Environment, Mission & Creed

Environment

In 2004, the 21,000-square-foot Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building opened. Crowned by a stately bell tower, the building is the architectural jewel on the east side of the MTSU campus. Paul W. Martin Jr., the first graduate of the MTSU Honors Program, and his brother, Dr. H. Lee Martin, both of Knoxville, provided the challenge dollars that made the building a reality.

On-campus residential space for Honors students is provided at the Honors Living and Learning Center in Lyon Hall, but the hub of Honors activity is the Martin Building. Here, students can study, consult with an academic advisor, attend one of the many educational or extracurricular events sponsored by the Honors College, work on an Honors publication, enjoy a free cup of coffee or newspaper, check email, do homework in the study area, play a game, hang out, and relax beside the fireplace in the Student Commons.

Current enrollment includes dozens of high school valedictorians and several National Merit Finalists. Students come from a wide range of backgrounds. They differ in life goals and ambitions, unique talents, ethnic background, socio-economic level, gender, and state or country of origin.

To reserve space or rooms in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building follow the procedures through this link and contact: uhc@mtsu.edu. 

Mission & Creed

The mission of the University Honors College is to provide undergraduate education of exceptional quality to a small but diverse student population with a deep commitment to scholarship and the ideals and virtues engraved on the north façade of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building: character, creativity, commitment, curiosity, discipline, faith, honor, and integrity. In the spring of 2006, the Dean’s Student Advisory Council developed an official Honors College Creed based on these attributes. It was designed to inspire the entire Honors community to reach its highest ideals.

The College fulfills its mission by providing programs of high academic quality, creating a supportive, student-centered learning environment, partnering with individuals and groups within the University community and beyond, and serving as a source of institutional pride by holding the lamp of learning high.

About two-thirds of our graduates enter graduate school, medical school, law school, or some other profession-related school or college shortly after graduation. The respect that the Honors College and its students have won over decades is reflected in the types of graduate and professional schools that our students now enter. Examples include the University of Chicago, Emory, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oxford, Purdue, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, William and Mary, and Yale.