(EDITOR’S NOTE: When I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas for four-plus years from 2013 to 2017 pior to the Free National Movement (FNM) becoming the government of The Bahamas in May of 2017, I introduced a popular feature highlighting the achievements of BAHAMIANS IN THE DIASPORA, which is the title I used for the column.
One of the persons featured in 2016 was Dr. Sidney McPhee, President of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), and although it was republished recently to coincide with the Bahamas Bowl on Friday, December 17, 2021 – in which the MTSU team participated, and Dr. McPhee paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Philip Davis – I have decided to republish it again, given the avalanche of publicity Prime Minister Davis generated when he was a commencement speaker at MTSU graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
One Tennessee newspaper, the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, had this to say:
“Throughout his two decades-plus leading Middle Tennessee State University, President Sidney A. McPhee has maintained strong ties to his birthplace of the Bahamas.
“Not only has he enjoyed return visits to family and friends, but he’s also forged professional and personal relationships that have aided the MTSU campus in student recruiting, academic partnerships and athletic competition.
“Fruits of those efforts take center stage again today on the Blue Raider campus as McPhee and university officials welcome The Honorable Philip Edward Davis, prime minister and minister of finance for the Bahamas.
“Prime Minister Davis is addressing graduating students Saturday morning during the first of three spring commencement ceremonies inside Murphy Center.”
The newspaper also published a collage of 15 photos of Prime Minister Davis meeting with MTSU officials as well as with Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland and Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed, all of whom are MTSU alumni.
After his commencement address on Saturday, the Prime Minister received an honorary doctorate degree along with former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
Here’s the BAHAMIANS IN THE DIASPORA column that I first published in 2016 on the Embassy’s website, Facebook and sent to the press in The Bahamas. I am looking forward to reintroducing it on a regular basis.
FROM HIGHBURY HIGH TO THE PRESIDENCY OF MTSU
By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When he graduated from Highbury High School in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1973, Sidney McPhee had a deep love for music and his career goal at the time was to be a high school band instructor. He also, however, had a burning desire to obtain a college education, which led to him enrolling in Prairie View A&M University in Texas, from where he received bachelor’s degree (with highest honours, summa cum laude) in 1976.
Having taken that first step on the road to becoming a noted academician, Dr. McPhee subsequently received a master’s degree in 1979 from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, and a doctorate in applied behavioral studies in education from Oklahoma State University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University Management Development Program and completed professional development programs at St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, Texas, and Colorado College in Colorado Springs.
Dr. McPhee is currently the tenth president of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and according to the university’s website he “has presided over one of the most remarkable periods of growth and progress in the institution’s century-plus of service.”
“MTSU is the oldest and largest institution in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and the No. 1 producer of graduates for the Greater Nashville economy,” the website notes. “It is also the top destination for transfer students in Tennessee, the top destination for adult learners in Tennessee and, since November 2015, is home to the state’s largest academic support center dedicated to veterans and military families.”
According to the website, “McPhee’s presidency, which began in 2001, also coincided with more than $700 million in improvements in academic, athletic and campus facilities – either proposed, under construction or completed. MTSU’s $147-million Science Building, a 250,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art teaching and research facility, opened in Fall 2014.
“Since his arrival, MTSU has been successful in raising admission standards, which resulted in an increase in enrollment of high-ability students. McPhee has overseen the addition of almost 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, two colleges (Behavioral and Health Sciences and University College) and 12 institutes and centers.”
Continuing, the website says: “McPhee’s ambitious Quest for Student Success, which was launched two years ago, is reshaping MTSU’s approaches to teaching and learning. It has gained national attention for its innovation in improving MTSU’s student retention and graduation rates. It aligns with Gov. Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55, which aims to increase the percentage of Tennesseans with post-secondary degrees or certificates.
“He has also worked to strengthen MTSU’s international undergraduate and graduate student enrollment, expanded its study-abroad and cultural opportunities and developed research collaboration with international partners.”
Prior to his arrival at MTSU, Dr. McPhee was executive vice chancellor for the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). In addition, he served as the TBR’s chief academic officer and interim chancellor. Dr. McPhee also served in various senior-level administrative capacities at several major universities, including Oklahoma State University, University of Louisville and University of Memphis.
Dr. McPhee was named Outstanding American University President of 2002 by the American Football Foundation. In 2003, he was listed by Nashville Post business magazine as one of Tennessee’s 100 Most Powerful Individuals and, in 2004, he was ranked by Business Tennessee magazine as one of the state’s Top 50 Most Powerful African Americans. He was honored by the Nashville Business Journal with its Rutherford County Impact Award for two consecutive years in 2014 and 2015. He also has been named Omega Citizen of the Year by the Pi Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International; and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for R.M. Bailey Senior High School, his alma mater in The Bahamas, previously known as Highbury High.
Dr. McPhee is married to Elizabeth McPhee, and they have two adult children, Seneca and Sidney-Anthony.
Born in Mayaguana, one of the southern islands of The Bahamas, Dr. McPhee is the son of Catherine Deleveaux McPhee and the late Amos McPhee, who died in 2011. His 91-year-old mother lives in Nassau.
(Oswald T. Brown is the Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager with the Embassy of The Bahamas in Washington, D.C.)
