings are open to the public.


Forrest Hall task force to host second forum Feb. 24 off campus

MTSU’s Forrest Hall task force will host an off-campus open forum later this month to get more feedback about whether to change the name of the building that houses the university’s ROTC program.

Task force chairman Derek Frisby, who heads the 17-member panel of students, faculty, alumni and community members, said the second public forum will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, at the Lane Agri-Park, 315 John R. Rice Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

Frisby, a Civil War historian and faculty member in the Global Studies and Human Geography department, said it was important for the task force to host an off-campus forum to get feedback from the wider community. The first forum was held Dec. 1 at the university’s Student Union Building.

 The university announced in June 2015 that it would engage the community on the name of the campus building that houses MTSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and is named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee asked the panel to recommend by April whether the building should be renamed; retain the name but with added historical perspective; or recommend that no action or change is warranted. The Tennessee Board of Regents would have to approve any recommended name change and the university is also researching whether other state authorities would have to give approval as well.

Task force meetings are open to the public.


FORREST HALL TASK FORCE CALLS FIRST OPEN FORUM

University panel sets Dec. 1 for first of two sessions on building’s name

MURFREESBORO — Members of the task force considering whether to change the name of MTSU’s Forrest Hall set Dec. 1 for the first of two open forums on the topic.

 Task force chairman Derek Frisby, who heads the 17-member panel of students, faculty, alumni and community members, said the forum will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, in the Parliamentary Room (201) on the second floor of the Student Union Building.

 A searchable parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking2015-16.

 Frisby, a Civil War historian and faculty member in the Global Studies and Human Geography department, said the task force will hold a second public forum in late January.

 The university announced in June that it would engage the community on the name of the campus building that houses MTSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and is named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

 MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee asked the panel to recommend by April whether the building should be renamed; retain the name but with added historical perspective; or recommend that no action or change is warranted. The Tennessee Board of Regents would have to approve any recommended name change and the university is also researching whether other state authorities would have to give approval as well.

 Task force meetings are open to the public. For more information about the task force, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/forresthall.


 The task force will hold its first meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in room 220 of the Student Union Building. The task force’s meetings are open to the public. Task Force chairman Derek Frisby said session would include planning of forums for public input and feedback, as well as a schedule for future meetings of the task force.

All meetings of the task force are open to the public.