MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Middle Tennessee State University is dealing with a pair of ongoing controversies as the new school year begins.
The MTSU Athletics Department is currently under investigation by the federal Office for Civil Rights for reported Title IX violations. The Office is looking into allegations that the university failed to provide female athletes with equal opportunities and facilities.
The Office for Civil Rights suggests universities complete internal investigations of such complaints in 60 days or less. After more than 8 months MTSU has yet to release its response to the complaint.
MTSU is also preparing to ask the Tennessee Historical Commission for permission to change the name of a campus building honoring a controversial Confederate general.
University President Sydney McPhee formed a committee to consider changing the name of Forrest Hall last year. The move followed the shooting deaths of nine people in South Carolina by a self-professed White Supremacist. The Hall is named for Confederate general and founding Ku Klux Klan member Nathan Bedford Forrest.
More than two months after the Tennessee Board of Regents gave MTSU permission to proceed, the university has yet to submit the name change request to the Tennessee Historical Commission.
State Senator Bill Ketron, an MTSU alum, earlier this year sponsored legislation that will make it more difficult for the university to get that request approved. The Murfreesboro Republican sponsored a bill that requires two-thirds of commissioners to approve such a change. Previously, only a simple majority was needed.