Jenny Sauls, who has led Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Nursing since 2013, will step down as director on July 31, 2026, and return to the nursing faculty. Bethany Rhoten, a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University, will become director on Aug. 1.
Sauls’ connection to MTSU predates her career by decades. She first visited campus as a junior high band camp student and joined the university in 1990 as a clinical teaching associate, rising through the faculty ranks before being named director in 2013.
“MTSU will always be my second home, even when I’m not working here,” Sauls said. “I’ve seen tremendous change in the last 35 years, certainly since I was 12 and first came to band camp here.”
As director, Sauls raised the school’s admission standards. “We’ve always offered quality education, but we did raise our standards when I took this position,” she said.
Those standards show in the school’s outcomes. In 2025, 100% of the school’s graduates passed the NCLEX licensure exam, and its family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner graduates posted 100% pass rates on their national exams. After a fall 2025 site visit, the Tennessee Board of Nursing granted the school full continuing approval for all its programs for eight years with no deficiencies.
Sauls credits the school’s faculty for that consistency. “We have a fabulous group of faculty. Most of the faculty and staff have been here longer than 10 years,” she said. “I think that’s quite an accomplishment, and I think most of them would say they’re happy and that it’s a good environment.”
Sauls points to graduate success as the measure that matters most. “Our graduates never have trouble finding jobs, undergraduate or graduate,” she said.
“Dr. Jenny Sauls’ impact on the School of Nursing extends far beyond the accomplishments and accolades earned during her tenure as director. She has been a mentor to faculty, an advocate for students, and a steadfast champion for excellence in nursing education. We are deeply grateful for her extraordinary leadership and are delighted that our students and faculty will continue to benefit from her experience and passion as she returns to the classroom.” – Peter Grandjean, dean of the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences
Sauls is returning to teaching, not leaving it.
“I’ve never actually stopped teaching,” Sauls said. “Throughout my time as director, I’ve continued to teach Adult Health 2, the critical care course, every semester. So, I never truly lost that connection.”
Rhoten joins MTSU from Vanderbilt University, where she has been a professor of nursing since 2025, and practices as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in Nashville. She will lead a school that has educated nurses at MTSU since 1966 and holds full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Sauls plans to stay involved through the transition and support Rhoten as she steps into the role.
A more detailed introduction to Rhoten and her vision for the School of Nursing will follow.