Our Purpose

Middle Tennessee State University, originally established as the Middle Tennessee State Normal School with a 2-year teacher training program, has grown into the region’s largest university with over 22,000 students and 900 faculty. The university offers 300+ academic programs (including Tennessee’s largest computer science program). One in 5 degree holders in the Nashville region are MTSU alumni, and 86% of MTSU graduates stay in the region.

Bridgestone’s first US tire was manufactured in La Vergne, TN. Bridgestone La Vergne’s over 1,000 employees and hundreds of robots can produce almost 7,000 tires daily at this 2.2M square foot facility on 132 acres.

The opening of the Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in 1983 was a groundbreaking moment, bringing automotive production to Tennessee for the first time. To date, Nissan Smyrna accounts for over 7,000 full-time employees, $7.1B investment in real estate, equipment and technology, 6M indoor square footage, 884 acres, and an annual production capacity of 640,000 vehicles.

Plans were established for the Gateway Business District, a new I-24 exchange and entrance to Murfreesboro. In the early 2000s, the first major tenants in the Gateway District on Medical Center Parkway were MTMC (Now Ascension St. Thomas Hospital), The Avenue Lifestyle and Shopping Center, and the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

HOPE Lottery Scholarship launches providing scholarships to incoming college freshmen attending 4-year institutions. Program objectives are to improve academic achievement in high school through scholarship incentives, provide financial assistance as a means of promoting access to higher education, retain the state’s “best and brightest” students in Tennessee colleges and universities, and enhance and promote economic and community development through workforce training.

Tennessee introduces the TN Promise Scholarship, a “free-college” initiative that pays for 2-years of community or technical college tuition. A critical component of Tennessee Promise is the individual guidance each participant will receive from a tnAchieves mentor who will assist students as they navigate the college admission process.

Schwan Cosmetics, a private label color cosmetics leader, opened its new HQ, R&D, and manufacturing location in south Murfreesboro. Like Schwan, many other companies have chosen to co-locate their HQ and industrial operations in Rutherford County.

Nissan and The State of Tennessee open a $46M, 162,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art technical training campus. This public-private partnership trains both Nissan employees and TCAT students in several manufacturing and technology-related fields.

Fountains at Gateway Mixed-use Development has become one of the region’s premier mixed-use corporate developments. The Fountains offers top-tier retail and recreational amenities for families and its HQ and tech clients in its 4-story office building and a large, state-of-the-art coworking space. Future phases include a hotel, residential condos, and more large office spaces.

MTSU launches the Data Science Institute focused on facilitating interdisciplinary research, industry and government partnerships, and community outreach while developing talent through projects, events and training.

Murfreesboro City Schools earns first of several TSIN STEM designations at Overall Creek Elementary. The Tennessee STEM Designation process recognizes schools that promote rigorous and experiential learning opportunities for all students.

The ICEE Company announced its HQ relocation from Ontario, CA to La Vergne, TN. This quintessential American company has been bringing smiles to faces young and old worldwide, now starting from its new home in Rutherford County, TN.

Motlow Community College campus expansion brings state-of-the-art technology, medical labs, and a one-stop student success center.