Rate My Professor Mark Byrnes

Dr. Mark Byrnes serves as University Provost and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), where he has been the longest-tenured chief academic officer among Tennessee's public universities since his appointment in 2017, following a year as interim provost. A native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and graduate of Riverdale High School, Byrnes earned his B.S. in political science from MTSU in 1983. He continued his studies with a Diploma in international and comparative politics from the London School of Economics and obtained both his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University as a prestigious Eisenhower Institute Fellow. Joining the MTSU faculty in 1991 as an assistant professor of political science, he advanced through key administrative positions, including interim chair of the Department of Political Science, associate dean, and dean of the College of Liberal Arts starting in 2010. As provost, Byrnes leads the Division of Academic Affairs, overseeing academic programs across 10 colleges and more than 330 degrees and concentrations. His tenure has seen the launch of 27 new undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and various certificates to align with workforce needs; the implementation of the Quest for Student Success 2025 plan, boosting undergraduate retention by 6%; enhanced faculty development institutes; improved tenure and promotion processes; and effective academic responses to governance changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognized nationally as an expert on the American presidency and Tennessee politics, Byrnes has authored dozens of scholarly articles, book chapters, Politics and Space (1994), a book on U.S. President James K. Polk—who shares boyhood ties to Murfreesboro—and works related to NASA and Tennessee politics. He coordinated MTSU's legislative internship program for nearly two decades, taught an annual study abroad course for the past decade, and regularly presents to local civic and professional organizations. Byrnes' public service includes two elected terms on the Rutherford County Board of Education, where he served as chair and vice chair; past presidency of the Tennessee Political Science Association; and current membership on the board of ThinkTennessee, a nonpartisan public policy think tank. An alumnus of Leadership Rutherford and the Regents Academy Leadership Institute, he received the MTSU Foundation’s Outstanding Public Service Award in 2010.