MTSU committee approves two FY26–27 capital outlay requests, prioritizes Civic Leadership building

At a meeting of the Middle Tennessee State University Finance and Personnel Committee, trustees voted to approve the university's FY26–27 capital outlay request list, which includes two projects the university will submit to the state: a Civic Leadership and Applied Humanities building on the Murfreesboro campus and a Phase 2 expansion of aerospace facilities at the Shelbyville Airport. The committee approved the submission by voice vote.

The Civic Leadership and Applied Humanities building is proposed at roughly 30,000 gross square feet and would house history, political and global affairs, sociology and anthropology, and the Center for Historic Preservation. Bill Waits, associate vice president for campus planning, said the facility would also provide exhibit, research and archives space, and “truly benefit the freshman and sophomore experience of MTSU students of all majors on campus.”

Waits told trustees the building would include space for a new center for innovation and leadership and museum/exhibit areas tied to archival research and community outreach. Trustees pressed for clarity on whether the request included funds to address nearby Peck Hall; one trustee asked that the civic building not be left incomplete while Peck Hall remained undone. Dr. McPhee, MTSU president, said, “The priority is the civic building.” Waits said the scope includes some targeted renovations at Peck Hall to provide swing space and a new roof, but not a comprehensive renovation.

The second outlay request covers Phase 2 of MTSU’s aerospace development at Shelbyville Airport. Waits described two planned structures: a roughly 20,000-square-foot academic building to serve as the aerospace department's campus home and a roughly 57,000-square-foot laboratory building to house maintenance-management labs and related functions. The Phase 2 work would also add apron space for aircraft, additional vehicle access and parking, and exterior green space. Waits said the phase will serve concentrations including maintenance management, aviation management, aerospace technology, unmanned aircraft systems (drone program), flight dispatch and aviation safety and security.

Trustees discussed how recent Tennessee legislation changed the capital-outlay process administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), removing THEC scoring and requiring institutions to classify requests into one of four categories (workforce development, institutional research needs/goals, institutional priority for time sensitivity/other extenuating circumstances, and facility renovation/optimization). Waits said the aerospace project “easily fit[s]” workforce development and could also be classified for time sensitivity because the university is moving operations from Murfreesboro to Shelbyville. The civic project is harder to categorize and staff said they were still determining the best fit.

Trustees agreed the civic building would be the university's top priority for the governor and legislature if asked to rank projects. Waits noted that, under the new process, institutions may submit more than one capital outlay request; MTSU intends to submit both projects.

Action: Trustees moved and seconded approval of the FY26–27 capital outlay project submissions and approved the request by voice vote.

The committee discussion also touched on parking impacts if the civic building is sited on existing parking (“we'll work with Ron Malone to make sure that any losses in parking will be offset,” Waits said) and the increased project escalation included in the current request compared with the prior-year submission.

The committee did not set a formal project award or appropriate construction funds at this meeting; it authorized university staff to submit the two projects for state consideration under the new THEC process.